August 5, 201114 yr I am in the process of constructing a new/better forge. I have been using old pans and my wife's hair dryer. I do not have a lot of money to be putting toward the project so I Have been putting pieces together as I come across them. This is what I have so far for my blower, it is a blower from an old fuel oil stove. I am thinking about putting a "dimmer switch" on it to control the speed. I am still not sure what type of piping I am going to use to actually connect it to the forge itself, since I have not constructed it yet I do not know what options I will have. Any thoughts and or suggestions would be appreciated.
August 5, 201114 yr dimmers are hard on electric motors. Your motor would be happier with either a waste gate on the output side, or something blocking off the suction side of the blower. I think ideally if you could put in some type of "y" valve so if your not dumping the air into the fire, then your sending it up the stack to help with draw. Then again, that might be over kill. I have a dimmer switch on my motor, and never use it. I have a gate between the blower and the fire pot. What size hose is on the end of that thing?
August 5, 201114 yr Author right now I just have an old shop vac hose attached to it. I also made an attachment for it that would allow me to use dryer flex line if I found that it would work better. Unfortunately I have no extra money to put toward my forging project at the moment, so I am putting it together with items that I am finding either laying around or from friends and family. Right now I am using an old piece of railroad track as my anvil but I have the word out that I am looking for a "real" anvil if anyone comes across one really cheap or free (fingers crossed).
August 5, 201114 yr Unless that's a universal motor, which probably isn't the case, a dimmer will burn it up pretty fast. A choke plate on the blower intake is easy to make with a screw and a piece of plastic or sheet metal. Even cardboard would probably work. I am only an hour or so from you. I'll keep my eyes open for anvils.
August 5, 201114 yr The only cost for a choke plate should be *1* sheet metal screw as thin sheet is easily scroungable. Does that motor have a place to remove and replace the brushes? If not it is most likely not a universal motor and so will get trashed by a dimmer as mentioned.
August 5, 201114 yr Light dimmers are very hard on electric motors, I have heard of people using them with no trouble, but I played it safe and paid for a ceiling fan speed control, its much easier on the motors than a cheapo light dimmer. just my 2 cents. Also I happen to be an electrician.
August 5, 201114 yr Author Thanks for all the input guys. This is what I have done to it just since my last posting. Decided to go with the damper idea, I also put a switch for easy on/off and a power outlet so I don't have to run drop cords if I need extra power for other tools.
August 5, 201114 yr The SOFA forges have their blowers set up with a foot switch so you have to be standing on it to get them to run---saves a lot of coal and steel! The also have an override switch to just keep it on if you are doing something that needs a lot of air like forge welding.
August 5, 201114 yr Author Okay, after doing the work on the blower I had to see what it would do. Other than the fact that the rest of my setup is crap, it did pretty well. The damper on the side did a good job of regulating the amount of air. I guess now I have to keep my eyes open for the right materials to construct a better forge. And yes before anyone asks, that is bagged charcoal, I know it does not work very well but like the rest of my set up, I use what I have.
August 5, 201114 yr Thanks for all the input guys. This is what I have done to it just since my last posting. Decided to go with the damper idea, I also put a switch for easy on/off and a power outlet so I don't have to run drop cords if I need extra power for other tools. Looking at that photo of your out door set up. . Change out that Receptacle for a GFCI, Use the side chain feature to power the blower. it may be $10 for a GFCI but that is cheaper than killing yourself. also get covers on them
August 6, 201114 yr Author Covers are a definite, and I had not thought about using a GFCI, once again thanks for the advice.
August 7, 201114 yr I myself use a damper it shut down the air flow it works very well for me. I started off with what I could find you are heading in the right direction
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