Hi all, first time post here--felt like I needed to pipe up regarding the charcoal forge blower issues. I've only been forging for about a year, but have had great success using Tim Lively's design (with the addition of two removable refractory bricks set on top--makes sorta like an oven, and the two piece was just out of convenience). I'm usually good at scrounging for old tools and whatnots, but have been unable to find things like hand crank blowers, post vices, and other misc. blacksmith tools for decent prices which brought me to my current equipment setup. Anyhow, I've been using one of my wife's old hairdryers for my forge blower. I removed the heating element, cracked off the motor/fan/tube assembly and built a variable DC power supply with parts from Radio Shack as ALL hairdryer motors are actually DC motors that operate around 12-15 volts. My setup is capable of blowing almost all of the charcoal out of the forge when at "full blast" and can be regulated down to tiny breeze if needed.

I'll get some pictures up soon after I get my railroad rail/chunk of steel anvil finished. I've been using the lump charcoal you get at the local mega-mart as it's pretty cheap, but you gotta break it up into about 1" chunks, and it takes about an hour to bust up a 20 lb. sack of the stuff. It works really well, and the smell makes me want to throw on some hot dogs...

Hi everyone
Just purchased my first forge I have been in the metal trade for 35yrs,and thought i would like to have a go at Blacksmithing. I joined Iforge iron to learn from the people who know, and i will be asking questions soon
Thanks Jocko 58

Welcome aboard Jocko, glad to have ya.

Ask away, there's nothing like a good question. Well, maybe a cold beer.

Frosty

i am building my first forge and am looking for advice. so far what i've read in this thread ya'll are suggesting smaller forges for knife making and such. what is a good forge design for sword making, axe making, and other large objects?

Welcome aboard Sig, glad to have you.

How much forging have you done? Unless you're a pretty accomplished blade maker you're a ways off from successful sword making. Smaller blades can be made in a small forge and it's far more economical of fuel, time and materials to learn the craft starting small and working your way up. See the current thread about "if you're thinking of making a sword" or something like that in the swords section of the forum.

Anyway, no, you don't need a big forge for sword making, only for heat treatment and that can be a trench fire or done in a temporary forge.

Frosty