Hoary Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 While just surfing the internet, I happend to stumble over a site for building box bellows. I think it's absolutely ingenious!!! But then again, i've never even used one before so I don't know any draw backs. If anyone has please I'd like to hear some feedback. over all it seems like a worthwhile project to complete for over all education. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeaverDamForge Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 I built one to start out (I'm not that far along) and it works great for me. I used the widest (~17") piece of some prefinished 1/4" plywood scrap I had from a cabinet shop. It has a very smooth surface on one side, you can see a reflection on the top of the manifold in the first pic, where I put the good side out. I made the height and width the same for maximun area. The length is 24" so I could get 4 sides out of the piece I had and it provides a good stroke length. The valves are 1/4" ply with (red) duct tape on one side to (maybe) seal better and duct tape for a hinge. I put stiffeners on the sides to reduce flex and cut the corners out of some 2x4's I had. It's glued and stapled together except for the ends and manifold which are attached with screws for convenience and maintenance. You can see I switched the ends so I could put it on the left side of the forge. The manifold is "chinked" with hot melt glue outside, has 3/4" square pieces inside to staple to. The piston is a piece of 3/4" ply with a chunk of 2x4 on either side where the push rod goes through. It's cut about an inch smaller than the inside dimension of the box, and I used a round piece of foam ("backer rod" at Lowes) to pad the edge. There's a piece of towel over it to seal, stapled on either side of the piston. I also used a piece of towel to seal around the push rod at the front. A piece of rubber hose for a grip and a rolled up piece of tape plug the pushrod after cutting to a good length. Edit: I should mention the push rod goes through the piston far enough to be a stop so the piston doesn't hit the exhaust valve hole, and a piece of larger tubing around the pushrod serves as a stop on the back stroke. In use, I've only messed with charcoal and wood, not coal (although the forge has gone through some changes since this pic). With lump hardwood charcoal, you'll get a lot of fleas if you start pumping hard. With wood you get a lot of embers & ash. When starting with newspaper I have to be careful not to blow it out at first. I think it would provide plenty of air for the average forge. To me, it's much simpler than a (traditional?) bellows to build, takes up less room, and allows an electricity-free shop. I do use a fan to blow smoke out of the smithy, mostly so passersby don't think it's on fire. But I'm getting off the subject here... Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 Having used both Ric Furrer's box bellows (very nicely done!) and a double lunged bellows I built myself; I found that my double lunged bellows was much better as I could pump it with my pinkie and it kept continous air flow to the fire when needed without having to be continuously pumping the handle like the box bellows. Very handy to be able to switch tooling or grab a swig of water during a welding heat! Now my double lunged bellows did take up a whole lot more space and I have run into some that have been set up so they were a PITA to use which is why I mentioned the comparison was between *my* bellows and *Ric's* box bellows. For a portable set up the box bellows is a clear winner on ease of transport. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 No; I was the helper for Ric's Quad-State demo on "3 ways of making steel" and so was a bit occupied with the bellows for the orishnagane. Pretty standard box bellows, well made, and fairly large. My double lunged bellows was given on when I moved as it was due to be rebuilt and I was out of room to move it. I need to build another one and will take pictures when I do so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeaverDamForge Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 Thanks, AM! I haven't used a lung type bellows but a book I got recently, The Blacksmith by Aldren A Watson, has a chapter on constructing one. I haven't read that chapter but it has very detailed diagrams, you could probably just go by the pix. If you have room, they can be mounted overhead, out of the way. Leather is prone to decomposing and being eaten, I wonder how Tyvek would do... Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 I used the heavily treated canvas used on oil well drilling rigs for mine. Worked fine for over 20 years with no maintenance---the wood was what was giving out when I moving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 BP0141 Building a Bellows BP0127 Bellows Construction Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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