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drum forge piping

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ok so im finally building a forge....was supposed to build one 2 years ago... anyways im doing the typical brake drum forge but i will do it in a steel barrel anyways now the thing is the tubing/piping i know we are not suposed to use galvanized du to toxic fumes so thats off the list, i was told to use black iron pipes and fitings but im not sure what im looking for as online ive found black malleable iron pipes ive found black steel pipes and a bunch others so can anyone just link me to something usable just to get an idea of what i can really use since i really do not want to intoxicate myself 

thanks guys

You don't want cast iron black pipe (hard to weld) steel pipe works well but is actually heavier than needed but you can get screw together fittings . Automotive exhaust pipe is all the heavier you need and you can get flex pipe to connect the blower.

BTW: Did you ever get your blower rebuilt?

Unless you are exposing galvy directly to the flames or supper heated smoke, it won't get hot enugh to be an issue. A foot or two away from the coal/charcoal fire will be just fine. A 10-12" stack draws a lot of room air, this delutes/cools the smoke. I belive TP has a 12" irrigation pipe just down close to the table, another smith has a 12" ID pice of pipe with a door way cut in it and thin wall chimney pipe. So galvy is ok if you can put your bear hand on it. 

  • Author
19 minutes ago, Irondragon Forge & Clay said:

You don't want cast iron black pipe (hard to weld) steel pipe works well but is actually heavier than needed but you can get screw together fittings . Automotive exhaust pipe is all the heavier you need and you can get flex pipe to connect the blower.

BTW: Did you ever get your blower rebuilt?

yes check in my old posts i had a post on it 2 years ago

15 minutes ago, Charles R. Stevens said:

Unless you are exposing galvy directly to the flames or supper heated smoke, it won't get hot enugh to be an issue. A foot or two away from the coal/charcoal fire will be just fine. A 10-12" stack draws a lot of room air, this delutes/cools the smoke. I belive TP has a 12" irrigation pipe just down close to the table, another smith has a 12" ID pice of pipe with a door way cut in it and thin wall chimney pipe. So galvy is ok if you can put your bear hand on it. 

oh ok so basically for the pipe under the T fiting it would be fine to put galvanized but not upwards from that?

Well, I would acualy take another rought as to make a tuyere and ash dump costs over $50. Square tubing or exaist pipe fabed up cost a lot less. 

But to  your question, I would not personaly use galvy as the ash dump but it is probably safe.

  • Author

ok i wont use any galvy at all anyways but as for the tubbing i do like the idea of being able to take it down anytime i want and cost is not much of an issue as long as i stay in the 100$ budget its all good i was really just wondering about the metal is all, like i know galvy is bad but is there other metal pipes that i shouldnt use? cause like i said ive found what i need in black malleable iron wich i would do a build without welding as much as possible so i can take it down anytime but is black malleable iron good?

  • Author

nah i just ordered all the peices i need to build it,i really didnt want anything welded, i prefer the threaded pipe route to take down easily at anytime i want, i know it is more costly but i think since i might be moving the forge once in a while it might be better off that way and also probably better for cleaning it out, im going to pick up my 55 galon drums this weekend too so it will be just a matter of time to get those peices from the mail and theni can start making some charcoal and eventually start up hammering some hot metal from the forge :) im finally gonna get to use all tbat equipement i got haha

If you're planning on burning charcoal consider a side blast. You only need a straight pipe tuyere and charcoal burns much better in a side blast than a bottom blast.

If you're dead set on not welding, exhaust tubing can be screwed or riveted together easily. Just not as easy as mig or gas welded. The tuyere in my large coal forge is 4" exhaust for the vertical and 2" horizontal to the blower with a 4" exhaust stack flap cap clamped to the bottom of the vertical for the ash dump. I used my saber saw to cut the bolt flange welded to the top of the vertical and screwed it to the bottom of the table.

Fast and easy.

Frosty The Lucky.

When I made my forge back in '85 I used 3 inch malleable pipe and fittings. I welded the T fitting to the bottom plate of the fire box and screwed everything else together, leaving the big Champion blower hanging on the end unsupported. Well after about ten or fifteen years due to the weight and thermal expansion the weld failed and I found the blower & tuyere pipe laying on the floor.:(

I had to weld it all back together but this time I welded the tuyere pipe to one of the legs for additional support, so far it's holding fine. Like I said malleable pipe & fittings are heavy, if I had it to do over I would go with exhaust tubing.

I generally rebuild my forges every 10 years or so to make them more suited for what I'm doing at that time; of course my current firepot is about 30 years old and about time to go into it's 4th forge body.... This one even more demountable as I'm getting where I want things lighter and easier to pack...

  • Author

yeah ill see it is my first forge after all, hoping everything works out im picking up the 55 gallon drums tomorrow and start making charcoal asap i figure that i will need lots while learning

You will find a bottom blast forge burning charcoal very fuel hungry, a side blast with a 3/4" squedual 40 black pipe nipple for a tuyere and an appropriately small fire bowl and at least one wall to bank coals against to be much more conservative of fuel. The small tuyere will provide you with A 6" forgable heat zone (about all you can hand forge befor the heat gets away). Vickings forged swords and axes 6" at a time in small forges like that. Look over at the solid fuel/sideblast forge stickies. Besides, it will save you about $45 in pipe fittings...

infact for $10 you can pick up a double action pump for inflating air beds and rafts that will push just enugh air to burn steel...

so let's see. $10 steel drum, $10 "bellows", $5 tuyere $10 in insidentals...

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