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I Forge Iron

Great, another hobby


duckrunner

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Hey all, newer than new guy checking in. Haven't even finished my first forge yet but I'm excited to get the last bits done so I can start beating on hot steel! All I need is some kaowool and refractory to get it all set and ready. And better yet due to my several other hobbies I have a whopping $8 tied up into this thing so far. My forge is an old air tank I had in my rock crawling Jeep, door is bolted down with the u bolts from the stock rear end I swapped out from said Jeep, forge stand is all left over bits from building roll cages, and my (temporary) anvil is a big chunk of 8.5"x8.5"x3/4" I beam with a couple edges profiled and gussets welded under the top to keep flex as minimal as possible. Don't knock it, it's free and temporary lol. Here's a few pics of what I've got going so far. Hope y'all like my budget oriented setup and I look forward to learning another craft!IMG_20170108_174150771.jpg14840160500501229804893.jpgIMG_20170108_030700209.jpgIMG_20170108_243936848.jpg

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Welcome aboard Duckrunner. 

I'm a fellow jeep enthusiast as well. 

I think you are going to find that I beam won't be very good for use as an anvil. It just doesn't have the mass you need and it will be super loud.

  There are many better things to use as an an anvil like rr track section stood on end, or a block of steel. You only Need about the diameter of your hammer face you are using tho bigger helps. The mass under where you will hammer is important. Before I really got started I had a heavier thicker chunk of I beam then that and it just won't do more then tiny work and is super loud.  I'm sure you would be able to source something better. 

I can't comment on the gas forge as I have no experience with them. 

Again welcome aboard and enjoy the journey. Don't forget to do some reading through the forum. There is a wealth of knowledge all through it. 

 

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I got most of my research from here, I know the I beam will pretty well suck but it's the best I had laying around. It'll work for now, I think. Probably not for heavy stock but I messed around with it last night and without heating up the extra piece I cut out for tge door hole banged out a piece I just couldn't resist adding. I got bored and am waiting for the rest of the stuff to finish the forge lol. I thought it was kinda funny anyways.IMG_20170109_225040745.jpg

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Lol, I see what ya did there Duckrunner. 

Keep hunting, you'll find something better.   It's great to use what you have until you find something better. 

Oh, how about a sledge hammer head? That would work as an anvil for heavier forging. 

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I've got a 50 lb bag of sandbox sand around somewhere, I'll rig something up with that, thanks for the tip! I install garage doors for a living and have seen a few people with old anvils, could've gotten a 200 lb brute last summer for $40 but didn't think I'd be picking up smithing. Should've jumped on that one. Maybe I'll find another one. For now I'll either try the sand thing or keep digging through junk piles and see what else I've got laying around. Crappy thing is there's fresh snow over everything outside now and I know I don't have anything better in the garage.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 1/10/2017 at 1:25 PM, duckrunner said:

I install garage doors for a living 

Save the broken torsion springs; they are a good source of ~1/4" round spring steel stock, once you straighten them out. Just be careful about any plating on them; soaking in a vinegar bath before you heat them up would be prudent.

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That is awesome... Yep, next set of commercial springs I do I'm keeping the old ones! My only worry is when these springs break it's because they're structurally worn out inside and fatigued. Is that going to be an issue with the final product or will the forging kind of fix it?

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Yes he needed a more rigid set up in general.  I've done the "put onto a vertical piece of pipe in a rigid postvise grab the lower end and run out the door of the shop and across the alleyway" technique on a fairly light spring---you get a LOT of stock from a good one!

Duckrunner you may want to think of stockpiling some and sell them at a conference---like quad-state where you don't even need to sit at a table to sell.

Heating above the dislocation climb temperature will deal with work hardening; but not micro cracking.  All I can suggest is try it and see---and in this weather don't let it contact quench on cold surfaces.

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