Thought I'd show my forge :-)

[mikesuperrc]

Hi

 

Just thought id show a few pics of my forge and see what people thought and then ask a few questions.

 

A pic of my forge just after i built it. Its a 15" steely i put legs on it. madde them removable incase needs transporting, the air pipe removes all so :D .

Only fuel i had on hand was bbq heat beads so gave them ago, they spit alot :wacko: .

 

i since chanced to my grandads old forge blower once i found it and did a lil matinance one it. The blower vac was a bit too noisy any way :(

   

 

 

just a few pics of one of my first projects, a welding pick, as u can see i need some practice :unsure:

 

I'll post up some more recent pics and better ones when i go to it next, its currently at my inlaws place because i dont have a shed yet. :(

So what do you think. So far i like it. It seems to work well. Just a few mod to make, i think, and it will be great.

 

So far i put a sheild around the side and back of it, seems to help contain the heat and sparks better.

 

I'll be cutting some peices out of the side to get the work peice in to the forge at better angles,etc. and I am goin to line the bottom an sides with clay to insulate it better, fill up the stud holes, etc. and tighten it up a bit so im not burning up all that charcoal thats not really getting used .

 

Is there a good way to go about lining them with clay to minimse the clay exploding, cracking too much, etc. Eg. do i have to air dry it for a while. or just light a fire in it and cook it dry :D .

 

Hope you like it. Thanks.

Mike

[tomfromuk]

Hi

 

So this is my first post here so i better say Hi :) 

 

But, with that aside, I see you are using what appears to be a 'wheel inner' as your forge top. 

 

Could anyone explain to me the benefits/drawbacks or using a wheel inner versus a brake drum and also which one you would advise using if trying to create a small forge at home. 

 

The obvious ones i can think of is that the brake drum is made from a metal which is good at absorbing a lot of heat pretty easily. Also the wheel inner will have a lot of holes in it which may need to be filled in. 

 

Thank you 

[Frosty]

Welcome aboard Tom, glad to have you.  ON this side of the pond we call those wheel rims, not that it really matters but if someone asks what you're saying, don't sweat it just tell them.

 

A lot of beginning forges and such are made from what's available and rarely optimum. Charcoal briquettes aren't particularly good forge fuel either but with a little practice and adjusting they'll do the job just fine.

 

If you have some metal working tools and the skills to use them a brake drum set in a table does make a more workable forge. the drum will take heat longer before it burns through and it's really nice to have a table to hold fuel, the work, tools and such.

 

You can use a wheel inner and make a table to go with easily enough, even setting the table deck level with the edge of the rim is easy and would make a workable forge.

 

If you want a side blast instead of a bottom blast a wood table and  dirt will make a perfectly useable forge. Damp clay would work better than "just" soil it can be rammed into shape and will hold it longer. The clay is an insulator to prevent the wood table from burning up. The clay will also form a perfectly fine fire trench. (I'm not sure of the correct term so don't quote me) A lot of us have just dug a hole in the ground, make absolutely  SURE it's mineral soil not organic! Organic soils burn and can smolder underground for a really long time. It's not uncommon for a ground fire to burn all winter under several feet of snow only to erupt mid summer in the arctic.

 

There are lots of options and we have hundreds of pages of how to from guys all over the world in the Solid Fuel forge section here. WE also tend to like helping folk who're wanting to catch the bug. You DO know blacksmithing is an addictive pursuit. Yes?

 

Frosty The Lucky.

[tomfromuk]

Hi, thanks for the warm welcome. 

 

I suppose ill just see what i can find and then see if i can make something useful from it. 

 

Thanks for the help

[the iron dwarf]

they are rims too here in most of the UK

[EtownAndrew]

I agree with your thinking that it is a really big fire. Some clay around the sides to reduce the fire size will be good. You may also want to add a table around the sides.

I wouldn't worry too much about the clay. You might let it dry for a couple days or a week if you can wait and then start a fire in it.

I suspect you will make occasional improvements to your forge. I have adding a chimney on my list of things to do for mine. The hair dryer that I use as a blower is not shown on the attached picture of my forge.