williamtd Posted April 7, 2020 Share Posted April 7, 2020 My new solid fuel forge. The table is 2ft x 3ft made from a sheet of 3/16 (4mm) mild steel, for the lip I used 4in x 3in angle iron to both support the table, provide a lip and allow me to bolt the top assembly to the legs which are made from 2in x 2in angle. For the firepot I used 3/8th plate welded along the edges with a 4in square hole in the base I then welded a 1/2in plate over the bottom and cut out a 3in square hole for the ash dump/ air intake, for the ash dump I used 3in square tube and 2in square tube for the air pipe cut to 2 x 45° angles so that I had a gentle 90° (which is better for air flow). Because of slope from air pipe into the ash dump I added a mini dump/inspection port at base of the turn on the air pipe. For the blower I'm going to use a 1800w hair dryer until I find something more permanent. At the bottom I have also put pictures of my homemade anvil she weighs about 150lb and is made from 2 x 1and 5/8th plates bolted together Comments and criticisms are welcome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted April 7, 2020 Share Posted April 7, 2020 Your forge looks good. I seen one very similar on Reddit. Is it the same one? Pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamtd Posted April 7, 2020 Author Share Posted April 7, 2020 Maybe I've been designing it for about 6 months and using YouTube, pinterest and Google searches for ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted April 7, 2020 Share Posted April 7, 2020 I was wondering if you posted a pic of it in the r/Blacksmith sub on Reddit. I thought you might have been the same person. Pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamtd Posted April 7, 2020 Author Share Posted April 7, 2020 No sorry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted April 7, 2020 Share Posted April 7, 2020 Well; not knowing what you plan to do makes it hard to comment on the applicability of that forge to the task(s). Looks good for intermediate to larger forging, though the firepot looks a bit narrow and deep for my tastes for using bituminous coal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamtd Posted April 7, 2020 Author Share Posted April 7, 2020 Thomas powers I plan to do everything from small gate hooks to forge welding, heavy stable door hinges for horses to bladesmithing. 4 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said: the firepot looks a bit narrow and deep for my tastes for using bituminous coal. The firepot is 8in x 10in and 5in deep, for the fuel I'll be using coke beans Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted April 7, 2020 Share Posted April 7, 2020 Let us know how well it works pushing the hot spot above the surface of the table as is required for a lot of larger work. You have the very nice cutouts to allow long/large pieces to slide through. (For short work you could add a piece of angle iron, edge down, bolted on one end, as a gate across the cut outs. Easy to make, easy to use and easy to flip out of the way when needed. Helps to keep loose fuel from getting knocked off onto the floor.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamtd Posted April 7, 2020 Author Share Posted April 7, 2020 Thomas powers The gate idea is brilliant thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted April 7, 2020 Share Posted April 7, 2020 Here's the little gate I made for the back of my side-blast: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamtd Posted April 7, 2020 Author Share Posted April 7, 2020 Jhcc Thanks I will definitely attach one to my forge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamtd Posted April 10, 2020 Author Share Posted April 10, 2020 Fired up the new forge for the first time yesterday and discovered the bug. 4 hours later and my first pair of tongs are finished they are still a bit rough and need to be wire brushed but I'm pleased. I've also included a photo of a cold chisel (far left) made from a masonry chisel, a bottom fuller and a hardy hole chisel (well pritchel hole), the last 2 made from an sds masonry chisel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Welshj Posted April 11, 2020 Share Posted April 11, 2020 How'd the plate hold up? Thinking of building one similiar with a bunch of 1/4" plate pieces I was given. Worried about the heat on the plate- may double it, and thinking of lining it somehow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamtd Posted April 11, 2020 Author Share Posted April 11, 2020 (edited) Welshj Hi I'm not quite sure what you are referring to the table is 3/16th thick and the firepot is 3/8th both held up with no visible damage the firepot did glow and scale slightly but I think that was paint coming off or something no doubt that time will tell, I think 1/4in on its own will be to thin, the first forge I built was made using the top of a gas cylinder which at its 1/4in and that was glowing bright orange and scaling badly despite having an under powered blower. My advice would be to try and get thicker plate if you can if not I have heard of people lining the firepot with clay. Because the table is a bit thinner than I would have liked I over sized the hole for the firepot so that the table wasn't in direct contact. The forge did get hot quickly 5/16th Square bar was up to forging temp within seconds. I hope this helps if you have any questions just ask. William Edited April 11, 2020 by williamtd I forgot to put in all the information Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted April 11, 2020 Share Posted April 11, 2020 3 hours ago, Welshj said: Worried about the heat on the plate- may double it, and thinking of lining it somehow You can line the pot with clay. If you're going to fabricate it yourself you might want to add some extra room on the interior dimensions to account for the lining. I'm not real familiar with metal forges so you may want to check in some of the claying a rivet forge threads to see what the recommended thickness of the liner is. I know it's 2 inches or less because I line wood boxes with two inches of clay and the wood doesn't burn. . Pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Welshj Posted April 27, 2020 Share Posted April 27, 2020 Kind of exactly what I was thinking about- claying. Was wondering how the mild steel would hold up with a coat of clay in comparison to cast like a rivet forge? Or if it holds up un-clayed relatively sacrificially? Secondly, I'm in the planning phase of what William made, as I got some 1/4" mild plate free. I was debating on doubling the floor/bottom of the fire pot to make it 1/2" thick to help combat that. Sorry William- I wasnt even thinking about the surface of the forge... was just thinking of the fire pot. Plan modified- I'm going to plan on extra room in the fire pot for a clay lining. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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