Tyler Cech Posted June 3, 2018 Share Posted June 3, 2018 I’m thinking about making a forge. I believe that the best for me would be a coal forge. I am on a budget of the least possible amount. I’m thinking of making a forge out of a large metal bowl or plate with a brake drum stuck in the center that is all stuck on a big stand. I would have a pipe coming down for the hair dryer and ash dump. What I want to know is should I use refractory? What is the best quenchant? And what is the best metal for working with small knifes that will be quenched. Keep in mind, I don’t have many power tools to use. I have hammers, tongs, no belt grinder, no drill press.... etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted June 3, 2018 Share Posted June 3, 2018 Add your location Look up JABOD forge here on the forums Read the pinned posts in the KNIFE MAKING section Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyler Cech Posted June 4, 2018 Author Share Posted June 4, 2018 Ok, will do. What about hair dryers? Is that a problem of giving too much air? Or is it fine? Should I try buying a pump? Like I said I’m on a tight budget. Or would a bike pump work? I’m sorry so many questions I just want to make sure I do things right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 Did you read the Bellows, Blowers section on the site under Forges? Did you read the Solid Fuel Forges section of the site under Forges? Look up the 55 Forge, and the JABOD (all versions). I do not recall any of them using refractory, although some forges say "clay before using". What is the best quenchant should be covered in Heat Treating, general discussion The best metal for working with small knifes is covered in the BLADESMITHING section. Be sure to read the Heat Treating Knives, Blades etc in that section. Pack a lunch and a cold drink and spend some time reading the above listed sections of the site for answers to your questions and a whole lot more. Start with the stickies at the top of each section and move on from there. There is no perfect forge, tool, or process. There is what works and that is close enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyler Cech Posted June 4, 2018 Author Share Posted June 4, 2018 Ok, will do. Please stop posting before you read anything, you are asking basic question that have been answered too many times already Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 Your all right. We have all been where you are. The moderator is correct tho, most of your questions have been asked and answered many times before (often we get the same questions asked in less than 24 hours). Do just a bit of homework and then come back with questions spacific to your situation. (Project type, fuel type, budget etc) we want you to succeed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rojo Pedro Posted June 6, 2018 Share Posted June 6, 2018 If I were to start over, l would go with a side blast charcoal JABOD. Can be made for next to nothing and you could be pounding hot iron in an afternoon. have fun :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyler Cech Posted June 6, 2018 Author Share Posted June 6, 2018 i have been looking in plenty of places over IFI so excuse me if I can’t find it and I’m just reporting a question that has been asked plenty of times, but when I look through the JABOD forges and side blast forges I’m confused on the design and why they are better then forges like a brake drum forge. Please Endungen me on why they are the way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 6, 2018 Share Posted June 6, 2018 No welding needed. Better set up for using lump charcoal. Easier to modify to meet specific needs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted June 6, 2018 Share Posted June 6, 2018 Charcoal is less dense than coal, reacting differently coal works well in either bottom blast or side blast but charcoal burns so much more effecently in small sideblast forges, I can forge all day with half a big bag of charcoal in my side blasts. It’s just a particularity if the fuel. A simple sideblast is easy to build (scrap wood, old kitchen or dresser drawer, cut up oil drum, cheep machanics cart from HF...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 6, 2018 Share Posted June 6, 2018 Tyler: Much of what you read from the experienced folk is the results of empirical experience not research or scientific investigation. Looking for explanations of why many things work is all too often a waste of time. Basically this is an art so different things work for different people and everybody's opinion is their own and different from everybody else's. You need to exercise a little faith in many things here. Try what works and see what YOU think then adjust as you learn. Side draft is THE OLDEST blown fire on earth, beginning with the caveman who blew on an ember to get a fire going. In our experience side blast works better for a charcoal forge fire than bottom blast. Side blast also works very well for coal. The JABOD is just a portable hole you can set at any height you like and can make work safely.(You really don't want your forge tipping over you know.) If you want to experiment with how well one works dig a hole and save the lumber. The only difference is the box. Heck, pile dirt on a wooden kitchen table and make one at a convenient height, that works a treat I've done it. Used a yard sale blow drier for air too. A blow drier makes too much air for a charcoal forge just aim the outlet partly away from whatever piece of pipe you use for the tuyere iron. If you stack your bricks with a gap the pipe fits through try pulling it back and let the brick take the heat. If you have the right kind of clay in the garden you can make a ceramic nozzle. Don't over think this stuff it ain't rocket science. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted June 6, 2018 Share Posted June 6, 2018 5 hours ago, Tyler Cech said: i have been looking in plenty of places over IFI If you are using the search function on the forum, know it leaves a lot to be desired. A better search is to use your device's search function (like google) and include "iforgeiron" in the search string. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyler Cech Posted October 3, 2018 Author Share Posted October 3, 2018 Alright I’m back and I have finally created a forge, problem is the red cart I want able to use (I broke it) but I came across an old grill that was free at the end of my road. It’s filled with gravel as you can see and I used fire bricks rated for 2700 degrees Fahrenheit and a couple of red bricks for different spots. I decided todo this because I did not know how easy it would be to get hardened Clay out of a grill in case I wanted to change the design. My bellows is an old squirrel cage fan I pulled out of my barn. I rigged up a switch to the board it is screwed into to get airti the pipe so I can shut it off from the board. Blows through charcoal like crazy any better design? (I know similar answers are posted in other places in IFI which I have read just figured I would add this in) My anvil is not ideal but it did the trick for my first knife (knife looking object, a blank?) I haven’t hardened it or sharpened it I was gonna do that today but it was raining and there is no ideal space in my garage. Here are the pictures give me your suggestions in brick layout and over all design. I’ll hopefully get more and better pictures and videos in if needed thanks! 16FA6291-4FA2-4A1A-BFB1-DD567C83EED9.mov file Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wpearson Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 less air Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 If that pipe is galvanized, get it out of your forge NOW. Zinc oxide fumes are REALLY bad for your health. Black iron pipe is definitely the way to go. You're headed in the right direction. Keep at it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyler Cech Posted October 4, 2018 Author Share Posted October 4, 2018 (edited) How do you tell it steel is galvanized, I know what it means to have steel galvanized but how do you tell? Zinc is nasty stuff and I read some threads on IFI sounds like it’s not a good idea to use galvanized. Hopefully this picture will help you tell. Edited October 4, 2018 by Mod34 Excessive quoting removed. Please read the post on proper use of the quote feature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 It looks like it was once galvanized and has wear in spots. To be safe soak it in vinegar for a day or so then rinse it with baking soda & water to neutralize it. The zinc galvanization will be taken off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyler Cech Posted October 5, 2018 Author Share Posted October 5, 2018 Ok thanks for the help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dax Hewitt Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 Galve steel has a dull gray colour to it. It's quite distinctive if you know what you are looking it. Sheets of it like in the attached photo would typically have a pattern to it but pipes and smaller items don't tend to but the colour is a dead giveaway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 On a side note, the mottled pattern we see on galvanized steel is from the growth of zinc crystals as the melted coating cools. It's the same grain growth phenomenon that needs to be controlled in the heat treatment of steel, but larger and more visible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dax Hewitt Posted October 6, 2018 Share Posted October 6, 2018 I wondered what caused the pattern, thank you. Galve is rather annoying for me. I can get hold of loads on site, brackets, pipe, flat stock, bolts, nuts etc but 99% of it is galvanised with a good thick coating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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