Glenn Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 What do you do to make things comfortable for forging in cold weather? Make a EMT pipe frame, attach a tarp and create a easily to set up wind break to be able to work outdoors when it gets cold. This can be a 2 panel wedge shape, or a 3 panel open box Having a shop with walls is nice but how do you allow enough air into the shop to replace what goes out the chimney (solid fuels). Where do you place the gasser so you do not get a build up of Carbon Monoxide in the shop? Wool socks and long johns are standard equipment so give us some other ideas so we can still be comfortable and forge when the cold weather sets in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 Longjohns and a piece of plywood on the floor---I keep the 10'x10' doors open unless the wind is blowing stuff off the benches---then I open them 1/2 way if I am using the gasser. I hope to put in a wood stove and work on the radiated heat principle someday Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rthibeau Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 A wood stove and gas forge going together and open the windows to keep it comfortable. Of course, it doesn't get cold in northern Michigan until January or February, so it really isn't an issue. By the time you notice the cold, it's Spring already...:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agsolder Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 There is a closed-cell blue plastic ground sheet about 1/2-inch thick called Ensolite that camping and backpacking boutiques sell. I was happily introduced to this magical stuff on an expedition in January one year, camping atop 5 feet of snow for several nights at about 9,000 feet in the Rockies. I expected to freeze to death but the people who were guiding my wife and me assured us the Ensolite would block the cold. It did, totally, keeping us toasty in our sleeping bags despite all that snow underneath us. I have since cut Ensolite insoles for my boots that I wear in the shop on winter days, along with SmartWool socks, warmest and longest-lasting socks I have ever worn. A woollen-- no synthetics where a spark could hit it-- watch cap helps keep the BTUs from escaping my bald noggin. Thermax undershirt (Cabela's) wicks away sweat and prevents that clammy chill that comes from sweating up a cotton T and without the itch of wool, and I wear one (not the same one) from about Thanksgiving until about Easter day and night here at 7,000 feet. On really cold days Thermax bottoms are needed, but those days are rare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skunkriv Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 The blower for my coal forge is in a lean-to addition off the side of the shop so most of the air going up the chimney comes from outside of the shop. My one burner gas forge will heat my small (14X24X9) shop even on the coldest days. I have a small blower on the end of the shop that picks up cold air from the floor and blows it out near the ceiling to keep the air mixed up good. After running awhile I crack open the overhead door an inch or so and between that and the air that gets out through a vent over the walk in door the air stays plenty fresh. After things are warmed up I can turn the gas forge way down if I am using the coal forge that day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbrforge Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 I fire up a propane space heater for 1/2 an hour on really cold days. But I've worked in unheated shops from Illinois to Germany, so I've never really been bothered by the temp. I always like to have a way to get my hands warm though, that seems more important since reaching 53, the hands are stiff in the morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerald Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 I find that I can keep most of my body warm with insulated stuff and activity. The problem is with the hands since most every punch, chisel, hammer, drill, etc is COLD. A pair of mechanic's gloves helps with this. Just remember, they aren't Kevlar gloves and can't stand much heat, so be careful around hot iron with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Leppo Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 A big problem in an unheated shop is warming the anvil and vice, as well as yourself. A cold steel mass of that size will sink the heat out of your work alot faster than normal. A hot thick piece of iron laid on top helps, or a torch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 Wear lots of wool, but in layers so things can be taken off as it gets warmer in the shop or you get warmer. Heat in my shop is usually generated by the forge and a propane salamander. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 I like Captn Atli's anvil warmer---and old electric iron from the thrift store. Turn it on when you get in the shop and the anvil will have the chill off by the time the forge is up to temp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easilyconfused Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 I only have to worry about the cold the first day I'm back from the city. My forge is right behind the hot air outlet of the large wood stove in the machine shop so heat isn't a big issue after the fire's going. In fact, I usually only wear my winter coat and coveralls to the shop and take them off once inside. The woodstove cleans up the yard and, once full, takes about the time between meals to burn to embers that I can pull out into a 55 gallon drum and smother out, start another fire with the few embers left, go in and eat, and when I'm ready to go back out, the fire's roaring and the smoke from the barrel has pretty much cleared out. Each burn is about 1/3 of the barrel so by night I have a full barrel and by morning it's usually cooled right off to be dumped in the charcoal bin/barrels, in the -30 deg. C weather we have. I usually only have to really worry about preheating the anvil the first day. After that the shed usually stays warm through the night since it's insulated well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted September 8, 2007 Share Posted September 8, 2007 Dress for it naturally and stand between the heat stove and forge. I'll be venting my propane forge to a downdraft exhaust system that'll give up it's heat to the floor slab. CO monitors are a given in closed door season. I already have a big honkin piece of can pile to make the wood stove from and will be making a stack robber I can aim. So, those are the secrets of ding it in AK, gear up, insulate, and heat your area. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete46 Posted September 8, 2007 Share Posted September 8, 2007 :rolleyes:Here In South Ms.it's Just[heck] Sometimes I Have To Wear A Flannel Shirt!with Long Sleeves!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
looper567 Posted September 8, 2007 Share Posted September 8, 2007 I beat the cold easy, I moved to North Carolina... I NY we ran the gas forges in the shop all day with just the 2 entry doors cracked open a couple of inches. Nights and Weekends I'd just huddle close to the Charcoal Forge in the garage, with the overhead door open about 12". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Hale Posted September 8, 2007 Share Posted September 8, 2007 I have forged in the bitter AZ cold and have done a bit of research on the matter I cannot find that working on a cold anvil does any harm in the 40f temps here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leah Posted September 9, 2007 Share Posted September 9, 2007 I live in Louisiana, so, like pete, I MIGHT have to wear a long sleeve shirt till I get the fire going and start hammering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete46 Posted September 9, 2007 Share Posted September 9, 2007 Leah,u R In North East La. What Do U Feed Your Sled Dogs????????:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark hendricks Posted September 9, 2007 Share Posted September 9, 2007 Leah,u R In North East La. What Do U Feed Your Sled Dogs???????? I'd bet she feeds them crawfish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete46 Posted September 9, 2007 Share Posted September 9, 2007 Mudbugs & Malamuts There's A Country Song There Somewhere! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ten Hammers Posted September 10, 2007 Share Posted September 10, 2007 While we here in southern Iowa are not as cold as some, we do have instances when it chills a bit. I have a floating stock tank heater for the slack tub. I have Carhartt socks ( and my feet still get cold ). The gasser has really made life better in the winter but I still have the wood stove. The cold is really tough on acetelyne and oxygen regulators ( I mean single digits and below ). Lay a slab of big steel ( plate ) on the gasser and by the time your feet are cold, you can take the boots off and put the steel on the floor ( wrapped in an old towel ) to warm the feets. Boots will warm on the gasser carefully. Snow blows in when it comes from the east. Stove for the tent is nice for November camp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_sandy_creek_forge Posted September 10, 2007 Share Posted September 10, 2007 One big double-barrel stove. Hopefully, before it gets cold this winter I'll be able to install 1" exhaust pipe flues in the upper barrel with a fan on the backside to blow the air around the shop and get everything all hooked up for it. Otherwise it'll be a salamander heater, warm bibs, and plenty of moving around. -Aaron @ the SCF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted September 11, 2007 Share Posted September 11, 2007 A good trick for the double barrel is to cut holes in the ends of the upper barrel large enough to fit a 15gl grease barrel through, you'll need to splice two to make the length. Weld the grease barrels into the upper barrel and put a fan in one end. It makes a super stack robber. I'm going to make a variation for the new shop. The 55 gl drum gets cut down to 24" so it doesn't overhand the can pile I'm using for the stove. The stack will be centered on the stack robber so I can aim it around the shop where needed. Lastly it gets some louvers so I can aim the heat down at my feetsies. The can pile is a section of 24" piling from a bridge project some years ago. I salvaged 53" of it and will build it as a vertical to save floor space. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted September 11, 2007 Author Share Posted September 11, 2007 Will you get the same heat exchange from a vertical configuration as you get from the horizontal configuration in the stove? Another question, is radiant heat any better than trying to warm all the air in the shop? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Parkinson Posted September 11, 2007 Share Posted September 11, 2007 2 cords of mixed hardwood and an airtight stove will get me through until march:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skunkriv Posted September 11, 2007 Share Posted September 11, 2007 "Another question, is radiant heat any better than trying to warm all the air in the shop?" I don't know where anyone else stands on this issue but I will be standin close to the stove:rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.