Box bellows- was RE: [TheForge] Re: future 2 anvil

[marilyn traber 011221]

> Box bellows?  The one I'm thinking of is a piston pump arrangement.  
> How would that be smaller than a traditional blacksmith's bellows?
> 
> Bruce
> NJ

The one I'm thinking of is about the size of a small suitcase. Provides a lot 
of air, because it pushes air on each stroke. Would work just fine for a 
small forge.

Difference in size is that, first off, it's rectangu;lar. Can be 2 1/2- 3 ft 
long, 1 1/2 2 ft wide, and 6 -8 inches deep. Fits nicely into rectangular 
truck beds ;-), unlike a collapsed western bellows, which is tear-drop 
shaped, roughly 5 ft long, 3 ft wide, and 8 inches thick.

Also, the box bellows can sit on the ground, doesn't have to be hanging up, 
which will work fine for the rest of my set up.

The forge itself will be made of wood, with a rammed earth lining (actually a 
mix of clay and horse manure- the manure burns out, to lighten the clay). 
It'll be side draft, and will be maybe 2 1/2 ft tall, 2 ft wide, and 3 ft 
long.

Add a stool to sit on, and a stump of some sort to hold the anvil tools, and 
I have 4 relatively compact major items to smith with, most of which are 
relatively light- hundred, hundred fifty lbs, total.

A few hand tools, some bar stock, all of which can travel in the slack 
bucket, and I'm in business, for a single day demo ;-)

Been thinking about this and planning it for a long time, guys. In (my) 
period they needed to travel fairly light. I'm still going to need more stuff 
than they would have, simply because I can't rely on found materials where 
I'll be taking this, but can minimize things considerably, and still get the 
job done.

Phlip