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I Forge Iron

my better bellow


Azur Jahić

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You want to have all the air go through the nozzle that you can. If the set up is short, adjust the set up as needed.

The best way to test the bellows is to hook it up to a fire. It will take a little practice to get the buffs of air into the fire in a controlled manner. You want a slow steady stream of air, not a single blast. Watch the fire. You do not want to blow the fire out of the fire pot , or have a powerful air blast and then nothing. The fire should indicate when it is getting hotter and hotter with each puff of air. The fire will reach a point where it is burning at it's maximum based upon the amount of fuel and the amount of air.

You should over fuel the fire and use only as much air to produce the heat you need heat from the fire. Let the fire idle or slow down as you hammer on the hot iron, then put the iron back into the fire and heat it again by adding more air. It is a learning experience based upon your forge, your fuel, and your air.

It seems you are finally about to get the forge working. As soon as you get this bellows working, start on a second bellows with improvements. Like anything else, the first one works, the second one works better.

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i have some powerful air blast and then nothing some charecoal was blow away but i dont have a pipe for nozle may be this is for that and i will make another bellow for this.When i was working with hairdryer the sparks was be all of the place can the sparks can be a measure for charecoal forge if sparks dont go is that mean that air is not strong enaugh . CAn i make something like this portable bellows i mean will ti blows good
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGzurmC5IJQ&feature=related

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Azur, First I want to say I like your attitude. You work with what you've got.

Seal up the holes in the sides however you can, duct tape will work. an old tarp, piece of canvass, saran wrap (plastic food wrap), any of these can seal up the holes.

Then attach that thing to a pipe and get to hitting. That will work alright, just keep pumping slow and steady, not the jerky puffs like you're trying to blow a stick around.

While you work with that bellows you can begin gathering materials for the next set. Like Glen said, your next set you make will be better, could even go for something a bit more challenging like a double lunged bellows. I have no doubt you can make it work from what you've shown here.

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Thank you for your display of dedication! And thank you for that video. Several here will offer their advice and I may make a little piece myself. How about thinking of thick cloth, such as mattress covers, or canvas. it might prove to be more pliable to the lesser experienced worker where the video showed a rubberized one. i bet it was not his first one either.

please do not stop your quest for learning the spirit and the spirit of smithing.

Carry on

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Azur,

I was just reading a book called "The Complete Modern Blacksmith" by Alexander G. Weygers. (You can find this book for $13.59 on Amazon. It is filled with all kinds of good information for learning, I would definitely recommend getting a copy if you can.)

In his book, Weygers describes a simple forge he built at his house. Here is a picture and some text from page 99 of his book, which describe what he did.

post-25178-0-25507200-1351025105_thumb.p

post-25178-0-93606900-1351025096_thumb.p

(Source: "The Complete Modern Blacksmith" by Alexander G. Weygers, printed in 1997, ISBN 0-89815-896-6)

Looks like an interesting idea. Maybe it will be useful for you to get started with forging, until you can get some bellows working to your satisfaction.

Markus

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Azur: Looks like you're getting the idea. The air pipe doesn't need to actually BE pipe, it can be soup cans taped together or most anything that'll carry air. The nozzle is the only part that really needs to be heat resistant.

Is inner tube the only material you can find for the bellows? A pillow case and a couple pieces of ply wood or wide boards will make a fine bellows. Not that inner tube won't work, it's just an inconvenient shape and size.

You've seen a feather duster yes? The kind with a group of feathers wired around the end of a handle stick. If you slip one of these feather dusters into a pipe just a little smaller than the full fan of feathers you can simply pump it in and out in the pipe and it'll develop a fine quantity of air. These are "feather bellows" and are common in the 3rd world, Africa in particular.

These are pretty easy to fake with some ingenuity and a few materials provided you can get a piece of bamboo or pipe in the 3-4" inside diameter range about 30-40" long.

Keep it up Azur, the spirit of the blacksmith runs strongly in you.

Frosty The Lucky.

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I use a sewn canvas air duct to carry air from my blower to the tue. I quilted plastic to canvas drop cloth to keep the air from leaking too much. I then cut a piece out of this "quilt" 3 ft long and 10 inches wide. After sewing the long edge together I have a tube about 3 inches in diameter, 3 ft long, easily clamped to irregular shapes using an "aircraft" hose clamp, or a few wraps of wire.

IT IS ABSOLUTELY _NOT_ FIRE RESISTANT!!!

I connect the canvas duct to a piece of iron pipe that is connected to the tue of my forge using another "aircraft" hose clamp. The canvas is on the outside. I used a sewing machine, but could have done it by hand but not nearly as quick.

Phil

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Azur,
Sparks off of the charcoal are not a good sign of how well the fire is burning, these are just the small bits of dust burning off.
Some folks call them fleas because they jump up and bite.
Try damping down the edges of your charcoal round the fire, this should cur down on the fleas and help concentrate the fire.
Wayne

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