The forge build begins

[Blackbeard]

Thats a nice looking blower Sam. Im still searching for a shop that sells blowers for forges in South Africa- Im making due with my home made one!
Wow Thomas I can see you put a lot of thought into the forging in space thing- interresting concept!
Bb

[hammerkid]

Nice forge sam. I also got mine done last night at about 11:00 pm.

[irnsrgn]

Sam, Layout is a simple process. There are 2 ways of doing it. Draw or just a sketch with measurements and then measure or use simple math to determine.


1. Draw an actual to scale drawing of the top as below:


2. Draw an actual side View and an actual end View to scale as below:


3. Now you have 2 ways to determine the slant angle dimension, which in Layout is called the True Height.

a. Determine the distance by actual measurement or

b. Use Hypotenuse, A

[Ron Hicks]

Sam
Long time - the forge looks Great I bet you will love it.
Good Job
Ron

[Ecart]

Sam, Layout is a simple process. There are 2 ways of doing it. Draw or just a sketch with measurements and then measure or use simple math to determine.


1. Draw an actual to scale drawing of the top as below:

2. Draw an actual side View and an actual end View to scale as below:

3. Now you have 2 ways to determine the slant angle dimension, which in Layout is called the True Height.

a. Determine the distance by actual measurement or

b. Use Hypotenuse, .

Okay, you lost me at hypotentoosie.

I was blessed enough to find a guy who sold me the firepot and blower for $40. But I suppose that is for people who can't make it themselves. It is really good to see that there are plenty of people out there who are making their own.

[Sam Salvati]

some shots of my new hammers and the new blower! the little blower is very.......little, but it sure puts out alot of air! The blower should be great, but SURELY needs an air valve now.

[Sam Salvati]

And i know i am holding the hammer wrong, purely for pictirial purposes:).

[yesteryearforge]

Sam
do you have a source for the blower that you would like to share with us ( it looks pretty cool )

Mike Tanner

[Sam Salvati]

Yeah Mike no problem i got it from


Blacksmiths Depot | Blacksmith and metalworker tools and supplies


only $120 too! Just click on the drag down menu "forges and forge parts", then "blowers". You could easily run two moderate sized forges from the 164CFM blower(which i have), and the other one, 120CFM i think they have would be best for one forge. It has a cast iron blower housing, switch, chord and plug. the chord is just a bit short, but i won;t be carrying it all over, just plug in and bolt to the forge.

[Ecart]

HA! I think that is the same hammer that I have from Blacksmith's Depot! Mine just doesn't work as good as yours. I can't seem to get the same quality as you - yet. Hope you enjoy.

[Sam Salvati]

:D. Ecart, PRACTICE, then more practice, then more, then more. There is a reason why i don;t have a girlfriend hehe. I will enjoy, new hammers, new forge, other new equipment, new shop, soon to have a nice new belt grinder, working out good.

[ThomasPowers]

That blower has an air valve---right there on the side with a wing nut---you choke off the incoming air, it's easier on the blower motor than damming the exhaust as the one has it running in a partial vacuum---less air to push around and the other increases the air it has to push around.

[Ted T]

Thomas Powers,
Thank You for the information about air flow and why it would be better to restrict the amount of air coming in to the blower as apposed to damming it down stream.
I never gave a second thought about the stress that it would put on the blower by damming the air flow with a downstream air-gate.
You gave me an idea that I will most likely try in some forum or fashion.
I know that there is nothing that I have ever done, tried, or made, that someone else has not already tried or achieved. So if I seem off-base with this idea, please feel free to correct my thinking.
This is only my thoughts. I wonder if it would be an advantage to construct a "Y" type coupling located down stream from the blower with an air-gate control in each tip of the “Y”.
One leg would be dedicated to the forge fire (a), and one leg would be dedicated to a flow pipe (, that would be connected to the chimney so as to promote airflow up the chimney when the ( air gate is opened.
It seems as though you would have the control to lesson the back pressure on the blower motor and at the same time promote a more efficient air flow up the chimney when you did not need as much air for the forge fire.
I guess I am thinking more about in the mornings when I would like a little boost to get my chimney to flow.
This is just my thought Kids, don’t try this at home with out the assistance of an adult supervisor who knows what they are doing. Because I don’t always know what I am doing (just ask my wife, doctor, E R room records, accountant, and my kids)!
Be safe!
Old Rusty Ted

[Frosty]

Ted:

You're right, it's been done though usually only when there's a problem with the draw.

The reason there's less stress on the Motor restricting the intake rather than the output is the blower vanes are running in a partial vacuum rather than in thicker, compressed air.

If you shut either intake or output completely off there's almost no difference in resistance. The air density around the vanes will quickly come to ambient and the load on the motor will lighten up.

For an easy example you can hear a hair dryer motor speed up when you block either intake or outlet completely. A partial blockage of either will result in a different motor note though.

Frosty

[Ted T]

Thank You Frosty;
You and many other knowledgeable smiths such as your self make this web site the user friendly and a resourceful information center of blacksmithing that it is.
You hit right on the issue of a draft problem being the generator of my thinking.
In the past I have had problems with chimneys not drawing as well as I would have liked them to perform.
At this time I am building and installing a new chimney for my forge station.
Due to having reactive lung disease, I want to build in everything the will help me reduce products of combustion from getting into my air-space.
I just want to make sure I have all the whistles and bells built in my forge, just in case!
Thanks again.
Old Rusty Ted

[Sam Salvati]

Ted, that one of the best ideas i have ever heard. I too am worried about the chimney not drafting as much as i would like and that would be just the ticket!

[Jacob]

Ted,

If you want another cool feature, pipe your air in from outside. If the intake is outside, or the entire blower if electric, you wont burn up the oxygen you need to breath.

[Ted T]

Thank you Jacob
Point well taken!
Another precaution I am taking while Tig welding is as follows;
I have a small air pump that I am going to set up outside of my welding room. It will be located in an area that does not have contaminated air. I will hook up a small hose (fish tank type) from the pump, through the wall and down to my welding helmet.
I learned this trick from a man who also has lung problems. It made it possable for him to start welding again with out having air problems.
Thanks again for the suggestion.
Be safe!
Old Rusty Ted

[ThomasPowers]

Positive pressure system---great thing when done with a little more oomph for grinding as well. I know a blade maker who has a faceshield mounted to a hardhat with a dryer vent hose coming down to the top of the hardhat from a ceiling pipe connected to a small squirrel cage fan outside of the shop. Keeps you cool in the summer too!

NB *ALWAYS* screen your intake so that the odd bee or wasp doesn't get delivered to your face mask...

[Ted T]

Thank You Thomas,
Your suggestion just adds to the slowly mounting vista of great ideas that help me, and I hope other blacksmiths and metal craftsman who visit our site at here at IFI.
People like You, Sam, Jacob, to name just the last few who contributed to this post, makes this a fun and a productive place to visit!
Be safe!
Old Rusty Ted

[Ecart]

. Ecart, PRACTICE, then more practice, then more, then more. There is a reason why i don;t have a girlfriend hehe. I will enjoy, new hammers, new forge, other new equipment, new shop, soon to have a nice new belt grinder, working out good.

You're trying to make me jealous, aren't you!? :mad: Except for the girlfriend thing, the wife would frown on that.

[Sam Salvati]

NO! I am just excited, and ready to do some nice work.

[Ferrous Beuler]

Hiya Sam, Nice work! Looks very much like the five forge tables/firepots that my group made for the new shop. Also very much like the table I have planned with a couple of differences. My firepot which is now just supported on an ad-hoc stack of cinder blocks and surrounded with rr spike plates upside down to form a surrounding table is inlet lower on the sides. Because of this I cannot use just a flat sheet for the table like yours, being that your pot is flat or level on all four sides at the top. So I got the idea that I will have to use some sections of pipe of the appropriate diameter to match the curves on the right and left sides of the pot.
In other words, your table is level like this _______________
Mine needs to be like this
_____......__________
........__/

Disregard the dots.


See what I mean? I thought I might use sections cut from steel pipe which could then be heat & beat to match the curve on the sides of my firepot. Could also be done from flat sheet but easier with pipe to start with.
Also, your table is a rectangle with 90 deg corners. I have a round hood which is 30 inches in diameter and domed. Its about 6 inches high and has a 6 inch collar 2 inches high for a stovepipe. This must have come off an old boiler or something. It will get an enlarged hole to 12 or 14 inches and a new collar. The table will have rounded ends to mach the diameter of the hood. This will allow me to make shrouds or curtains of sheet metal cut from the outside surface of an old hot water heater, attachable/ detachable with magnets as needed. Something I'll have to experiment with and assess. It gets mighty windy where I am and I smith outdoors.
I also have some old steel implement wheels to make this contraption mobile.
Nice work Sam! Now I'll have to break down and by a mig so I can catch up. You're right, it's nice to have access to stuff that enables you to make your ideas reality.:)Dan

[Ferrous Beuler]

Hiya Sam, Nice work! Looks very much like the five forge tables/firepots that my group made for the new shop. Also very much like the table I have planned with a couple of differences. My firepot which is now just supported on an ad-hoc stack of cinder blocks and surrounded with rr spike plates upside down to form a surrounding table is inlet lower on the sides. Because of this I cannot use just a flat sheet for the table like yours, being that your pot is flat or level on all four sides at the top. So I got the idea that I will have to use some sections of pipe of the appropriate diameter to match the curves on the right and left sides of the pot.
In other words, your table is level like this _______________
Mine needs to be like this _____ __________
. __/

See what I mean? I thought I might use sections cut from steel pipe which could then be heat & beat to match the curve on the sides of my firepot. Could also be done from flat sheet but easier with pipe to start with.
Also, your table is a rectangle with 90 deg corners. I have a round hood which is 30 inches in diameter and domed. Its about 6 inches high and has a 6 inch collar 2 inches high for a stovepipe. This must have come off an old boiler or something. It will get an enlarged hole to 12 or 14 inches and a new collar. The table will have rounded ends to mach the diameter of the hood. This will allow me to make shrouds or curtains of sheet metal cut from the outside surface of an old hot water heater, attachable/ detachable with magnets as needed. Something I'll have to experiment with and assess. It gets mighty windy where I am and I smith outdoors.
I also have some old steel implement wheels to make this contraption mobile.
Nice work Sam! Now I'll have to break down and by a mig so I can catch up. You're right, it's nice to have access to stuff that enables you to make your ideas reality.:)Dan

[Frosty]

Positive pressure system---

NB *ALWAYS* screen your intake so that the odd bee or wasp doesn't get delivered to your face mask...

Do you HAVE to take the entertainment value out of everything?

Ted:

Another thought for keeping the smoke out of your work space is to make a downdraft welding/cutting table. The work rests on a bar grate over a plenum chamber. The exhaust fan sucks from the plenum and the output is piped outside. It is a lot easier to keep the smoke from getting loose than it is getting rid of it.

In AK we have heat issues and heating with wood I'd rather not have to exchange the air in the shop 3-4 times to get rid of a little smoke. You're also breathing it till it's gone.

Frosty