billp Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 I have 2 the first made from a tire rim with 3/16 plate welded into the bottom to flatten out and cover holes and 1" rebar for legs. I used 2" black pipe parts to make the ash dump and to connect the blower too. The second I made the table from 3/16 plate frame and legs are made with 1 1/2 x 1/8 angle. The fire pot I also made from 3/8 diamond plate. It's kind of shallow at a 2" depth and about 6" at the bottom and 8" at the top not your typical fire pot but so far it works. I still used the black pipe as before for the blower and ash dump. I put wheels on the back to help move it around as I have to work outside and store equipment inside. I got all my metal plating from a junk metal reclining place so not much expense in that. The angle I bought new from a supplier in Memphis,TN. recommended buy folks at the Metal Museum also in Memphis. Hope this helps. Bill P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
divermike Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 Pic 1 is a side shot of my forge from the door, about 1/3rd of the total smithy, pic 2 is the 5 forge setup we made for our monthly NYSDBA meetings. PIC 3 is closer up, you can see the barrel stove and the water tanks on the front of the forges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irnsrgn Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 I reworked the pics a bit, hope you don't mind! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strube1369 Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 Pretty impressive blower, huh? works though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianbrazealblacksmith Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 I just got back from a show, so I thought I would show how my forge is put together. The tubing and sheet metal are not welded; they are just sitting on the angle iron frame. The forge does not warp or buckle this way. Every- thing comes out and I can easily move it by myself. This is the forge I work with everyday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
divermike Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 (edited) Thans BBB I did not know how to do it, and the pics look much better, someday I would like to meet you and shake your hand, for all the goodies you put on here!! Maybe quad state?? Or when I get back to my hometown, Sonora Ca, I will certainly look you up, I ran a business in the valley for 15 years out of the Tracy, Stocton area. Edited April 21, 2009 by divermike forgot something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rokshasa Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 this is my forge, i had a portable one befor but i traided it for this one, its not a permy job cuz im gonna move it again when i get my new shop set up , anyway, its a 3/16"thick bowl about 4" deep with a 1/4 steel plate welded over the top to serve as a table, mounted with a side draft(from this sites bp) the air comes from a 1hp motor hooked up too a blower(donno the brand of the blower), it is all home made and its my second forge, pic3 is my first one, witha hand crank by "forge and blower co." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oak Hill Forge Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 Here's my forge project (actually one of 3 in progress !) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olcarguy Posted September 11, 2009 Share Posted September 11, 2009 Nice work.....Oak Hill Forge......Do you have any measurements available, and how does that grate attach..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oak Hill Forge Posted September 13, 2009 Share Posted September 13, 2009 The grate is welded to the bottom of the firepot. I ended up adding 2 more "ears" to attach the ash dump and blower inlet. I have the forge almost completed now. I'll try to get some pictures up tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Posted September 14, 2009 Share Posted September 14, 2009 In the beginning I used rivet forges and railroad forges to get started. Then I ran into a number of old retired wagon smiths who used brick tire forges. So after learning about them and liking how they worked, I took a masonry class and built my own. Sorry I don't have a better picture of it. When I started moving to different shops I liked the tire forge design so had one built in steel. I used this one with cast iron fire boxes and for the last 9 years with the steel fabricated firebox and tuyere that is in the back of my book, "A Blacksmithing Primer". It's worked very well, but when I build a new one I will go up to 3/8" thick walls. The 1/4" lasted all this time with all of the forge welding and large stock I forge, but one plate has started to warp. The grate is machined to blow the air into the center of the firebox so heat to the sides is only residual. The angle of the sides contributes to how well this works, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Roy Posted September 14, 2009 Share Posted September 14, 2009 I was following this thread last night from the very beginning and I realized that I didn't have any pictures of my forge that I could post. When I was left home unsupervised this afternoon, it seemed to me like a real good time to take a couple of snaps. So I dragged some of the equipment I've restored over the past two years out of the dilapitated shed in my back yard. I only finished making 10' x 12' pad last week to firm up the gravel to support the weight. Now the forge won't sink into the ground when I roll it out. And not in the picture yet, I'm building a small table to hold my vise and some tools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Roy Posted September 14, 2009 Share Posted September 14, 2009 (edited) Randy, I just started re-reading your book about a week ago. Great book! I had read "A Blacksmithing Primer" the first time two years ago and you autographed it for me at the Yesteryear Hammer In 2007. Being the first book that I read on blacksmithing, I didn't appreciate at the time how well written it was for the beginner. I even mentioned this opinion to the folks standing around the Old Dominion Blacksmiths Association library table yesterday. And no Glenn, I was not paid for this endorsement. Edited September 14, 2009 by Bill Roy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Posted September 14, 2009 Share Posted September 14, 2009 Well thank you, Bill! I'll be down there again next June. Don't know what I'll be doing, yet. Hope to see you then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avadon Posted September 14, 2009 Share Posted September 14, 2009 Wow there are some nice forges in here. Easily make a man jealous. Here's my add. Enclose brake drum forge with stack. Lots of welding but I really like working with it and it's so enclosed it doesn't scare neighbors who might not want to see a roaring exposed fire . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
double_edge2 Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 all for charcoal. welded from bits...only one ever using new steel is the long one for long jobs...the prototype for it ( shown lit )was 3mm from the scrap bin. the non plough disc one is and has been my main forge for quite some years. it was the bottom of a steel hot water tank cut down and 2" water pipe with a 12 volt car blower as wind. they have always sat out in the weather. recently i have been mucking around with gas for forging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
locky.au Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 (edited) Here's mine.... Locky Edited September 15, 2009 by locky.au Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
double_edge2 Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 all you're forges look better than mine. oops, did i hit enter? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raggedstaff Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 Picked this up yesterday, needs a bit of love, but has some great potential. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OddDuck Posted September 27, 2009 Share Posted September 27, 2009 Well, I finally got all the pieces together and built a forge for the son and myself. It's a variation on the 55 forge, I built the side-draft version, and it works pretty well. The only problem is that I have to come up with a different tuyere, because the black iron pipe I am using is eroding away at a very fast pace. Might have to cast a water-cooled one or something. My main hobby is metalcasting, but my son wasn't horribly interested in doing that. After seeing a blacksmithing demo at a living history museum he decided that was something he would like to try. So, wanting to encourage my son in doing something other than Facebook, I built a forge. I hemmed and hawed for a while about how I would build and attach the legs after I had cut the pan off an old drum I had, when it occurred to me that the rest of the drum could just be used as a base. Worked out pretty slick, I just made some L-brackets out of 1/8" strap and bolted the top and bottom together. For a blower I got creative and cast a radial blower case and impeller and used a motor I had kicking around. I may or may not change the impeller design, I'm not terribly happy with it but it seems to push a fair amount of air pretty quietly. Had no problem getting the coal to welding temps, I think. Here's a few pics (if I did it right...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 Another nice bit of equipment you've put together Odd. I don't think the tue iron needs to be quite that long into the forge pan, though I'm not all that familiar with a back blast. What's the liner? (I hope you don't mind me calling you Odd, Mr. Duck sounds a little . . . Well . . . Odd. And there you have it. ) Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OddDuck Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 No problem, Frosty. It's shorter than "Eccentric", and I'm not rich enough to be called that. I chose "Odd Duck Foundry (and now forge too!)" because it describes me pretty well, I'm the guy that buys the car that's built on the one tuesday of the month that they put that unique part in instead of the regular one, I have varied interests, etc. etc. It just fit. The liner is sand/kaolin(EPK) at 2/1 ratio and just rammed in place. It's about 2" thick towards the edges and about an inch in the center depression. I wanted to try it this way (just to be different, please check name...) because I thought it would be a little less challenging to build this way, and I don't own a welder. I haven't used it much yet, only fired it up a couple of times, and I think I have come up with a solution to the tuyere burning away. I'll have to try it tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewOC Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 Very nice blower OddDuck, if you get browsing old posts here (yes facebook style!) you would see the amount of trouble other smiths go to avoiding building one. yet more selling potential for a founder. Re the tue iron burning; i've seen suggestions for using stainless pipe- but haven't heard how successful. AndrewOC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OddDuck Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 Stainless wouldn't stand up much better at those temps. Iron is iron and it would still be eaten away. On the metalcasting forums almost everyone at one time or another has the great idea to use stainless steel crucibles of some type or another. They wear out just as fast if not faster. Stainless is not a miracle substance, its properties are more or less the same as other steels. Yes, I have had the thought ever since I started looking at this forum that it would be neat to replicate old blowers and other parts for folks. I re-discovered an old technique that makes casting things like blower shells fairly simple. If there is interest maybe I will sell the raw castings so those who would like to could build their own blower. Maybe even personalized with their forge name.. Hmm. This is what the raw castings of the sides of that blower looked like fresh out of the sand. They are a little rough, this is the first attempt at casting them. The thing in the middle is the impeller. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakedanvil - Grant Sarver Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 Stainless holds up better at some elevated temperatures. I find it will outlast mild steel 100:1 at 1500-1600 but maybe only 50% better at 1800. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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