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Old 10-03-2017, 04:43 PM
dtec1 dtec1 is offline
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Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: ny
Posts: 1,438
Ok where to start....First let me say I started with a 10x12 shed as my shop....just gota say it. space is going to fill up quickly!! but it can be done.

Ok as far as a forge I think the size you have is a lil to big for 1 venturi burner you MAY be able to get by heat treating in it but to much space not enough heat (with 1 burner) to do any forging efficiently, I started with a piece of vent pipe from home depot (the kind that has a seam down the legth of it ) hammer that closed then put koa wool and satinite. It was great for heat treating... I eventually got a oven to heat treat as I started to work with stainless (oh yeh most of my work is and always has been stock removal I have forged knives but not a lot) however I just recently got a press for making Damascus and had to build a new forge and I made it from a 11 gallon air tank so its probilly very close to what you have....with the new forge I need 2 venturi burners to get it going maybe 1 burner if I used my forced air burners. so that is why I say you might want to build a slightly smaller forge than what you described OR make another burner either or.....

as far as the propane tank is concerned get what you can get to be honest I still have a few small grill tanks that I use however if I was going to forge everyday then I would get the biggest I could...you have already done stock removal. my PERSONAL opinion forging takes a lot of work just to end up in front of the grinder anyway that is why I do things stock removal UNLESS I cant like a integral guard or something along those lines. In the beginning I wanted to forge once I did it a little went right back to stock removal. best advice strart small dont spend a whole lot of money just to decide you don't really like doing it.

Ok Anvil...I have heard over the past couple years every one and their mothers opinion on this in short what it boils down to the cheap ones are GARBAGE too soft. My bro in law works for the rail road he got me a 13in long piece of rail track anchored it to a large stump and it works absolutely great. Point is get creative if you can come across rail track snatch it up (the top of the track is slightly curved I flattened half with a angle grinder and left half curved for drawing things out....I have always heard of some things you wouldn't think of all it needs to be is hard flat and heavy...I have heard of guys going to a metal supply and getting a bar 4x4x4 and then welding it to the top of a I beam and putting that I beam in the ground...something like that would be better than a very cheap anvil.

Hope some of that helps keep in mind its not the only way just one way...by the way I am sure Ray will chime in here sooner or later he has a awesome DVD video and it goes over every tiny detail of how to make forges and burners very cheaply...talk to him and get that video before you build a forge it helped me a lot when I built my first forge

Oh also since you have limited space in a shed try and make your forge movable put it on a rolling cart that way when you want to use it roll it right outside the shed and get to work I did this when I had stuff in the shed and it makes things a lot easier and less chance of burning down the shed I still do this everything is in the garage and basement now but the forge gets rolled outside when in use
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