My Homemade Forge!

[twohaggard]

after seening the ax video and just wanting to do anything with metal i decided to make this forge! im still in need of a hair dryer witch will go onto that smaller pipe that is sticking horizontal out at the bottom. witch will then force air when the charcoal will need to be red hot. i liked it much better before i painted it but since ill mostlikely leave it outside it had to be painted. its made out of a disk brake and just some scrap, and two inch s.s. pipe. other pcs i made at work lilke the screen and the upper s.s. rolled pc that will be used if i really wanna use alot alot of charcoal. well thanks for looking and if u have an comments or questions let them fly!

 

[kunkernator]

That looks pretty awesome! Interesting design, i would be worried about the hair dryer melting though. What is the extra pipe below the hair dryer inlet for?

 

[twohaggard]

 

[twohaggard]

im going to use heavy rubber and s.s. hose clamps to keep hair dryer on. that theres some ppl that i seen useing duct tape!!!! shouldnt get to hot down that far i do not think. oh and that pipe that is farther down is so u can clean out any ash that falls down the tube.

 

[5lima30]

That is sweet! A forge is on list of things to do this winter! What are you using for the grate for your coke or coal? I may have to copy your build!

 

[twohaggard]

I'm thinking hardwood charcaoal, I did some reading and youtubein, ppl use it cuz it's much Easyer to find

 

[nine4gmc]

another thing I didn't know I needed until GJ....thanks....

 

[Kevin54]

I'm thinking hardwood charcaoal, I did some reading and youtubein, ppl use it cuz it's much Easyer to find

Depending on what, and how much you are planning to do, you may want to go with Coke or some good Kentucky coal. If you go with coal, go with Kentucky as it is a lot harder and burns hotter than Ohio coal. I don't think you'll be satisfied of using charcoal unless the pieces that you are planning on doing ar really small and lightweight.

 

[tpwalsh]

Depending on what, and how much you are planning to do, you may want to go with Coke or some good Kentucky coal. If you go with coal, go with Kentucky as it is a lot harder and burns hotter than Ohio coal. I don't think you'll be satisfied of using charcoal unless the pieces that you are planning on doing ar really small and lightweight.

?? If you're looking for a hot clean burn, wouldn't you be looking for Anthracite, which is generally mined out of eastern PA, or North Dakota?

 

[twohaggard]

I'm just now starting out an learning so ill give anything a try

 

[twohaggard]

another thing I didn't know I needed until GJ....thanks....

Ha ya that happens a lot since I been looking on this site

 

[danlolasdad]

That is sweet! A forge is on list of things to do this winter! What are you using for the grate for your coke or coal? I may have to copy your build!

This ^^^ I love the simple design and use of those materials the grate "mesh" looks cool

 

[Seb650R]

Is there any reason you went with this design over a gas fired forge? It seems like the gas fired forges built with some firebrick can get you some insanely high temperatures.

 

[Vegaman_Dan]

For a heat resistant coupling between hair dryer and metal pipe, look at flexible metal cold air intake / choke hose from an auto parts store like NAPA. It's usually about 1.5-2" in diameter and meant to connect between the bottom of the air cleaner and the valve cover on older pre-EGR valve equipped cars. It would let you couple that up nicely.


Be aware that a hair dryer has thermal limiters at the output. If there is too much back pressure, it may trip the breaker and you'll have to wait to let it cool off before the dryer motor will run again. You could disable it, I suppose. I assume you won't be running the dryer's heater elements anyways, so that might be worth scrapping anyways to just use it as a ducted blower.


I assume the pipe going down is an ash cleanout?

 

[Vegaman_Dan]

Looking at the design, I think I'd want to add a rail around the outside circumference about 180 degrees or so, maybe out of rebar, with small tabs welded on every 4" or so. Make the rail stand about 4-6" higher than the surface and the tabs about 2" tall. That way you can lay your piece or tool holder on the rail between the tabs to not worry about the piece falling out of the fire pit itself.

By leaving the half facing the large flat area, you still have easy access to do larger pieces.

Bonus points if you make rail removable by having it drop into mounting slots/holes/etc welded to the outside of the brake rotor.

 

[twohaggard]

All u guys got some great ideas, thanks! The pipe coming down is an ash clean out gas seems like it may cost me more, In the future I may try gas

 

[5lima30]

I'm just now starting out an learning so ill give anything a try

Check out Iforgeiron.com it is a blacksmithing forum with a lot of info on forges, anvils, etc. My nephew "buffalo forge" is on that forum regularly and there is a lot of good info there.

 

[justanengineer]

Not to give you a hard time but out of curiousity, any particular reason for the self build vs buying a small antique forge? Ive seen any number of them sold that werent much larger than yours for <$50 complete with the blower, and at one point in time every farmer had one which still makes them common as dirt.

 

[Jslys13]

Looks good.

 

[twohaggard]

Not to give you a hard time but out of curiousity, any particular reason for the self build vs buying a small antique forge? Ive seen any number of them sold that werent much larger than yours for <$50 complete with the blower, and at one point in time every farmer had one which still makes them common as dirt.

I did a bit of cl looking and i haven't seen any cheap ones in my area, $300-$500 seemed avg. an so far I got welding wire and gas witch any practice is worth it to me

 

[Vegaman_Dan]

If I could find an antique forge for less than $100 used, I think I'd buy it just on the off chance of ever needing or wanting one. I've never actually looked though either. Makes sense though since you had to shape horse shoes in small forges.

Still, building something yourself is nearly as much fun, if not more so, than actually using the tool itself. It's all about the journey.

 

[onewaydave]

...Be aware that a hair dryer has thermal limiters at the output. If there is too much back pressure, it may trip the breaker and you'll have to wait to let it cool off before the dryer motor will run again. You could disable it, I suppose. I assume you won't be running the dryer's heater elements anyways, so that might be worth scrapping anyways to just use it as a ducted blower....

I think this is a non issue. From what I've heard the hair dryer will put out way too much volume and will need a riverter to limit. I have heard that most use a gated valve (can be a simple home fab job) to let off about 80% of the air as a regulator for the blower. Remember, old forges used hand driven bellows.

Dave.

 

[Lotek]

I would suggest a more substantial tuyere, that wire won't last long, use anthracite, charcoal is too much hassle and not hot enough, ash dump should be some sort of easily operated flap, unscrewing a cap isn't going to work, a larger flat area around the brake drum to handle the fuel pile and work, and most importantly, find a Champion hand cranked forge blower, it makes it easier to control the heat.

 

[srmofo]

My step dad picked up a hand crank forge last week from an old farmer....along with an old post vise and some metal working tools. I think he paid $100 IIRC. Hes taken it all apart and cleaned it up and now that puppy pushes some air. I dont think its anywhere near what a blow drier pushes in the CFM range though.

I can post some pics if you are interested.

 

[twohaggard]

I can get any size screen so replacing that stainless one isn't a big issue and an simple leaver style ash dumps not a bad idea this is just what I had and figared I'd give it a try

Srmofo u can share your pics I'd like to see the goodies

 

[justanengineer]

Still, building something yourself is nearly as much fun, if not more so, than actually using the tool itself. It's all about the journey.

Very well stated and relates back to why I find myself quite often enjoying the restoration of tools more so than using them...kinda the opposite idea but similar.

 

[willy3486]

As far as a blower goes check out Habitat for humanity or other place that might have used items. I went into my local one and bought two fans. One fan looked new and was a overhead fan for a bathroom. Another one was a smaller fan but its the perfect size for something like that. I want to make a aluminum furnace and plan on using that motor to force the air in. I tried it out in by letting it blow air into ash door opening of my woodstove to start a fire in it. I usually have problems starting one but this time it was started with no trouble. The little fan forced the air and it had no trouble starting a fire in the woodstove.

 

[demographic]

I think this is a non issue. From what I've heard the hair dryer will put out way too much volume and will need a riverter to limit. I have heard that most use a gated valve (can be a simple home fab job) to let off about 80% of the air as a regulator for the blower. Remember, old forges used hand driven bellows.

Dave.

Yeah, thats what a mate and I did with ours because even on its lowest setting the hairdrier supplied too much air. We made an adjustable gate wich allowed air to escape from the pipe which made it a lot more controllable.

 

[theoldwizard1]

I want to see that thing fired up and you pounding on some red hot iron !

 

[EdT]

I don't know if all hair dryers are done this way, but I took one apart years ago and the heating coil was the dropping resistor for the blower motor. I suppose any that have a "cold" setting are getting around that some other way. Just something to be aware of should you decide to disable the heater. The motor might have a brief but incandescent life.

 

[DYI ANDY]

That looks pretty awesome! Interesting design, i would be worried about the hair dryer melting though. What is the extra pipe below the hair dryer inlet for?

that is so cool love it

 

[DYI ANDY]

trying to make my own so I have been looking at many designs , and this oane is great

 

[DYI ANDY]

i use a fan from an old blowup Christmas decoration and it works great

 

[DYI ANDY]

how do you regulate temp

 

[DYI ANDY]

sorry fellas just joined I know im 4 years late
but this is a great site and I am looking forward to seeing more stuff
me and my sons are always up to making something from scratch

 

[gungatim]

i use a fan from an old blowup Christmas decoration and it works great

that's what I use too. to regulate temp I use a HF variable router speed control. see the "what else can you use a router speed control for" thread on that for my pics. That grate is too much, all you need is a piece of steel a little larger than your pipe with about 5 or so 1/4" holes in it.

I buy the smalles size coal you can get (pea i believe they call it) at a farm and fleet store, but it is hard to light and can get too hot, I actually prefer using lump charcoal or 'cowboy' charcoal it is sometimes called. I also toss in charcoal from my woodburner as well. when you blast the air, it gets hot enough to completely obliterate steel (as I learned the hard way after leaving a piece in too long).

You can make your own tools, I made a nice rake from a tire iron, then a bigger one from a small hoe, tongs can be made from a pair of short crow bars, etc.

Soon you will be saving every scrap of broken tool just to see what you can make out of it!

 

[BMcC]

I just had a chuckle because I saw your homemade fire extinguisher in the background!

 

[confederatemule]

Not to give you a hard time but out of curiousity, any particular reason for the self build vs buying a small antique forge? Ive seen any number of them sold that werent much larger than yours for <$50 complete with the blower, and at one point in time every farmer had one which still makes them common as dirt.

Sir, in my part of the world [North East Texas] they are impossible to find, even in non working condition. And, $50.00 would not even get close to buying one. I have been looking for over 4 years.

 

[confederatemule]

twohagard, I like your forge design.