hmaxims Posted May 13, 2016 Share Posted May 13, 2016 My Godfather has been blacksmithing since I was little and I'm 45 now. I was always amazed at his creations. I caught the bug a few years ago and have been reading up on it. My Dad gave me a truck brake drum to start my own forge a few years ago. I bought a metal table at a local metal salvage yard. Its probably a little too big, but I figure it will hold tools. After checking out what I saw on this forum, I realized that it was WAY too deep (photo # 2), so 3 cutting wheels and 6 sawzall blades later, I have a shallower fire pit (Photo # 3 is finished product). I had to weld tabs on the bottom to hold it level with the table. I wanted to ask for some opinions before I started welding too much more. All I have for some border is the two angle brackets to keep the coal in the table. I need to get some more. I also have the supplies to make the blower. Don't mind the vice, that will be removed. I used it for holding metal while I cut outside. I hated sweeping up metal in my garage. Unless people think that it might work out where it is? I also have the anvil that was my great-grandfathers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted May 13, 2016 Share Posted May 13, 2016 good start, but I fear you may find the angle iron on top of the tab;e gets in your way. hard to heat in the middle of a long bar that way Welcome to the forum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSW Posted May 14, 2016 Share Posted May 14, 2016 6 hours ago, hmaxims said: My Godfather has been blacksmithing since I was little I have a vision of the stereotypical Italian mob boss in his pin stripe suit and fedora working the forge while in the back ground there are two over sized knuckle draggers who could crush bricks with their bare hands, in cheap suits standing politely there waiting for instructions. Welcome to IFI! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmaxims Posted May 14, 2016 Author Share Posted May 14, 2016 As much as I wanna get started, that's why I ask! Easier to not weld then to cut and grind. Would you leave them off completely then, or just a smaller edge? DSW - didn't even think of that. Marlon Brando with coal dust all over his face... Lol Looks like the well used anvil I have is a Peter West. I did some research online, looks like the very tip of the horn is missing and the face is missing two good chunks on one side/corner. Knowing that my great grandfather ran a team of horses to deliver his dairy milk and he probably used this anvil thousands of times, I still wanna use it a few times myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSW Posted May 14, 2016 Share Posted May 14, 2016 My forge table has angle iron edges to keep the coal on the table from making a mess on the floor. However I have two notches cut in the angle across from each other set up so the steel goes thru the heart of the fire. My table is long and narrow, so I do loose some stuff out the notches, but not so much that it's a big deal as long as you pay attention to what you are doing. The pict is a bit deceptive. The sides aren't quite as high as they look in that picture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Evans Posted May 14, 2016 Share Posted May 14, 2016 The commercial Alcosa hearths over here always had a drop in/removable section in the side for when you needed long bars to pass through. My current version is a flat bed with a 40 x40mm angle frame/upstand and section from an old cart wheel tyre sitting loose on the front to retain the heap of coke. The fire sits on a bed of 60x30mm (23/8"x 13/8" ) steel flats set on edge with 600mm (24") long 5mm (3/16") air slot gaps between. There are a couple of loose 12mm (1/2")plates which can restrict the length of the fire and a couple of loose block which contain it along the length.The bed top is pretty much flush with the top of the angle frame. So the fire sits very high compared to most others. With coke you keep a heap on the hearth so that it dries out a bit to reduce the amount of spitting/splitting when cold damp coke meets intense heat. A lot of people have a leg vice attached to the hearth, I have seen it often. Sometimes for quick access when hot bending, twisting and chiselling. Sometimes just because the hearth was a handy object to anchor it to. If it works for you, great! You are allowed to do it, no rules. Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arkie Posted May 14, 2016 Share Posted May 14, 2016 My forge is similar to DSW's, with a 1 1/2" angle iron rim all the way around. I like to pile up my coal on the table, so I made some "sideboards" out of 1/8" x 3" bar stock to raise the sides to prevent spilling coal. To facilitate long and/or wide pieces, I made the sideboards removable by welding on 1/8" x 1" x 3" tabs inside and outside of the sideboards that slip over the edge of the angle iron rim. Since those pictures were taken I have added a hood, but left spaces on either side to remove the sideboard(s). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmaxims Posted May 17, 2016 Author Share Posted May 17, 2016 My first tool, a coal rake. More like an afternoon bending metal then forging it. But considering it took me 3 tries to ight the coal, I'll take it!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Everything Mac Posted May 24, 2016 Share Posted May 24, 2016 You could always put long material across the forge at a 45 degree angle - its not contacting the angle iron that way... Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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