Help needed for making a forge.

[bluey hocking]

Hi my name is Denis from Winnaleah in N.E.Tasmania, Australia.
I am just starting to get into forging and have no experience at all in forging but have made knives on and off for the last 15 years. I have purchased two books by JIM HRISOULAS and was going to make a small forge out of the end of a hot water cylinder and use the blowing side of a vacuum cleaner for my air supply. If anyone is able to assist me with a plan or ideas it would be much appreciated.

[Ted T]

Denis,
Welcome to IFI.
No matter what other orginization you join, I suggest you stay active with using this site.
We have world class blacksmiths and knife makers who post, and use the chat room most every day!
You will be able to get information about blacksmithing or knife making in real time!
Or, post your question as you did, you will also get a lot of help here!
For starters, I suggest that you look in the blueprint section under (BP0133). It shows you how to make a forge out of a 55 gal. drum.
Be Safe!
Ted

[HWooldridge]

What fuel do you plan to use? Is good blacksmith coal available there or will you need to stick to some form of gas?

[Glenn]

There are 3 versions of the 55 Forge, the original 55 Forge, a side blast 55 Forge, and the Supercharged 55 Forge. All use solid fuel. There are some Blueprints on building gas forges by Garey Ford, T-Gold and others. A quick search of the opening page will get you the BP numbers. Some may not be posted yet but will post shortly as we catch up with the new server.