[TheForge] Equipment for a newbie

Sat Nov 6 20:42:58 EDT 2010

Well, I see that others jumped in with some good ideas for you before
I got there.

The vacuum cleaner used in reverse is by far the simplest, best blower
for the beginner.  A hair dryer might work for charcoal with
side-blast, but might not put out enough pressure for a bottom-blast
coal fire.

For a forge, remember that it's the tuyere assembly that's the most
important.  If you're going to use charcoal, you should consider using
a side-blast forge design, which is just an air pipe on one side and a
"wall"  opposite it to keep the charcoal from blowing away.  So, some
bricks arranged in a "pot" configuration could be your first forge.

BTW, I did not see any mention of a hood or flue.  Indoors, a flue is
essential (and you'd better know the local fire codes before you
install one).  If you're working outside you can get by without a
flue, but I don't recommend it -- the smoke always seems to blow in
your direction  -- I think it's a law of physics.  I recommend a 6' to
9' flue for outdoor use, preferably atop a side-draft hood.

A flue is an "engine" that runs off the heat of your fire and removes
the smoke from your vicinity.  6' of 6" stovepipe can make your life a
lot more pleasant in front of a forge.  A hood is optional -- all it
really is is a door to the flue.  A well designed hood (and by this I
mean a side-draft hood) can be an aid, but bringing a 6" flue duct to
within 6" of your fire will work as effectively.

(That statement is sure to start an argument on this forum.  I'm
convinced nobody but me has EVER tried a 6" flue.  The general
"wisdom" is "the bigger the better" with some folks arguing for 12".
I assure you, I know whereof I speak.   My first coal forge used a 6"
flue and it would draw so well that the smoke that oozed out of a
crack BELOW the forge table wandered out to the table edge, up around
it, and up the flue.  I won't say a 6" flue is better than, say, an 8"
or 10" flue, but it will do a job for you.)

Do not make the mistake of trying to assemble the perfect blacksmith
shop from scratch on your first attempt.  Instead, strive to make
yourself a functional shop, even if it means a clay-lined forge, with
a shop-vac blower and a 6" flue with no hood, a bench vise (instead of
a leg vise) and a piece of railroad track or other junk as an "anvil".
 You can do a lot with such equipment, and you'll soon learn just
where you'd better upgrade.

BTW, 150# of charcoal won't last real long, so you might want to
secure additional supplies.  Or you could try a trick I've only read
about but expect would work:  Soak some hardwood chips (walnut sized)
overnight in water, then drain them.  Put these around your charcoal
fire and (the story goes) they'll burn to charcoal as you forge.  You
then just rake them in as needed, and replace them with more wet wood.
 (Hey, if it doesn't work at least you're out nothing!)

I would suggest you NOT start with making hammers.    Hammer heads
must be tool steel, which is relatively difficult to forge.  They must
be punched and drifted for a handle, which are not elementary skills.
They must be hardened and tempered so they are hard enough not to be
dinged in normal work yet soft (tough) enough not to shatter like
glass in use.   Hammers are cheaply available, and you can grind off
the sharp corners and edges of flea-market hammers and make fine
blacksmithing hammers of them.  Work up to making hammers.  And before
you try making them, learn to forge tool steel by making various
punches, drifts, and other tools that you CAN'T find so easily.  And
when you get eager again to forge hammer heads, START with old
flea-market hammer heads.  Saves you the trouble of punching them.

On Sat, Nov 6, 2010 at 5:35 PM, peter fels & phoebe palmer
<artgawk at thegrid.net> wrote:
> No hint as to your location...oh well.
> Anvilfire.com as well as iforgeiron.com both have a whole lot of low
> budget solutions that are tried and true.
> for a guy just getting into it .You'll have to root around on those
> sites and you'll find more info than you can absorb for quite a
> while...a whole, free ,blacksmithing education.   And that's just 2 sites!.
> .
> At one conf, there was a guy who had made a working forge out of layered
> cardboard...
> including the blower!..OK he used a broom handle for the blower axle and
> a bike innertube for the belt drive....
> and he lined the forge with a mixture of clay type mud and ashes. He
> used it all weekend.
> Africans traditionally dug a pit forge in the dirt with a tunnel leading
> to another shallow pit.
> A hide spanned the hole and the edges were  weighted down except for a
> spot that became a manually operated valve.
> The smith pulled up and down on the middle of the hide.
> An old blower from a car works too.
> You could fake a bellows with cardboard and a plastic garbage bag or
> two, i bet.
> old dryer exhaust hose works for the plumbing ( there's a big blower in
> there too.)
> As for a present, it's a trip to the next blacksmith conference in your
> area!
> The thing about metalwork is that most problems have a whole lot of
> solutions.
> Go for it Matt!
>
> On 11/6/2010 12:26 PM, Matt Gallagher wrote:
>> I'm looking for some new or used equipment, such as a blower, forge if
>> possible, and some hammers. Some of you might remember my post a while back
>> asking for an anvil for a project. Ive found one, and now all i need is more
>> equipment. I can make the forge, thats not a problem. (although it would be
>> nice to get one pre-made (: ) I just need, at minimum, a blower. If anyone
>> has one, knows where i can get a cheap one, or has instructions on how to
>> make one, I would be happy to compensate. I have a sufficient hammer, its a
>> fairly large ball-peen.My first project is to make a more suitable hammer,
>> for which I have found several places where i can get instructions. So my
>> only problem really is an air-source. I contemplated making a blower, even a
>> set of bellows, but then remembered this forum and decided to give it a try.
>> Christmas is coming up, and my family has been dogging me for a list of what
>> I want. Something like this would both make an awesome gift, and make their
>> lives easier.
>> (PS.- I have around 100-150 lbs of charcoal, which i believe will work
>> sufficiently for fuel. I made it myself from hardwood [oak, cedar, and
>> maple] and some pine. I have been able to get steel to working temperature
>> with this in an outdoor fire pan with a blow pipe, but I would like a blower
>> so I don't have to inhale as much smoke or waste my oxygen. Any comments or
>> suggestions are welcome.)
>> (PS v.2.0- I have several designs for forges which I would like to share
>> with all of you out there for feedback, but my scanner is broken at the
>> moment. when I get it fixed, I will send out the best of these plans. I will
>> try to make them as understandable as possible. [I tend to use the
>> engineering side of my brain, and in doing so, forget about
>> understandability to others] Also, if anyone has designs they would like
>> feedback on, I would be glad to oblige. If anyone would like to revamp my
>> designs they are welcome to, provided they send me a copy of the final
>> draft.)
>>
>> ~Matt Gallagher, your friendly teenage smith :)
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-- 
Bruce
NJ