Peter R Posted August 19, 2020 Share Posted August 19, 2020 Hi from Maryland (greater DC metro area), smithing folks! I have a goal of starting a bit of at-home smithing this fall, strictly as a hobby for fun, self enjoyment in creating things. I was able to take my first class this past winter (and I loved it!) but.. well, pandemic. So here I am stuck with time, cancelled vacations and plane tickets (that could be reinvested into a hobby), but no access to local meetups or classes to get going. The part I really want to get "right" at the start is the fire. This website has a ton of great information on building forges, but what about just buying one? Is that something that just isn't a thing, unless you're buying cheap and obviously bad choices from India, or make connections for used equipment at local meetups (not happening during pandemic)? If there are good recommendations for purchasable coal forges that are suitable for driveway hobbyists, I'd love to hear them! Otherwise.. build a JABOD I guess? I would literally have to buy dirt which just seems silly, but maybe that's the route I'd go. Luckily MD is close enough to coal country that google leads me to believe bituminous for blacksmithing should be within driving distance. Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 19, 2020 Share Posted August 19, 2020 Well you might buy a firepot commercially. Building a forge is rather trivial compared to the cost of buying one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted August 20, 2020 Share Posted August 20, 2020 Anything other than a rivet forge is a pretty large investment for a hobby you're just starting and may not stick with, not to mention you don't really know what you'll need out of a forge. You can build a jabod for little to no money and be forging by tonight. I'm currently on my third jabod and would recommend them to anyone looking to get into smithing who wants to use solid fuel. Good luck, be safe, and remember it's supposed to be fun. Pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheWanderingLlama Posted August 20, 2020 Share Posted August 20, 2020 Still very much a beginner, but I did my first bit of forging with charcoal in a hole in the ground. I did a JABOD as well with scrap lumber. Then embedded a rotor firepot into the JABOD. Currently using a brake rotor firepot that sits on bricks over a heavy table (from scrap deck wood...) with gravel on top to provide fireproofing. Each was an upgrade from the last and none of them cost any money. I would strongly advise to keep it cheap until you figure out if the hobby will stick Here is a picture of my current setup - not glamorous but it works for what I am doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlienWired Posted August 20, 2020 Share Posted August 20, 2020 John Switzer (Black Bear Forge)... (If I recall right, pretty sure it was him), that started out with a plywood forge, with a steel fire-pot. I personally started out with a viking type ground forge and a blower with metal flexi-pipe. Using nothing but hardwood that I cut up into 2 x 2 inch chunks, I would cut a couple bins up and get to smithing, using the wood, pretty much like a fast burning coal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jealdi Posted August 20, 2020 Share Posted August 20, 2020 Having only just recently started this myself (fired up my JABOD for the second time ever last night), I'd for sure advise trying one of those out to see if the hobby sticks. If you have to buy dirt, can always buy kitty litter like Charles used in his Mark III JABOD (I copied that one myself, works nicely). I originally built mine with scrap wood around the house, but those boards were a little too big so I ended up buying an 8 foot 2x8 and making a 2'x2' box with some 1x12 for the bottom of the box. Put it on top of a cheap HF rolling cart and it's just about perfect height for me, and easily portable. I'd recommend going through the JABOD threads and getting some ideas of what will work in your area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter R Posted August 20, 2020 Author Share Posted August 20, 2020 First of all, thanks for the replies everyone! I have a good bit to chew on for a little bit. It seems the consensus is to build a forge, and here I am wishing I'd learned to weld at some point in my life, but I'd need an electrician to install a circuit for running one safely so.. tool rabbit hole haha. Guess plywood shopping is in my future. I'll keep you all posted on my next steps. Thanks again for the input! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 20, 2020 Share Posted August 20, 2020 Can you just source a trashed propane grill and use it's body to hold dirt? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlienWired Posted August 21, 2020 Share Posted August 21, 2020 heh, I actually bought my neighbors old early 1900's coal table blower still worked on it. $200.... It's so hard to find coal around here I said to heck with it and use the coal table to hold my propane double burner forgemaster. I have seen SO many people just stack up a bunch of firebrick to make a fire chamber, make a little hole for themselves to insert torch and voila~ they got a small forge up and running. You can use the same torches to weld. =) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 21, 2020 Share Posted August 21, 2020 Stark Raving Mad?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlienWired Posted August 21, 2020 Share Posted August 21, 2020 1 hour ago, ThomasPowers said: Stark Raving Mad?! I’ve spent too much alone time in my shop with all this virus nonsense, but, somehow it’s ok, I like being alone, I like blacksmithing, I love my shop dog, smartest German Shepherd ever, in fact when I brought him home from the puppy mill, he made a bolt for the door...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 21, 2020 Share Posted August 21, 2020 Do you call him Lightning? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlienWired Posted August 21, 2020 Share Posted August 21, 2020 1 hour ago, ThomasPowers said: Do you call him Lightning? No, mostly I call him "Get back here". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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