My 8 x 8 outdoor shop evolving , post vice ,anvil and forge, will put hand tools and hardy's In 5 gallon pails , this "roof "will allow me to forge more soon 

Finishing up outdoor "roof" tired of dragging stuff out of shed, now all I have to do is carry out hammers tongs chisel punches and hardy tools decades of gathering all coming together now

I might have to build something like that.  I currently have everything out side covered with tarps to keep the rain off, but I've been thinking about stringing a tarp above my triangle but a more substantial roof would be great.

Pnut

We had I think close to 70 inches of rain last year  here in southern Maryland...way more than normal, so many days if I had cover I could of done something,  plus i was working on ground and carrying everything in and out of shed, i plan on 2 forges propane and coal right next to each other, dont want any co poisoning and this small of a shop would not have been good for both heat and co .I plan on no electricity,  hand crank blower, if on occasion i want to use a toaster oven for tempering a knife or use a hand grinder I will just run a cord. Overall I lean more traditional vs modern tools I know propane is modern, hope I ain't ruffling anybody. A business I guess with production and Bill's to pay will use what they need for time saved nothing wrong with that

Bill, be sure and go into your Profile on the forum and enter your location.  You'll be amazed at how many people live near you who could help you in a lot of ways.  Location is important.  You aren't "ruffling" anyone with your choice of Propane.  We've a lot of people on the forum who use both.........all the time, and some only one or the other.  You'll find this is a very "forgiving" group of folks who just want to help new people get started.

Profile updated thanks, I'm not to computer savvy, more analog vs digital, I was the last class in navy that was taught vacuum tube theory .

 

 

 

Just now, bill duckworth said:

I was the last class in navy that was taught vacuum tube theory .

Now that you've shown your location, there might be a member living within an hours drive.  You may just find you've a lot of support, not only here on-line.

People have been forging industrial scale with gas since before the gas light days so you're just switching gas type not tools.

Frosty The Lucky.

 

I have no electricity near my forge either and was using a double action mattress pump. When the heat and humidity cranked up as summer proceeded I switched to an electric mattress pump powered by a rechargable jump starter/power station with a 120v outlet since running 200 feet of extension cord across a road and over the hill isn't really practical. The only drawback is that it's only six amps so I can't use any power tools rated at more than that but it does what I need it to do and that's power the electric pump.

Pnut

 

 

Time to invest in a gas powered generator.

8 hours ago, pnut said:

can't use any power tools

 

Too many thieves around. I don't have anywhere to store it. That's why I use a rechargable jumpstarter/power station. I just bring it inside with me, but the 120volt outlet on it is only rated for 6 amps so  any tools with higher amperage than that I can't use with it.

Pnut

Get a jenny and strap it to an ox-acetylene cart with the large (bicycle) wheels.  Great for rolling over terrain.  No need to leave it exposed to thieves.  Roll it into your residence and leave it by the door.

I Live in a tiny apartment. I don't have any extra room. If I put much more in it I'm flirting with hoarder status.

Pnut

And Iive on the third floor.

Edited August 8, 20196 yr by pnut

Gotchya............just makin' suggestions.

I simplified my life a little more than a year ago. I got rid of everything that wasn't essential and moved in to the apartment I live in now. I knew if I got a large apartment or rented a house I would fill it back up with a bunch of stuff I don't really need. My goal was to live an uncluttered life both figuratively and literally.  I appreciate any suggestions anyone makes. I didn't explain how much of a premium space is at in my current situation. I have considered chaining a generator to a tree near my work space but I think it would be too tempting for the tweakers to pass up. I've had my scrap pile stolen already. 

I think before I build a roof I might string a tarp above my work area and see how well that works or if I can find a cheap expandable awning I might give that a try.

Pnut

Downsizing is always a challenge.  I'm not even remotely capable of doing it, so my hat is off to you.

When we were building we used my Lincoln Ranger 9 welder generator for power but driving out one morning and finding the cable I locked across the driveway down with the lock cut I really started worrying. The son of the builder who was helping with the build used plywood and scrap lumber to build a "doghouse" over the Ranger and painted "FightO" over the doorway. 

It was good for a chuckle but what the hey. So, I drove a flange end of a broken axle in the ground through a link in a piece of crazy heavy tow chain I had. I leaned the axle away from FightO's like it'd been bent over and stuffed the rest of the chain in the doorway. (Yes it was wrapped around the Ranger and staked again) Lastly we kept an old large stainless bowl and a bucket of water by the door.

The back wall of FightO's lifted out for cooling and we used to talk to FightO every day, even tossed him the occasional bone. He became a fun good luck charm. He didn't live there alone for long though, I bought an old camper good for not much more than keeping the rain off and moved it to the wide spot in front of the Connex along the driveway and Deb's Border Collie "Bonnie" wasn't about to let ANYTHING get close without letting us know.

Frosty The Lucky.

I have that same basic setup it's worked well over last 6 years

 

Another variation is to make walls that hinge at the top with hinged drop down legs near the bottom. Then in bad weather you can open out your shed extensions to have more work room wit less water blow in.  Making them lockable when closed is left as an exercise for the student.

20 hours ago, Irondragon Forge & Clay said:

Time to invest in a gas powered generator

I found a horrible freight 63cc two cycle generator for  $125. It's not much bigger than the rechargable power supply I've been using. I may have to go ahead and take the leap. It's probably right around 1or 1.5 cubic feet. It's pretty small and would definitely be enough generator for my needs.

 

18 hours ago, Chris The Curious said:

Roll it into your residence and leave it by the door.

This one is small enough I can keep it inside and won't need a cart to tote it around.

Pnut

Hot Dog!  Maybe that'll work for you.

Finished roof installed temporary rail anvil,  and post vice have lag bolts holding down vice about 4 inch , taking them out and putting longer in soon , they are trying to work loose, usually work in shop at work, drove 400 miles round trip, then finished this and got boat ready to fish tommorow. Lol,

Shelter is looking good. I can't tell what that is under the leg of your vise. If it's not metal you should try to source some plate to put under the leg. Bricks or concrete will eventually crumble and wood will absorb too much energy. I looked on a real monitor and see it's a 4x4. If it's buried about six inches or so the end grain of the 4x4 you have should hold up for a while but you still may want a piece of plate at least 1/4 inch thick and a half inch would be better. Are you planning on using tarps to block the sides as needed for wind or rain? Sliding or folding doors on the side of the prevailing wind is also an option.

All in all I think it looks good and I may build one myself.

Pnut

Edited August 10, 20196 yr by pnut

Yes 4x4 under post, only 2 inches tall temporary... think bulge on bottom of post is missing yes I am Worried 

About wind driven rain or snow ....good luck with your build it's taken me decades to get where I'm at, too many hobbies, dont want a huge shop warranting totally enclosed, as a firefighter, retired... carbon monoxide is a real danger!!!...proper venting and modern detectors should be in a shop, CO is readily absorbed 400 times greater than Oxygen in blood stream, when I retired 9ppm was limit in a household, 35ppm time weighted average in a 8hr workplace and 400ppm was IDLH immediate death life hazard please heed or research current data  also there is what is called exposure and dosage it stays in your system for a while and multiple exposures can lead to fatal dosage so IDONT WANT TO work in a small space (confined) I plan on lag bolting a piece of angle iron to post to support bottom of leg, u are quite the detective

Immediate danger to life and health IDLH

Shop is also under huge oak tree about 3 foot plus around about 90 foot tall, closest neighbor about hundred foot away worries me when I plan to use coal probably when cold out and or raining otherwise use propane have a little trouble getting welding heat and noticed at 2018 abana conference side blast coal fire Smith had no problem forge welding wrapped eye tomahawk...which I want to make...have forge welded san Mai and some loops with 1/4 inch stock with my homebrew propane forge...but it's not reliable 

Pnut have u thought about maybe making a box bellow, no electricity required, no gasoline for generator I have a furnace blower on a pail that I used for charcoal forge , but dont want electricity, my dad gave me a caneday otto hand crank blower years ago, price has gone down on these guys , I guess because many using propane now