G'day All.

I promised on chat to show some pictures of this slap-together forge project.

The idea is for a bush-carpentry style thing, to use at a community market on the 15th of September.  The themes revolve around colonial timber-getting.  The bellows is one a friend re-leathered some years ago, but I think this is it's first fire since.

 

Scrap pallet timber  I started out with

 

On Saturday I did a temporary rig for the bellows lever and cords.  The following shows the first fire.

 This shows the hearth built of my current obsession, damp coal fines.  Made some coke, even though the forging fuel is charcoal.

 

     An assistant blows the fire for photos

 

...and just to prove it can do forging temp; straightened out a bent pick end and sharpened it.

 

So, just have to add more coal fines to better fill the box and raise fire, plus refine the bellows lever and cords.

 

Enjoy.

AndrewOC

 

 

you might consider filling the box with sand the 2 wood bodied forges i have used were both initially filled with slightly damp sand shaped to form the desired depth and firepot shape and then had a coal fire build in them it worked a treat 

very nice Forge it has been a few years since I have seen one built and put to work this shows that you can forge in any condition .

 

Sam

Ay Sam, that was the idea -  a forge is a fire with an air pipe to it.

Anyhoo,  lets try some photos.

 

    

 

  

 

Me and some friends enjoying a day out with some ramshackle stuff.

 

AndrewOC

Real nice forge. I am about to build one for a class at the end of this month. Mine will not be so deep but lined with clay from our local creek. I am almost finished with the box bellows that will feed it.
It is interesting that yours doesn't appear to be lined with anything. Looks like the fire would slowly burn down to the lumber. Or am I missing something.
?
Great set up all the way around.