Service Cart Forge

[FinnOnTheTank]

Since I will be moving into a new house soon I needed a forge that was portable. I'll be forging outside under a canopy until I'm able to build a shop/storage shed. I used a firepot from Fiery Furnace Forge, and a $55 36"x24" service cart from Harbor freight. I'm using a hair dryer for a blower right now until I can afford a hand crank blower. I do plan on cutting down some of the walls later on if i end up forging larger pieces. After a few uses im going to assess everything, and i may end up welding in a frame on the buttom of the top tray for better suppoer of the firepot.

 

 

 

[Frosty]

That'll make a nice one! I'd consider investing in a piece of cement backer board to lay under the fire pot rim to help isolate the sheet steel from the heat and minimize the chance warping.

Iook forward to seeing it in action.

Frosty The Lucky.

[FinnOnTheTank]

13 hours ago, Frosty said:

no reason to quote the entire preceding post

Thanks for the advice! I was wondering if i would need to insulate it. I just looked up the cement backerboard and I'm not seeing many that are smaller than 3'x5'. I'll have to find some that are smaller

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

If you have a store that sells wood stoves near by, they sell insulating boards to put under them and are easy to trim.

[FinnOnTheTank]

1 hour ago, Irondragon Forge & Clay said:

If you have a store that sells wood stoves near by, they sell insulating boards to put under them and are easy to trim.

I'll have to search for it around here in Georgia.

[Frosty]

Backer board cuts easily. Take it slowly with a skill saw and carbide blade. Do it outside, wear good eye protection and a dust mask. Or, you can score it deeply with a utility (box) knife and snap it like sheetrock. To make the center cut out for the fire pot, score the perimeter and make a deep X all the way through the center. It'll snap like sheetrock. I MUCH prefer to use a skill saw, it's just dusty. I'm not a pro however.

The idea isn't so much insulation is it is spreading the heat more evenly. The backer board will dissipate it more gradually so the sheet steel won't have a HOT spot surrounded by cool to cold which will warp it. You can ram damp sandy clay into it about 1"-2" and do the same thin, maybe better but it's a LOT heavier and clay with a forge fire in it has it's own issues. Not bad ones but it's something else to deal with. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[FinnOnTheTank]

11 hours ago, Frosty said:

no reason to quote the entire preceding post

So should I just have it under the firepot, or make it fit the whole tray? If I make it fit the whole tray, then it will be more flush. I feel like doing just the perimeter of the firepot is going to get annoying since the firepot will be sitting up a lot farther than the tray, so scraping the coal in won't be as easy.  I'll probably just use a utility knife for it, that way I dont have to deal with a ton of dust.

[Frosty]

I'd just cover the bottom of the cart it's not very thick, less than 1/2" IIRC. If you just want to do a spacer for the fire pot make it an inch or two wider and taper it so it's easy to scrape coal in.

I'm a KISS kind of guy, covering the whole bottom would be easier, waste less board be much less likely to break making and not take damage from rakes scraping up along the edges.

Frosty The Lucky.

[FinnOnTheTank]

I was able to get some 1/4” Hardie backing board today. I cut is to fit the 24”x36” tray, then I spray painted it from underneath to mark the hole. Thanks for the advice Frosty. I’m hoping to get it fired up at least by next weekend. I can make some brackets to tie down my anvil.

[VaughnT]

Very nice forge.

I had one similar to that many years ago, and still miss it.  To beef up the table and isolate the fire pot, I used regular red bricks and never had a problem.  Plus, they just looked "right" once they'd been covered with coal dust and all that other stuff.  Grouted the cracks wonderfully and I never had an issue with the bricks cracking or such.

One thing, though, is that your cart is out of compliance with a half-dozen smithing codes.  

While it's bolted at the corners, those bolts have a tendency to loosen and the whole thing gets wobbly.  As a blacksmith, your first order of business should be to forge some nice corner brackets that can be attached with self-tapping screws or the nut/bolt combo.  Not only will it look good, but it's a good practical skill and will stiffen up the design.  With a hammer/tong rack wrapping around the narrow end opposite the fire pot and some nice bracketry, you'll the the belle of the ball.

[FinnOnTheTank]

Thanks for the advice VaughanT. This is my first forge. It’s going to be an ever evolving project. I already planned on upgrading the corner posts later on with some stronger angle iron and also adding a rack for tongs. I’ve also found a half good that fits perfect for the cart. All I’ve done is heat up a 1/2” square rod in a temp forge so far. I just tapered the end and put a 90* bend in it. I almost have my anvil set up. I just have to borrow a chainsaw from my step dad when I see him in two weeks to get the log to the right height. After that I should be ready to really start.

[VaughnT]

No need to wait on a chainsaw.  Lumber makes a great "stump" and 4x4's are available at any lumber yard.  Cut them to the right height/length, stand them up, screw them together......  boom, instant stump that you don't have to worry about attracting bugs or splitting as it dries out.

And you can decorate them with iron banding and hand-forged nails as your skills improve.

Between the cart and the stump, you've got two wonderful canvases to decorate with your ironwork, and you can always replace things as your skill level grows.  That's half the fun.

Keep rocking on.  Every day is another chance to excel!

[FinnOnTheTank]

I already have the stump lined out and I have 2x4s screwed together around it to guide the chainsaw. It’s a large piece of white oak. It’s about half a foot too high right now. After I cut it I’m gonna smooth it a little with a belt sander. I already cleaned off the bark, and I plan on making some iron bands to put around it and hopefully minimize the splitting. I might use the remaining piece of log to gorge on since it will still be significantly thick. Maybe use it for forging bowls or the sort.

[ThomasPowers]

No need to buy stuff either; here are a couple of examples made from scrounged materials---floor planks from a scrapped horse trailer.  The scrapyard let me have them free as trash in the metal brings down the price they get for it.... (I've also used the nice wide planks from waterbeds, always seem to be a gracious plenty of them thrown out around the university after the Spring Semester...) 

Note the fittings were from the same scrapyard: Utility pole stuff and the bolts used out here to fasten guardrails to their wooden stantions. As I'm not concerned with the middle of them I can straighten bent ones cold and at 20 US cents a pound these stands ran me under $2.  I use an electrician's drill bit used to drill between wall studs.  I cut the wood to length with a saws all using a demo blade, stacked them on the open side of an I beam to get the bases aligned and pipe clamped them together and then drilled, bolted and dressed the top and DONE!)

The large solid piece stand(s) was a piece of mine timber my neighbor unearthed when leveling a field between our places. Had to use an old 2 man cross cut saw to cut it down---WD40 makes a good creosote remover for the saw blade afterwards.

To minimize splitting of fresh wood you need to coat the ends to slow their drying rate!

[Frosty]

If you leave the block about 2" too long you can miter your anvil in and not need to chain or spike it down. I didn't have a router available so I made a stand and turned the table out of the way to use my drill press. I covered the inside of the marks with holes to depth then cleaned it out with a wood chisel. You had to work to get my anvil out and there wasn't anything in the way.

The problem with a wood anvil stand when you own a Soderfors is the RING, it's loud enough to do hearing damage, just a couple missed blows and my ears would ring all night and I made a habit of wearing plugs and muffs. I welded up a steel tripod stand and it took care of the rig, it's still loud but not dangerously so.

Your forge table has a nice rim similar to the one on my little steel table. I made racks that slipped over the rim so I can move them around. I keep tongs on the forge, hammers on the anvil and wrenches, etc. on the vise. Those aren't hard rules of course but it's the main strategy. Keep the tools used most with the equipment they're used in association with most often. Hmmm? And oh gee, my anvil stand has the same rim around the anvil as the table so I can move hammers enmass if I need to. 

It's a production work technique that can come in darned handy.

Don't get in a hurry, rushing usually only makes your mistakes permanent more quickly. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[FinnOnTheTank]

Frosty, I wanted to do the router idea before. But I have no router and don’t know anybody with one. I don’t have a drill press yet either. The only tools i had before i started venturing into blacksmithing last month were automotive specific. I only have a little 60lb anvil right now, so I’m doing the wrapped chain attached to L brackets by and eyelet bolt. When I find a larger anvil I hope to have a router by then and I’ll probably do the depressed fit then. 

I do like the idea of keeping the tong rack a little mobile. I plan on making some form of hammer hold for the stump. As for my vise I still have to make a stand for that. I’ve seen people make a portable one with a semi truck brake drum. That may be the route I take. 

[ThomasPowers]

While the truck rim is heavy and can be rolled; a disk of steel plate that you can stand on works better---hard to pick yourself up! (and can still be rolled.)  Beveling the edge is nice if it has a goodly thickness.

[Frosty]

Spikes and chains it is then!  You have what you have. Look around the site, there are lots of good hammer rack ideas for wood anvil stands.

Ditto Thomas on the round flat plate! I HATE tripping over wheel rim/drum pedestal tools. I try hard to avoid designed in trip hazards, I'm sloppy enough without making them on purpose.

Frosty The Lucky.

[FinnOnTheTank]

Thanks for the input Thomas and Frosty. All I was thinking about was something heavy. Not weighing something down with my own body weight. Lol. I need as few trip hazards as possible. I trip around enough since my left leg is a prosthetic below the knee.

For the anvil tie down all I need is the chain and to make the brackets.

[ThomasPowers]

That's just cheating----you don't scream as much when you run your shin into a low lying anvil's horn!  (If I put an anvil on the floor to upset on I have to make really sure the anvil is not along a walking zone!)

[FinnOnTheTank]

I think that leg got banged up enough for a pass. Haha. I did catch the other shin on my horn a few weeks ago.