I have just purchased a fabricated steel firepot from a gentleman online. I am waiting for it to arrive and I am hoping to have the forge base completed soon. The problem? I don't have a welder and I am not looking to purchase one (at this time). I know I could find someone i know who welds, but I was curious if anyone had any ideas for possibly using angle iron/square tubing/ sheet metal to create a base for my firepot to sit in. I have an angle grinder for cutting, I am just unsure if a bolt together forge would hold up to the abuse that a forge goes through. If anyone has any ideas or opinions on the matter, I am all ears. Thank you!

The biggest concern is making sure that your forge is strong enough to support its own weight as well as the combined weight of fuel, workpiece, any forge tools that are lying on it, tool rack on the side, etc, etc. If you have a beefy enough steel plate for the hearth (say, 1/4" x 24" or more square), cut a hole with your angle grinder to drop your firepot in place, and build a frame out of whatever you have on hand, held together with whatever's strong enough for the job. Don't get fussy: get forging!

Rivets are just simipermenant bolts, and rivets have been used for a long wile to make sheet steel forge hearths, bolts will be fine.

They used to make battleships by riveting; perhaps you could figure a way to make a forge strong enough....

Just cut a hole for the firepot out of some sheet steel as JHCC suggested. For the frame you can just screw some 2x4s together and set the sheet steel on it.

Cranes and heavy equipment, which rattle and go through infinitely more abuse than forges, are held together with bolts. Get some grade 8 bolts and make sure they aren't coated with zinc if they are near the fire. 

My forge is one of those cheap BBQs you can get for like $20 at the corner store. It's still held up by the flimsy little nothing legs it came with. So I'd think bolted together angle iron would hold up. 

why in the world would anyone need grade 8 bolts for a forge table ?

To spend un-needed money of course!

3 hours ago, Steve Sells said:

why in the world would anyone need grade 8 bolts for a forge table ?

Because the table is made from 1/4" plate? The large forge I built back when I thought I could dig my own coal is 4' sq. and made with 16 ga. It is welded though but you can buy stock that's drilled on 1" centers and takes carriage bolts almost anywhere. Oh wait those are shelf/bench kits, leave off a shelf? 

Make the hole just large enough the fire pot slips in and rests on the rim. In a former life I used an old washing machine door flipped upside down and a brake drum. The rim on the table and the brake drum let me pack it with damp adobe for a nice hard forge table.

Frosty The Lucky.

I generally just use grade 8 for anything that will hold weight. It's probably because I have access to all the grade 8 bolts I want for free. I guess check the prices at your local hardware and go with what you feel safest with.

Grade zero bolts from the hardware store are plenty strong for this application

3 hours ago, genesaika said:

I generally just use grade 8 for anything that will hold weight. It's probably because I have access to all the grade 8 bolts I want for free. I guess check the prices at your local hardware and go with what you feel safest with.

I made a lot of stuff from seamless, DOM, mechanical tubing because we put so much in the scrap too. I'd sure like to have a bit now, it's perfect for making the hinge on a jib boom crane, the  Bx casing and  N stem telescoped with about 1/32" clearance, perfect for a little grease. 

Dull drill bits were throw away, it cost more to pay someone to sharpen one than just grab a new one. The shop guys used to keep coffee cans full for me by the drill presses.

Large operations have different economies than small shops, the guys in supply used to give me boxes of nuts, bolts and fasteners without logging them. Cost more to record than they paid for them. Lots of benefit to buying things like this hundreds of even thousands of lbs. at a time. Seriously, supply ordered fasteners bought several tons of common sized nuts, bolts a couple few times a year.

Try to get a new tape measure out of them though and you'd better have a good reason, they bought you one just two years ago!

Frosty The Lucky.

4 hours ago, genesaika said:

I generally just use grade 8 for anything that will hold weight. It's probably because I have access to all the grade 8 bolts I want for free. 

before u retire stock up on free stuff. I had lots of free oil, freon, nuts & bolts, lubricants, etc, & more Lol before I retired.

Prices now blow my mind. Good luck

Thank you all for your ideas and insight. For the sake of my sanity (and pocket book), I will probably just go with the 1/4" steel hearth and 2x4's idea to get started. Eventually I can fabricate a more permanent solution for the stand itself.

23 hours ago, JHCC said:

The biggest concern is making sure that your forge is strong enough to support its own weight as well as the combined weight of fuel, workpiece, any forge tools that are lying on it, tool rack on the side, etc, etc. If you have a beefy enough steel plate for the hearth (say, 1/4" x 24" or more square), cut a hole with your angle grinder to drop your firepot in place, and build a frame out of whatever you have on hand, held together with whatever's strong enough for the job. Don't get fussy: get forging!

Too true!

1/4 inch is over kill unless you already have it in your “resource pile” 1/16” is probbably plenty on a 30” table,  30” square is a nice size, with 30x60 being near ideal if you have room. Center the pot at one end. You don’t have to worry about securing the plate to the legs as gravity will take care of it if their is a rim to keep it from being bumped sideways. A simple angle iron from (an inch or so helps keep the fuel on the table) with angle iron legs and a bit of bracing makes a nice looking forge, tho a simple wooden frame (even a salvaged “harvest table” or farm house table frame works. As do old steel desks 

2 hours ago, Charles R. Stevens said:

1/4 inch is over kill unless you already have it in your “resource pile” 1/16” is probbably plenty on a 30” table,  30” square is a nice size, with 30x60 being near ideal if you have room. Center the pot at one end. You don’t have to worry about securing the plate to the legs as gravity will take care of it if their is a rim to keep it from being bumped sideways. A simple angle iron from (an inch or so helps keep the fuel on the table) with angle iron legs and a bit of bracing makes a nice looking forge, tho a simple wooden frame (even a salvaged “harvest table” or farm house table frame works. As do old steel desks 

Well I just bought the 1/4" before I read this ha ha! Oh well. Better too much than too little, right? Now I just need to wait for the firepot to come in. I probably could have made it a bit bigger, but I think 24"x36" should be good for my first forge. I don't think I will be making anything too big to start out.

 

Yeah, you already have it, use it. You'll want to put a couple diagonals between the table legs so it doesn't want to wobble. One on a side, one on an end will do the job just fine. Don't forget to make a shelf to rest on the spreaders. Handy things shelves. A steel bucket under the ash gate with a little water is a good way to contain ash and burning cinders while keeping dust down.

The only major thing missing is a rim around the forge table. Even 1" angle iron rim goes a long way to keeping coal, charcoal, round tools, etc. from rolling off the table. Believe me ANY tool or piece of a project WILL roll under the  most inconvenient thing possible. Seriously!! A rim is also a good place to hang tool racks for your tongs, fire tools, lunch box, etc. 

A rim doesn't need to be welded or even attached really. A piece of thin angle iron and a hack saw is all you need. Notch the corners so it will bend in nice clean 90* corners. 3 notches and it comes back to the beginning corner and there are lot of ways to connect them without welding. OR you could start in the middle of a side or end with a square cut and a little overlap on the rim and cut 4 notches for the corners.

Rivets, pop rivets, nuts and bolts, metal screws, etc. to make joins. Easy Peasy.

Frosty The Lucky.

The angle iron edges on the forges at ESSA are just straight pieces (4 of them) held in place with 3/8 round stock (with a forged eye) dropped through matching holes in the angle and table. Easy to pull the pins and remove the table edge as needed.