Portable, Takedown, Smithy?

[ptree]

Here is my shop trailer I take to demo's. Everything fits inside. No cover, but everything stays dry and it is easily moved. Now i am a scrounger, can weld and traded this and that. My total cost for the initial build was $42 in 2005. I have since added better springs and am now at about $150

[yves]

Here is my shop trailer I take to demo's. Everything fits inside. No cover, but everything stays dry and it is easily moved. Now i am a scrounger, can weld and traded this and that. My total cost for the initial build was $42 in 2005. I have since added better springs and am now at about $150

Pics? Please. I began thinking about such a trailer to begin making demos.

[ptree]

Sorry the pictures did not attach the first time. There are more photos at Farwest forge in my gallery under Jeff Reinhardt.

 

I have a drop down shelf on the side and the tool box on the front opposite the forge is made from a large electrical enclosure.

[woodsmith]

My personal plan involves a light single axle trailer, in transport the forge and whole rig is laid down horizontal with the chimney pipe atached rigid to the tounge, roof folded down lower than the tailgate on the truck, should pull well enough.  upon arrival you unhitch and stand it up on end and the roof folds out.  The trailer "bed" decomes the back wall, with forge  in the center, vise to the left and drill to right, pull outy your anvil stand and set it on the gorund and light the fire.  Have many of the details figuered out.  The main idea is- I dont want to build the thing to set up, no bolt and tools, no ropes and tent stakes, no heavy stuff on and off teh truck, just park and make like a transformer. 

Woodsmith

[Joel OF]

Hi oldtimer, I'm in a similar-ish situation to you so this thread is quite interesting to me! Here's some questions that I've got rattling around in my head for my own situation that are relevent to this thread, most particuarly to the yurt or tent type setup.

 

In this sort of situation what do you do about an electricity supply? Even if you've got bellows/hand cranked fan you'll need light.

If you don't have a solid roof or walls to fix lights to, how do you place them? Tripod spotlights placed around the smithy?

In a yurt or setup like ThomasPowers described what do you about the floor, if it rains hard and it all runs into your smithy, the floor could become muddy, slippery and dangerous.

How do you protect your tools, do you need padlocked storage boxes to put everything away at the end of the day or do you chance it and leave them out and hope nobody nicks them?

 

Really curious about peoples answers to these questions, and I hope they're helpful to you oldtimer.

[Charles R. Stevens]

First, security in a yurt/ger. the lattis work wall structure is prety hard to breach, atleast compared to a shed.
Flores can be made up in pie slice wedges, and electrical isn't dificult with extension cords with multiplex outlets.
I've actually thought a lot about this, if your interested ill elaberate.

[Joel OF]

First, security in a yurt/ger. the lattis work wall structure is prety hard to breach, atleast compared to a shed.
Flores can be made up in pie slice wedges, and electrical isn't dificult with extension cords with multiplex outlets.
I've actually thought a lot about this, if your interested ill elaberate.

Yes please do, I'd love to know and I think it's relevent to the thread. A yurt is way out of my price range and unless they're a fraction of the cost in America they'll be out of oldtimer's price range too, but in general I'm interested.

 

Do you mean leave the extension cable plugged in and out in the smithy? At the minute with my extension cable I have to plug in and unwind, unplug and wind up every time I go out to my smithy and it's a total pain in the backside!! Carrying and winding up a 50 meter extension cable by torch light back to the house gets tiresome very quickly and extension cables ALWAYS tangle.

 

ThomasPowers, I second oldtimer's interest in seeing pictures of your pole smithy.

[Charles R. Stevens]

First, as to the power supply, I would suggest either a pole or better yet some kind of pedestal. It could be as simple as trenching over a 20 amp line and installing a weatherproof box on a post. Then setting up the yurt/ger so the box is inside close to a wall. Now comes the extension cord, ziptie it to the wall and roof to run it to a light fixture. I would cut of the ends and hard wire it, or if you plan to take it down often I'd hard wire the light and plug it in at the box. Same can be done for a few outlet boxes.
Ill get back with more about the structure of a yurt/ger

[Charles R. Stevens]

Ok, as to the floor/foundation. It can be simply set on well drained ground and trenched in, a gravel pad layer down, with the outside built up with sods removed from the middle, or a temporary deck built out of 2x lumber and plywood or OSB. Cut each panel diagonally so as to have two pie wedges, frame each wedge or if you will have help moving it, place tow wedges together and frame that. As two the frame, if you frame it with 2x4, 24" on center at the outer edge, you will need a block, stack of brick or two flat rocks in the center and at least every 48" around the outside. It is best to offset the decking so it overlaps the next panels frame so you can install a few screws to hold the panels together.

[Charles R. Stevens]

Yurt/ger its self, fre plans abound on the net. The ones used by SCA members are to light for our needs, but if you use 1/2" slats insted of 1/4" and use one 2x2 roof pole at every slat junction youl be good (basically what the Mongoles are building in "modern Mongolia" the kona, or wall lattice I looks and works like a baby gate, with 8' slats on a 8" grid. Supported by webbing or cable to keep the roof from spreading. One or more doors can be used, extras make good "windows" the center uses a weel like hub, leaving an opening you can run your stack out of.
A complete guide to making a Mongolian Ger
by P.R. King is about the best plan I have found, it's on his website, woodlandyurts.com.uk
If you scrounge or have access to a wood lot or dream bank you cam make the frame for next to nothing.

[Charles R. Stevens]

As to the covering, modern Mongolian gers use an inner covering of cotton, coverd by wool felt, coverd by a tent fabric like sunforger. One can use cheep cotton drop clothes for the inside, even going so far as to spray it with a mix of borax and boric acid (yep flux ingredients, 20 mule team and roach proff).
The manufactures of industrial felt can hook you up as to the insulation, some even make wool felt for insulation, you can even use fiberglass bat, (best if you use the 4x100' roles used for steel buildings) or carpet felt pad. Us yurt builders use that Mylar bubble rap but its expensive, and needs multiple layers, as is you need.two layers of carpet felt on the walls and 4 on the roof, or one layer of r11 on the walls and 2 on the roof. Tents get very hot in the summer sun if not insulated!
I would suggest covering your insulation with house wrap, if you use the DuPont stuff you really don't need to cover it, but a covering of a good tarp or sunforger will look better and last longer.

[Charles R. Stevens]

I have more links I your Google-foo isn't up to the task, just ask.

[Joel OF]

Cheers for the detailed reply, you certainly have thought it through! Always interesting to see what other knowledge people have learnt because of/alongside blacksmithing. Interested to see what your smithy ends up like oldtimer...

[homeshow]

Metal roofing and 2X4 studs. Make the whole thing from metal roofing.

[Charles R. Stevens]

Metal roofing, like fabric really must be insulated. The sun beating down on it will heat it up and it will then radiate the heat down on you, as well as condisation problems. My fathers automotive shop is all steel, insulated and clad inside and out.