mperrine Posted April 14, 2014 Share Posted April 14, 2014 Here is my first home built forge. It used to be part of a welding table they were throwing out for scrap at work so I drug it home. It's 1/4" steel plate with a brake drum in the middle. I welded 1" angle iron around the perimeter and use black steel pipe with floor flange and a T for my air supply. Also have an old Western Chief Blower but haven't got it on there yet. If you guys have some can think of anything I need or need to change please let me know Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arkie Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 Here is my first home built forge. It used to be part of a welding table they were throwing out for scrap at work so I drug it home. It's 1/4" steel plate with a brake drum in the middle. I welded 1" angle iron around the perimeter and use black steel pipe with floor flange and a T for my air supply. Also have an old Western Chief Blower but haven't got it on there yet. If you guys have some can think of anything I need or need to change please let me know Thanks mperrine, Looks good from here! Your forge is starting out nearly the same as mine. You can build up a great little forge from your "seed". Add all the "bling-bling" you'll need to forge, tong hangers, shovel hook, water sprinker holder, wheels, leg pads, ash dump etc. One of the most useful additions I made to mine, were 3" sideboards so I could pile on a lot of coal that could be coking while the main fire is burning. I had 1" angle on the edges like yours to start (one of the attached pics). I just tack welded some inside and outside tabs on the 3" sideboards that clip over the 1" angle iron sides so that I could remove or move them as I wished...no welding in place for them. You could even have higher sideboards for more coal storage. You may get some ideas from my build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mperrine Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Hi Arkie, Thanks so much for your advice as well as the added pics. You're right there is a pretty good resemblance to your forge at the beginning to mine. Ya... I realized that the 1" angle iron wasn't going to be nearly high enough the first time I poured some lump charcoal on it. Now that I see what yours looks like, I would very much like to add all of the little extras that you have added to yours. Thanks again for the advice. Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perry Thomasson Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 Here is my forge with a Roger Lorance firepot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qhforge Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 I have 2 forges, My whispermomma double propane farriers forge and my Champion riviter's portable coal forge. The great thing is that i picked up the Champion for .... $80 yes thats it $80. The lady didn't even know what it was and I didn't want to totally take advantage of her. A friend and client of mine just fired it up and it fires well for how small it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_zxz Posted May 3, 2014 Share Posted May 3, 2014 This is my very first commercial made coal forge. It is in very good shape and the blower works fine too. The forge and the blower are Canadian Blower & Forge Co. Kitchener Ontario. I bought this forge to make some expositions this summer. It was the perfect size. I'll just clean it up a bit and maybe open the blower to clean it and to put some oil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torvalshank Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 My first forge...brake-rotor forge set into the top of a drum. 2" black iron pipe and floor flange for air and ash cleanout, (cap on the bottom piece.) Another drum on top to act as a hood. Air supply is a $10 hair dryer, which is working like a charm. Anvil is a piece of rail road track on a "custom built" scrap 4x4 stand. Drums are not actually attached to each other, the upper one just has the lip cut off and the edge peened in a little bit so that it sits inside the lip of the lower one. I use it outside now, so being able to lift it apart and move it easily is a big thing. The top drum just has a hole in the top, roughly 5x5, for the smoke to get out. It smokes like crazy without a pipe or anything on the top. I recently added about 18" of "stovepipe" that I fashioned from some scrap I had lying around, but I have not yet tested to see if it improves the smokiness any. Ultimately, I would like to move this inside, to where I have a bit of 6" stovepipe already hanging off of the wall and leading outside. I am just concerned that it might not be enough draft to keep it from smoking me out. I am hoping that being inside away from the wind, and having 10 feet or so of stove pipe coming off the top would be enough to stop the smoke from rolling out the front quite as badly. My reading here indicates that I should upgrade to a 10 or 12 inch duct...however, enough 10" stovepipe to do what I need would be prohibitively expensive. I'm going to make a post over in the ChimneyHoods and Stacks forum to get more ideas on this.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Bill Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 Portable forge. I started this project last fall and hope someone will say "you're missing coal". Or better yet, what I need before coal! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 Is it set up so you can crank the blower with your hammer hand while working the steel in the fire with tongs in your tong hand? If not why not? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobody Special Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 You're missing coal. :D Tray looks good, and those are some rather serious wheels. Kinda like them. How are you gripping the forge to move it? Or is the plan to tip it towards you while gripping the tong bar? Seems like potential for lurking hot coals to spill in the wrong direction when you go to put it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbo7 Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 torvalshank, how high is your anvil mate? too high is not real good for your joints Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rizzler Posted August 23, 2014 Share Posted August 23, 2014 Here's my meager brake drum forge and my temporary outdoor setup (until I can get the wife to part with some of the stuff in the shed). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeke1 Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 Here is my homemade mobile forge.I used a brake drum from a semi and a old gas grille a friend was throwing away. I purchased the 2" flange and galvanized pipe with a tee and end cap clean out it is very crude but works great. I am new to blacksmithing and trying to learn on a nonexistent budget so I will be making my tongs and tools as I go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 Welcome aboard Zeke, glad to have you. Well done on a first forge, the air grate will burn out sooner than later but for now it'll do. A single direction bar grate from 1/2" steel will work better on a couple counts. It'll last a lot longer and all the bars going the same direction makes them a lot easier to clean. All you need is a poker with a single bend, think "L" shaped and a point that fits between the bars. Forge the L flat to make the rake (rake more describes the use than the shape of these tools) with a point on the end. Oh yeah, the air grate needs space between the bars, 3/8"-1/2" is good, more doesn't make them better. All in all you'll be more than able to gain skill and sell enough little do dads using that forge to build your next one with smething to spend on it. Boot strapping is a good thing. Carry on sir. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeke1 Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 Wow thanks Frosty I really appreciate the input, I will make the modifications. I am making my rake and tongs first then moving on to other items! Thanks again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilyeag Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 My work In Progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacobd Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 I just finished setting up two more forge stations in my shop this past weekend. Thought I'd share a few pictures. The forges are old factory forges. One has a new vulcan firepot and the other still has the original firepot. The hoods are a "supersucker" style made from 14 gauge mild steel with 10" stacks. The large side draft forge is one I made a couple of years ago and is my main forging station. The other pictures are of my swage block stand with a short vise I also mounted this weekend and a couple of pictures of the whole shop. John That cone mandrel looks like something a B52 would drop. That's big. Is that solid? If it had legs I would ride it into battle. Not sitting on the point of course. Just thought I would clarify that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragon Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 New coal forge. Just got the ventilation working smoothly tonight. There's a squirrel cage fan outside of the shop sucking the air out. It's so nice having a smoke free shop! The table is the size of an unrolled 55 gallon drum, which forms the tabletop, the angle was from a scrap yard. The firepot is the end of an old air tank. I was too lazy to make an ash dump mechanism so I just used a bucket of water. Needs some fire-hazard reduction in the immediate area, and the table could use just a smidge of bracing to make it more sturdy, but otherwise I'm pretty happy with this one. I'm really loving all of this space to set things down and store coal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayakersteve Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 Here is mine in action Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Menard Posted September 13, 2014 Share Posted September 13, 2014 This is a coal forge I made as a portable demo rig. It breaks down so the largest part is the hood. It can practically fit in a compact car. The table is 1/8" diamond plate bordered by 2"x 1/8" angle iron. The legs are 2" square tubing. The hood is 16G aluminum. It is set up for either an electric blower or a hand crank blower. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eidilon Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 Here's my new forge, about a year in the making. The table is an old, heavy cast iron table saw top, The fire pot came from a collection being sold by New England School of Metal work, left to them by a blacksmith. The smoke hood is an old 50 gallon drum and the chimney is a 10 inch, double walled duravent inside and through the roof and 24 gauge galvanized above that and is around 15 feet high from the top of the smoke hood. I had a lot of help with the chimney from my son. You're looking at the very first fire, once the hood and chimney heated up the draft worked great. I've got an old under the counter heater squirrel cage 2 speed blower on it for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arkie Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 This is a coal forge I made as a portable demo rig. It breaks down so the largest part is the hood. It can practically fit in a compact car. The table is 1/8" diamond plate bordered by 2"x 1/8" angle iron. The legs are 2" square tubing. The hood is 16G aluminum. It is set up for either an electric blower or a hand crank blower. Bob, I have a brake drum forge similar to yours. I'm about to fab a hood for it, but planned on fitting it on the end of the forge near the firepot, but on the end of the table not outside of it. Your idea of mounting the hood on the outside would give me more accessible room on the table and might work out best for me. How does it draw with the piece sticking out over the firepot? Does much smoke flow out around the hood? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Menard Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 The eye brow I have is removable and is mostly useful up to the point where the stack heats up. Once it is hot the eye brow is no longer necessary and the hood is drawing the smoke laterally back away from the firepot and keeping the local environment clear. I have a plan for the hood. If you would like it send me an email, ballandchainforge@yahoo.com and I will send it to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arkie Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 The eye brow I have is removable and is mostly useful up to the point where the stack heats up. Once it is hot the eye brow is no longer necessary and the hood is drawing the smoke laterally back away from the firepot and keeping the local environment clear. I have a plan for the hood. If you would like it send me an email, ballandchainforge@yahoo.com and I will send it to you. Email sent, Thanks! BTW, no offense, but it's not a good idea to post your email on forums...invites all kinds of spam. Better to communicate via PM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 Another thought Bob. Since when has a blacksmith needed instructions to lose eyebrows? Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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