New shop

[Emttroy]

Blacksmiths, I am starting out and have to figure out how much area sq. ft. I need for a single burner propane forge. I am not rich but need enough space to work safely. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I am a medic on a ambulance and was told this a great outlet and love the idea of physically forging blades and giving focus. Thank you.

[ThomasPowers]

Blades?  Knifeblades 10'x10'  Swordblades: 20'x20'.  When asking questions it profits to give as much information as possible.  Do you have shop space for the grinding and finishing already?

Without information the answers get weak: eg I want a space for forging: Forging bottle openers might be done in a 4'x4' space while forging gates may require 40'x40'.  My forge area will have a 2000# Chambersburg powerhammer in it vs Nothing but a forge anvil and post vise.

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Welcome aboard... I always suggest reading this to get the best out of the forum.  READ THIS FIRST  It is full of tips like editing your profile location because knowing where in the world you are located is required to give accurate answers.

As far as how much square feet for a shop, no matter how much you have it is never enough. For how much room for a single burner propane forge, most take up less than 4 sq. ft.

[Glenn]

On ‎5‎/‎2‎/‎2020 at 1:13 AM, Emttroy said:

how much area sq. ft. do I need for a single burner propane forge.

Simple answer: what is the footprint of the forge?  More details will give us information upon which to base a better answer. 

[Latticino]

To put this in some kind of perspective, the question you are asking makes about as much sense as the following:  My town needs an emergency room added to the hospital; we have an X-ray machine, how big should the ER be?

There are a ton of site specific questions that need to be answered before you determine the size of your smitty.  The type of forge you have is just one, and a fairly insignificant one.  Some of these questions have been alluded to in the above.  Technically you don't need any permanent shop space to be able to work safely.  Plenty of folks move their equipment out to a driveway from storage every time they start forging.  JLP does phenomenal work in a modified mobile utility trailer.  I'm lucky enough to have a converted 20' x 20' stand alone garage, but I"m a packrat with small power hammer, flypress, treadle hammer, two post vises, coal forge, gas forge, two 2 x 72 belt grinders, a 4 x 106 belt grinder, welding station, 12" bandsaw and tablesaw , 4 anvils and a hammer rack shoehorned in on top of a bunch of misc tools and stock.

Stuff will accumulate, you want the biggest shop you can afford.  I'd want a minimum of an 8' x 10' space, but you can certainly work in smaller, if you are clever.

Of course you aren't going to read this response, as you didn't the previous ones, since you don't have your account setup to send you notification of responses or don't know how to use the unread content button.  If you did I"m sure you would apologize to the folks here for slamming them for ignoring you, or not getting back to you within your arbitrary time limits.  So I'll copy this in a PM to you to see if it gets thru.

[ThomasPowers]

Latticino; please let us know if you ever decide to tool up; I'm sure there is enough room left in your shop for more!  Reminds me of an Aunt once looking at my packing of a car to go on a trip and saying "If you are going to put anything else in there it better be liquid!"

[BubbaNash]

As a brother Firefighter and EMT, smithing is a great way of finding opportunity to focus your thoughts and emotions. its also a great way to get frustrated. Like Irondragon said, read the READ THIS FIRST page before you start taking on your first bowie. Also get some books, there are many beginning books that will help you.. i mean did you tube anyone before you learned how in a book?

You also dont need a shop if you have some open space and the ability to move your set up into a covered area during bad weather.

Tip: put your location in your profile, you dont know how close some of us may be. 

[hheneg]

Hi,

I have worked in everything from the uncovered patio in a back yard, to a open sided shed to a large steel building (multi use).  So it really depends on what you intend to make and how you work.  In retrospect, my work was mostly affected by helping my dad in the early 60's in a little building (probably 10 by 10) area for the forge anvil and vise.  He just worked on farm equipment, lots of it mule drawn, we raised tobacco.

That being said, always get as much space as you can.  Try to be comfortable (you may not need it now, but being in your 60's is just around the corner, trust me on that one.

I just finished framing and siding two new shops at the site of our cabin.  Its another story how we started with a weekend cabin, wound up full time there and sold our house.

I specifically built the blacksmith shop as 12 by 16 because that is a comfortable size for me.  6 inch reinforced concrete floor (good shoes are cheap compared to dirt floor maintenance learned the hard way), 10 foot to the ceiling joists (smoke rises).  I know from experience that I can fit my coal forge, a gas forge, 2 by 4 foot layout/welding table, tiny wire welder, and three vises and an oliver hammer all comfortable and convenient in that space. If the picture posts, the larger building is 20 by 24 Wood Shop.

If you don't do anything else try to make all your horizontal surfaces at the same height as your anvil, you won't believe how convenient that is for working anything over 4 feet long.

I don't do production work, just kitchen knickknacks and replacement hardware for antique furniture, or fix something I bent or broke clearing land.

PS, I'm retiring in August woo hoo.

Good luck to you