Sabre Posted May 22, 2008 Share Posted May 22, 2008 what will be a good firepot? i want one that is small and 2-4 inches deep but dont have 24-7 access to a welder so would like to stick to somthing like a bowl or ect but it needs to be strong. yes 1 million people will prolly say use a brake drum but they suck and are heavy anoying chunks of steel. i would like the firepot to go into my steel table so i can make a pile of coal arrounnd it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racer3j Posted May 22, 2008 Share Posted May 22, 2008 How about a large cast iron skillet? A tuyere, a blower, 1 throw away hole saw, 2 welds. I will see if this works this long weekend. Fire brick or shapable stove cement.mt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nett Posted May 22, 2008 Share Posted May 22, 2008 brake drums may suck and are heavy annoying chunks of steel, but golly gee, some drums are 2-4 inches deep and could be dropped into a hole in a steel plate without any welding , making for a large forge that is mean enough to hold up for a long, long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keykeeper Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 So, tell the internet blacksmithing community why brake drums are bad. Have you experience with them? What went wrong? Inquiring blacksmiths want to know. Or, is it because some fella with a website said so? Until you have tried one, and decided for yourself, you might want to refrain from making biased statements about things like that. My first forge used a brake rotor as a firepot. So, did it suck, also? Let's see, it brought metal up to heat fast, would make more fire than I needed, and was easily replaced if need be. Yep, it was a piece of junk. And I enjoyed every minute that I used it forging. Use what is accessible to you. Build a forge. And get busy. That's all there is to it. Don't get hung up on what other's tell you. Try it and go on if you don't like it. And I consider myself a "newbie", by the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FieryFurnace Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 I agree with "nett!" Also, any fire pot you get, whether a $5.00 brake drum or a $120.00 real deal, is going to basically be a "heavy chunk of steel". I have sold about $300.00 worth of products made in my brake drum forge. In addition, my "real deal" forge weighs more than my brake drum rig. Don't shun the brake drum, like "nett" said, it will fit in your sheet without welding. Sometimes you have to just get by until you can save enough money (or in my case, get a really good price on a forge) to buy or build your own "real deal" "big time" forge. Good luck and stick with it! The kidsmith, Dave Custer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBrown Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 My first forge was a brake drum stuck in a flower pot holder. My second forge was a larger brake drum stuck in a metal tabel with the hole cut out for it to fit. The second one is my every day shop forge iv been using it for about 5 years it works good i get my metal just as hot and as fast as a comercial $200 to $300 at almost no cost but a little labor and some minor purchased items id say iv got less that $20 tied up in it. Would i buy a comercialy made fire pot? Shure i would if i can get one for about the same price i put into my curent one because i basicly dont need it. You have to ask yourself what is a fire pot? All it is is something to contain your fire in a consentrated area to keep a good hot fire and maintain it. Heck if it wasnt for my bad back id go real cheep and just dig a hole in ground and use that it was good enough way back when i bet it will still work good enough today. The fire pot doesnot make some one a good smith or a bad smith its what you do with the meatal after you pull it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johannes Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 I'l generally not a fan of brake drums either (and i have used one) but thats a matter of personal preference, to me their to small, but sticking them in a big metal table might help allot. What everyboddy here said id verry true, use what you have, or have acces to, and start from there. I f you can find an old sidewalk drain pot somewhere, theire heavvy cast iron, and about the perfect shape... or a piece of industrial big diameter high presure tubing, , cut a piece lengthwise an put a tyre in, or a cast iron cilinder lid from an old tractor engine.... just be creative, go to the junk yard or the old metal merchand.. and figure out for yourself, but, read some of the books first, so you'l have a keen understanding what your suppost to be looking for. Also, if you don't have acces to a welder, by all means get some, my first welding post was a big heavy rusty thing, verry mechanical en noisy stickwelder, but it penetrates deeper than most modern welders, and, i'v got it for free! look around ask around you can often by these old school oold heavy buzzing boxes for a few dollars. I still use mine allot! and find someone to teach you the basics with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metalmaster1766 Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 brake drums may suck and are heavy annoying chunks of steel, but golly gee, some drums are 2-4 inches deep and could be dropped into a hole in a steel plate without any welding , making for a large forge that is mean enough to hold up for a long, long time. exactly what i did, cut a hole a bit smaller into a steel table top with wheels, a let the brake drum sit up high enough so i could stack firebricks around it and make it as deep as i want i dont have any good pictures of it, but here is the only pic i do have of it, all you can see are the bricks stacked up to make the fire pot about 5.5 inches deep, it is 3 inches without the bricks there are 10 bricks laying on top to deepen the pot, take them off and the bricks under them are even with the top of the brake drum, they rest on a 26 inch square steel table with a hole cut in it for the drum if you like i can try to get a few better pics of it, i may go and get some later today anyway seeing how i cleaned everything off the top of it last week Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MooseRidge Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 My first forge was made of wood with Redi-Mix Concrete for the pot, 2 pieces of black pipe with an elbow and an end cap (drilled holes in cap for air) and a hair-dryer.... had to replace the concrete about every 6 days, but only took a day to cure.... Work with what you can get, think of, find, or buy.... get started thinking of things to make and things to learn/practice... The equipment does make the smith.... ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabre Posted May 23, 2008 Author Share Posted May 23, 2008 wow mooseridge that would be anoyin to have to replace all the concrete!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hofi Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 ''BRAKE DRUMS'' are a very good and cheap solution !!!!!!!! very easy to fabricate operates very very good and very verstile in sizes, deep -shelow, small or big diameter. last very long because the quality of the casting. I fabricated some of them for my students and offered to many newbies and they are still heating steel all the last 10-12-13-14-15-16- years and they will go for more !!!!!!!!!!!!! and if ''1 milion people say something may be ,only may be they are not wrong'' LISTEN'' HOFI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donnie Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 It amazes me how folks nowadays seem to think that more expensive equipment will automatically make them a better craftsman. I think if you have a source of heat, a hammer and anvil of some sort, the rest has to come from within. By the way, I have been using a brake drum for years, very satisfied with it......reckon I didn't know any better.....ignorance is bliss ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MooseRidge Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 wow mooseridge that would be anoyin to have to replace all the concrete!!! Like I said, my first forge... all I had access to at the time, but it was cheap, fast, easy, and it worked! Still have my 2nd forge, getting old now, made with a 16 guage sheet top, half a cultipacker blade (solid side) and wood frame.... Still use it outside for melting lead..... Inside the shop is a centaur forge firepot, steel table and hood.... it took YEARS to get to that level.... years I spent using the equipment I had..... good luck... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KYBOY Posted May 30, 2008 Share Posted May 30, 2008 (edited) I use a forge made from the bottom of a 55 gallon drum. The bottom is layered with clay/dirt and firebox is made from firebrick. Basically everything was free except for the tuyere. My forge is inside now with a hood I made but here is a pic of it firing outside and a pic of my counter weight ash dump and tuyere. Edited May 30, 2008 by KYBOY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simmonds Posted May 30, 2008 Share Posted May 30, 2008 Basically, brake drums make horrible forges if fitted with legs and used with no table (the famous INTERNET brake drum forge design), but if you cut a hole in some heavy plate, supported in a sturdy angle iron stand or something similar and drop in the brake drum to use as the fire-pot, you have an EXCELLENT forge. If constructed well, fitted with a nice ash dump and possibly even clinker breaker design and fed with a proper air supply with sufficient volume, this forge will work every bit as well as one with a commercial fire-pot. And with proper scrounging can be made for FREE or very little $$$$. Chris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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