Newb, need a little guidance, drum or rotor?

[ah1988]

I plan on making a forge from either a brake rotor or brake drum, I just need advice on which one to use.

I plan on getting a sheet of seel aproximatley 3ftx4ftx1/4in.and cutting a hole in the center for either a drum or rotor.

I have seen that the brake drum forges are really popular but, I was thinking about the depth of the drum.

The drums seem like they are excessivly deep to me, where you may burn up coal that you are not even using.

The rotors seem like they are deep enough but not too deep, they just arent as popular as far as I have seen.

i plan on making tools some decorative stuff like candle holders and eventually mabey some knives.

So the question is drum vs. rotor, which is better ?

[Glenn]

Depends on the design of the table, and the drum or rotor.

Search for the 55 Forge and build one. Cheap, easy to build and will answer a lot of your questions in the first fire or two.

 

The brake drums I have used are about 3 inches deep and 12-13 inches in diameter. I found that with my drum, in my location, I needed to add about an inch of depth to the fire. Built a 1/4 x 1 inch ring, and welded it to the bottom of a table 24 inches square. Just put the ring into the grove on the drum. This brought the sweet spot of the fire up to level with the table. Took a half a 5 gallon bucket of coal to load the forge. The entire drum fills with hot coals and for small projects was wasteful of coal as you do not need a big fire. But it did put out the heat for larger projects.

 

The rotor I used was about 2-1/2 to 3 inches deep. The flame / air would exit between the two disks, so I welded some 1/4 round to fill the gap between the two rotor plates. You could just pack it with mud. Later I found a single disk rotor of about the same depth. The hole was cut to allow the rotor to fit with the entire disk on top of the table. The thickness of the disk was a issue for raking coal into the fire, but with a ash build up and less aggressive raking you can work around that issue.  The sweet spot is above the top surface of the disk so you have to place the iron in the fire at the right level.  This set up cut the fuel needed in half, and had a much smaller fire which heated a smaller surface length of the stock. 

 

Back to the 55 Forge, you can use this forge in many configurations, side blast (recommended for a quick build), bottom blast, with a drum, with a rotor, with bricks to shape the fire, and can be used with coal, charcoal, and wood. 

 

For either of these fire pots, give them plenty of air. I use a 2-1/4 piece of auto exhaust pipe with a 1/4 inch piece of round bar across the opening as a grate. That is a lot of open space for air. I also can burn fines, or coal dust with that design.

 

One thing I will suggest is that you do not put the hole in the center of your table. Place it toward the front as this will allow you to step up to the fire pot and not have to reach over the table. Place it toward one side so you can add a hood if needed and not waste the table space.  Exactly where? Practice with the 55 Forge and see where you stand in relation to the center of the fire pot. 

 

No one said you could have only one forge. But you MUST have the first forge, and while you play in the fire you can refine the design and build a second, third, or specialty forge.  The forge I enjoy working is only 4 inches in diameter and about 3-4 inches deep. Only needs a couple of double hands full of coal for fuel and only heats about 4 inches of stock. Heavy cast iron *something* I found at the junk yard and brought home. 

[Charles R. Stevens]

Glenn's 55 forges are great starts. But lots of things can and have ben used. I have one with the top end of a welding gas bottle for a fire bowl (6" deep) a friend has one using a 6" to 2" bell reducer as a fire bowl, wash tubs and old sinks packed with adobe... Skies the limmit. Personally I like the side draft 55, I cut a 8" off the top and bottom of a clamp top drum, messauge the edge of the bottom just enugh to get the top started inside it and used a peice of 4x4 cribbing and a sledge to drive the two to gether.the lip keeps the sharp parts coverd, and the lid sands seal makes a handy cover. Filled it with dirt and scoped out a fire bowl, latter I upgraded it by using stove cement and vermiculite. Lots of choices, just depends on what is available to you. In junior high it was a hibbachi, a hair drier and a sewing machine reostat. Mom still holds a grudge 3O some of years latter.
One other note, 1/4" might be over kill for a forge table

[ThomasPowers]

Also depends on if you plan to burn coal or charcoal, charcoal needs a deeper pot.

[VaughnT]

If you're getting a piece of steel a quarter-inch thick for the table of the forge, you don't need a drum or rotor.  Plenty of the old forges were made out of iron of that same dimension and had nothing but a grate over a hole.  Add some fire cement to spread the heating of the table out, and form a depression for the coal, and you're golden.  

 

Quick, simple and cheap.....

[ah1988]

Ok, plans have changed I called our local freightliner and they gave me a free brake drum to a big rig it weighs over 100lbs. And it it 19in wide, I think I will turn the drum into my forge and just cut a hole in some plate drop the drum in and weld it up ! When  I get it done (eventually) I will post piccs. Thanks for all the input, I will probably end up making a smaller more portable one though,and I will use this info to help me.