Claying a brake drum forge

[Joseph Burton]

I have been blacksmithing for several years and last year I decided to make a brake drum forge. I have since taken that and modified it heavily by adding a table around it to coke the coal, and make it easier to work with. Now, my brake drum forge has effectively become a fire pot, rather than a forge. One of the biggest and most frustrating things that has come up with this is that the drum is so deep, I can only stick stuff in point first and heat up a couple inches, I can't lay the piece across the forge. 

Now, my question is, could I clay the drum to make it narrower, cut down the sides to make it resemble and function more like a fore pot?

Also, some more clarification on claying would be great as well. All I have been able to find on the internet is ambiguous and I don't fully understand the process of it or what exactly to use.

Anyway, hopefully you understand what I'm getting at 

[Frosty]

Welcome aboard Joseph, glad to have you. If you'll put your general location inn the header you might be surprised how many of the IFI gang live within visiting distance.

Sure, you can clay the drum to suit your needs. What kind of clay isn't terribly important, it's not going to fire like ceramic. My preference is a mixture of 2-3 pts. sand to 2pts clay. Add just enough water so it will clump into a hard ball in your hand and break cleanly. If it leaves smudges on your hand it's too wet, if it crumbles it's too dry. Leaving it in a sealed container over night will distribute the moisture evenly throughout though you're not casting so tempering isn't so important. The sand serves a couple purposes, first it strengthens it like gravel in concrete, it also allows some movement so thermal shock is less likely to check it AND it helps moisture to vent without building pressure and spalling the liner.

Then I prefer to ram it in the pot, on the table, etc. till the mallet bounces. If you burnish it with a little burlap clinker won't stick as easily and you won't get as much dust in/on your work. Let it dry completely before you fire it off and light a small fire for the first one.

A rammed liner is stronger than a mud mix. As the mud mix dries the volume taken up by the water causes it to shrink and check, crack like a dry pond. Rammed is also significantly denser than a mud mix so it's stronger and more resistant to thermal shock.

Frosty The Lucky.

[Michael Cochran]

May I ask what kind of forge you were using before you decided to go to a break drum? I've only been at this for a few years and going to a drum would be like going backwards in my opinion. 

[Charles R. Stevens]

Easest way I onow to make a breakdrum corge shalower is to switch to a bullet grate, drill a 3/4" hole in the center of a 2" black pipe cap, and screw a short 2" niple in the end. Set this in the botom of your foge. If the fire ball is to high cut down the niple untile the fire ball is just right. Ash will fill in the space and hold the grate. A handy side efect is that clinker drains away and formes a "donut" around the cap, below the air inlet. Claying the pot, as frosty describes is very useful for resizing the pot, if it is to gig. 

[Joseph Burton]

Thanks for clearing some things up for me, Frosty! Hopefully I can get around to claying the forge sometime soon!

May I ask what kind of forge you were using before you decided to go to a break drum? I've only been at this for a few years and going to a drum would be like going backwards in my opinion. 

​I have been volunteering as a historical interpreter at a pioneer living history museum for about 5 years, that's how I discovered blacksmithing. There I was using a brick forge with huge double chamber bellows. I have built the brake drum forge at my house, so I can forge at home. Haha, ya I get what your saying though, a brake drum forge certainly wouldn't be an upgrade from a real forge. 

[Michael Cochran]

Gotcha, I understand now.

[Charles R. Stevens]

Hes sir, a bellows operated sideblast to a break drum is slumming it