Forge Table Size

[PsiMan]

What size forge table do you guys suggest?

I'm planning on building a forge soon and I can't decide on the overall dimensions. My experience it minimum, two 8 hour beginner classes. We used forges approximately 30in square. Is there any benefit to going bigger? I don't plan on going full time or building a ship.

It seems most forges I've seen on the web are rectangular. I really don’t want to build any thing that I'm going to out grow in a few years. I'm looking for something I could get 8hrs a day a few times a month out of. Me being me I want something a little than the 55 forge.

If it makes a difference I plan on building a fire pot 9” by 13”, from http://www.blksmth.com/mild_steel_firepot.htm, so I can upgrade to a Centaur Vulcan Firepot if need and I plan on it being mobile.

Thanks
Matt

[Drewed]

With going portable, I'd go about two and a half by three to three and a half. That will give you plenty of room for coal, work support, and cooling room. Should also be nice and stable

[pkrankow]

30x30 is a pretty nice size, 30x30+ oblong might be nicer, 24x24 would be pretty nice too. What size of material can you source easily? Let what you can get easily be your guide for size. Keep things centered until you get above 30x30, then you can center in the 30x30 square and have a larger area to the side if you want.

Phil

[ThomasPowers]

Matt; You going to be doing knives or gates?

By mobile does this mean Demos or just moving it out of the garage to the proverbial shade tree? (for demo's it may be better to have a bit larger table to hold tools and tooling as you probably won't have your work bench or hammer/tong rack to hand.)

the more the details provided the better the suggestions!

[PsiMan]

Thanks for all the reply's

I don’t plan one doing any demo's or any thing like that. Just need to be able to wheel it out of the garage. Shop space is a premium for me, I all ready have a cnc knee mill, lathe, welding table, grinders, tool boxes, horizontal and vertical bandsaws in my 2 car garage. I would like to keep the forge small side, but still able to do general work. I may even build a wood top to uses it as a cart while not in use.

I plan on building mostly tools. I want to build my own hammers, wood chisels and such. After my shop is decked out then maybe some muzzle loading rifles. But I would all so like to be able to build a few gates. So I don’t want to go too small.

What ever I build, I'll probably draw it up in cad and cut it out on a cnc plasma cutter. Building tools is more my hobby than actually using them

So what is the benefit to going big on the table?? Is it just extra room to store coal and a place to put hot work? I plan on building a little adjustable arm for holding up long stock like I've seen on forges here.

Thanks Again!!

[Bigred1o1]

just make it with removable or folding wings that you can flip in and use to cover it while not in use but unfold to give you a larger work aria
or something similar to a drop leaf table but out of steel

[pkrankow]

Hot projects cooling, cold projects heating, tools, fuel, stock for the next operation...lots of uses for extra space. Since you sound like you have plenty of material at your disposal, make some "tv trays" out of good stock and have one able to attach to the edge of a smaller forge when you need extra space.

A bottom partial shelf of expanded grating might be a good idea for tool storage and/or cooling hot parts.

Big Red has a great idea with a drop leaf design.

Phil

[Marksnagel]

I am kind of partial to the 55 forge design by Glenn Conner. I have redone it to meet my needs by using a brake drum and some other mods. Wheels can be added to the bottom of the drum in my pictures to make it portable.



Real easy to make from scavenged pieces parts and really inexpensive. Just an option.

Mark <><

[forrestcav]

the forge i'm building is based on the design on the beautiful iron web site. Only mine is 40x32 as dad aquired a scrap piece of 1/4 plate from where he works. Hes also gathering 1/2 plate to weld up a fire pot for me

[Ten Hammers]

Here are a couple of pics of a forge I built. Pretty straight forward. You could absolutely put a couple of wheels on one end and some handles on the other to make a forge like this portable. This forge runs on an airgate and power blower but could run on a crank blower just as easily. BTW it is 2' x 3' in size.

[Frank Turley]

Since the mid-1960's, I've traded manufactured and homemade forges like some people trade cars or horses. I kept high grading until I now have six old cast iron hearths.with relatively recent firepots. Lots of rectangular hearths including the Buffalo pressed steel ones, were roughly 24" x 30". A couple of my cast hearths are roughly 24" x 36" My personal forge is quite old; I'm told it is a Lancaster. It has a coal trough on one end, to my right as a right hander. The trough has a 25" x 10" opening and is 5" deep. The hearth is 42" long, and the work shelf/fire pot area is 32" wide. This means that the hearth is not rectangular. It has a 25" width either end, but is wider near the center. Nearly all of these old forges have the fire pot placed eccentric of the middle as you are standing, facing the longer working side of the forge. As a right hander, the firepot is a little to my left of center which leaves extra hearth room to my right for coal, fire tools, etc.

So that is pretty much what was manufactured in the U.S. in the early 20th century. I give you the dimensions as a guide only, since you are custom making your forge.

[PsiMan]

Thanks for the suggestions! I decided to go with 24" x 36" (the size material available to me) with removable legs so I can store it out of my way.. I'll keep you guys posted!!!!