JABOD BBQ forge?

[Sparky_Wolf]

So my first ever forge was a plaster of paris sand mix in a bread pan with a 6" black iron pipe leading to a crappy forge blower. cost like $20 and i made a breadknife with a 75lbs dumbell as an anvil. now then when that forge broke I used a korean bbq clay pot thing along with a copper tube as a blower in the fire place. Then a hole in the ground with a hairdryer using a sledge hammer head as an anvil. I then got a 50lbs or a 70lbs anvil (I can't remember and don't know how to tell) and mounted it to a cinder block (which broke in a week) and made a new JABOD bbq that has the air intake on the side. I have since moved to a better location (old one was a plastic garage tent thing) and am having problems with ash and the hair dryer is becoming obsolete and annoying to keep in place ( I didn't have enough extra piping to effectively connect the hair dryer, and it gets quite hot along with the funnel i made out of a water bottle) and the funnel keeps warping and falling off, along with not being very efficient for getting air through the pipe to the coals. With the whole backstory done, I was wondering what other forge options there were other than a bbq with 65lbs of dirt in it and a crappy forced air system. I was thinking of getting a little metal tool cart and trying to make a bottom air fed JABOD forge out of that like ThoffmanApis.

 

Basically is there a better but also relatively inexpensive and easy forge other than a modified charcoal bbq? I would like to put it on a stand as well, I'm already past that caveman era. I apologise if it is hard to read I just had a rough time with my forge and other things today, and thus why I am making this post.

 

Thanks, Sparky

 

Edit: just realized it's called side blast.

Edited July 25, 2019 by Sparky_Wolf
illiteracy

[Frosty]

Sure, that little forge on a cart is a nice set up. You can make it side or bottom blast and if you're careful change it around till you like it. 

What diameter pipe are you using for the tuyere in your current forge? A blow drier typically makes way more air than you need, sounds to me like your blast pipe is too small. 

Check out a local plumber and see if you can bum some iron pipe he's removed from a job. If you can't find a piece a foot or so long you can extend it with exhaust pipe, asking at a muffler shop while bearing a box of doughnuts can result in dumpster privileges.

Just don't get in a rush Sparky, all hurrying is good for is making your mistakes permanent more quickly.

Frosty The Lucky.

[pnut]

Browse through the solid fuel forge posts for some inspiration. MarkIII jabod is portable and cheap to build. Free if you substitute dirt for the cat litter. As soon as you build one you'll start seeing possible jabods everywhere you look. 

Pnut