Forging Projects

[Flint311]

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Not near as good as some of you do as far as forging, but my first attempt at utensils.

A spatula for cast iron, a steak flipper (because I broke a tine off a fork ), and a turn screw.

I've looked around for a forge, but can't find a used one. But, I have to admit, this is fun! :thumbsup:

Not PC, as I had to use an LP torch for heat.

 

[gus13]

nothing wrong from what I saw! I'd use 'em in a heartbeat. good job, keep it up :hatsoff:

 

[Zonie]

If you can find a small charcoal BBQ grill, a bag of charcoal, an electric fan and an extension cord plus a place to set it up you will have all the heat you will need for doing small projects.

Make a medium sized pile of charcoal or charcoal bricketts and get them burning.
Place the fan about 1-2 feet from the pile and turn it on.
Caution: Make sure nothing is nearby that will burn as sometimes the charcoal will pop and throw off some embers.

Turn the fan on or off to control the heat down in the core of the pile of charcoal.

After a few minutes of running the fan the heat down in the center of the pile will be near 2000 degrees F which is more than hot enough to heat up smaller pieces of steel.

A layer of sand under the charcoal will help to keep the heat from burning the bottom out of the BBQ.

 

[Flint311]

That's a good idea, thanks. When I get a chance, I have an old rim I can line with cement for a fire pot. An old hair dryer for the fan and a little piping, etc. and I'll be in business....

Just trying it out, it's interesting how the metal heats and hammers, depending on the heat, how the hammer blows land, etc. I could use the torch to move the heat along, as with the twisting, but a forge would be much better.

Any other ideas out there?

 

[BillinOregon]

Flint: I made a Tim Lively style washtub forge that I have used hard for about seven years. The air source is an old Champion hand cranked blower. Google Tim Lively and you will find his Knifemaking Unplugged video, which is well worth buying.
I occasionally use bagged charcoal (NOT bricquettes) for fuel, but usually just gather charcoal from burn piles. Works fine and it is free.

Here's a dopey little clip of my forge running:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRrimSk6LzA

 

[hoochiepapa]

Bill, what are you using for refractory?

 

[Flint311]

Now that looks like it should work great! Thanks for the ideas.

 

[ohio ramrod]

A simple but usable forge can be made from an old brake drum, and an air compresser can substitute for a belllows. Just cut some heavy sheet metal to cover the center hole of the drum and put an air hose fitting on a long 3/8 pipe to use as a blower. You will have to play around some to get the airflow set rite but you can do a lot of forging with such a setup. :hmm:

 

[BillinOregon]

Mike: The refractory is simply adobe (I used a sack of fire clay) mixed with water and some wood ashes. Works great, although it is now cracked enough at the ends that I probably should pull out the tuyere and rebuild it, or at least patch it up some. Nice thing about a charcoal forge is that the smoke and fumes aren't nearly as obnoxious as coal/coke. But it is harder to get to welding heat, or at least I have not tried.
By the way Flint, I forgot to commend you on those pieces you made. I would not be without one of those steak flippers and they make great gifts!

 

[hoochiepapa]

Yes, Flint, forgive me for going off subject. You made some cool things, and I, too, like that steak flipper. :redface:

 

[Flint311]

Thanks to all for the kind words. Not a problem, Mike. I got some good info from the answer too!

 

[chipper]

Nice stuff,

I used mortar for laying bricks when I made my forge. It worked great, never cracked.

 

[fatboy]

Nice looking stuff you got there the lively forge would be a great start , you will burn and need twice the amount of wood charcoal as compared to bituminous coal. But you use what you can get make sure you have good vent, till you get your coal burning well and coke formed it's dirty and every time you rake more fuel onto fire open it up to burn the gas and smoke off

 

[BillinOregon]

Lhunter: Yes, coal contains more BTUs than charcoal, that's sure. I don't mind feeding my Lively forge with charcoal though. As I mentioned above, I scavenge a lot of my charcoal from burn piles. Here in Oregon, a lot of logging slash gets burned on BLM and USFS land and I can fill several five-gallon buckets with free charcoal in just a few minutes.
I agree a serious 'smith will want a real coal/coke forge though.

 

[fatboy]

I was just giving info, if you can get charcoal for your use free and or want to make your own thats great. There is nothing wrong with it it was used for a long time before coal was found and dug out of the ground. Also the iron smelting process in the 1700's around here any how used wood charcoal for there fuel source . They had people cutting trees and making charcoal all the time tons of it was needed to fire the smelter. The one furnace near me Washington had bought cannon ball from during the war