HD Materials Forge

[Cold Steel Cult]

I know questions concerning forges must flood you all, so I will be brief. I want to make a forge similar to the one that the Livelys use. I will buy one of those galvanized whatever-gallon tubs, build up a U-shaped section of "Red Clay Bricks" from Home Depot, cut a 1.5 inch hole at the open end of the brick "U"for the tuyere I already have constructed, and then fill in the space between the bricks and the walls of the tub with some generic cement. This is my first whack at making a charcoal forge, and chances are that my design is severely flawed! Pleas let me know of any mistakes I have made or any siggestions whatsoever you have. Thanks!

P.S. can some one suggest a source for a forge blower other than ebay? I will probably end up buying one from there unless i can find a store near me that carries them.

-Jon

[P. Nelson]

Check out centaur forge. They have a large selection of coal forge stuff.

[Ray Rogers]

I've never built a coal forge but I have to wonder what you meant when you said 'generic cement' and 'red clay brick'. I would think that whatever you put in there should be rated for the kind of heat a forge can generate. Normal red clay brick and garden variety cement could end up being damgerous as they are not recommended by any forge builder I've heard of. I think you should be using fire brick and furnace cement at a minimum. Check out Ed Caffrey's Forum, they do a lot of this type of thing and should be able to give you the correct advice.

As for blowers, try www.surpluscenter.com ...

[chrisinbeav]

Another question.... why coal instead of propane? If you are thinking $.... mine only cost about $75.00 to build, if that.

Just curious...

Chris Nilluka

[Cold Steel Cult]

I have never really considered a propane forge before... I have heard somewhere that charcoal burns the cleanest, and then propane, and the worst being coal. Now that may be incorrect, and I am willing to try a propane forge if it is as cheap as you say... Can you recommend a site for the propane forge designs?

As for the surplus center site, they do have a lot of blowers! What HP rating and CFM do you recommend? I dont want to blow the charcoal out of the tub, but at the same time i want it to actually heat!

I may end up building one of each forge, and I will try to look for fire bricks and refractory cement to use in the charcoal forge. Thank you all for your comments! Keep posting...

Thanks-

Jon

[chrisinbeav]

Here... this will give you all the info you need...

http://forgegallery.elliscustomknifeworks.com/

This is the one that I built. Works awesome. Even gets hot enough to forge weld. It's very tune-able. Some of the parts you can get cheap through Darren Ellis's website. He's super great to work with!

Chris Nilluka

[AwP]

Gas and solid fuel forges have different good and bad points. I have and use both.

[AcridSaint]

Darren Ellis has just about everything you need to make a forge, even if you go with the charcoal forge you can get your bricks and cement from him. Regular bricks and cement can explode if you get them too hot... I mean really explode. Do some searching on the forums and you'll find a couple stories out there about concrete and other things exploding.

[Crex]

Jon,
Listen up, they're giving good advise here. The temp you'll need to reach just for normal forging is much to high for red building brick and standard cement or mortar. You're almost certain to get a "steam" esplosion and risk serious injury. Use furnace/forge rated high temperature materials only and make sure things are completely dry before you fire anything up, charcoal or propane.
And...Darren's got the right stuff and will get it to you quickly.
AwP is right, once you've advanced your skills to the point where you can tell what you like best. I personally prefer propane because it's quick, clean, portable and very low maintenance. I do alot of demos and teach beginning bladesmithing classes and my little Dragons travel light, easy and quick. Don't get me wrong, charcoal forges are every bit as good just a lot maintenance and extra stuff to move around.
Do further research before you commit. Lots of good info here.
Have fun!

[Cold Steel Cult]

Wow! Mr. Ellis has a very nice site going on over there! Thank you guys for the advice and the link. I will probably make a propane forge now that I have some designs and a good supplier for these materials. Just one question... which size tank would you use for these forges? Can you use one of the big barbecue tanks? Thank you all agiain for the advice and info; the forum always comes through with great answers to all my silly questions.

-Jon

[Crex]

You'll do better to start with a smaller tank. I normally use "test gas" tanks they use to calibrate emmission testing equipment. Thinner guage metal that is easier cut open and work with. You will also burn a lot more fuel in a large cavity forge. You just need it big enough to heat your steel in not move in to live (heh, heh, heh). Keep it small and simple to start, you'll build more as you progress.

[Darren Ellis]

Hi Jon,

These guys are all giving you great advise regarding forges...the only thing I'd want to add is that when selecting a surplus blower, if you go that route, try to choose something that other people have used too. The reason is that some blowers drop off their cfm ratings very quickly with a little static pressure added. I've not found any surplus places that list the technical data regarding the blowers they sell...thus, it's best to stick with something you know works and post a few questions around here to get input from other guys on a particular blower...



-Darren

[Cold Steel Cult]

I went to Home Depot over the weekend and bought some of the fittings for Indian George's Forge. I still need to buy all the propane plumbing, but all the steel piping is connected and purchased. I have a few questions, however, for Darren or whoever else may be able to answer them. First, Do you think a large coffee can would work for the forge if I insulated it well? He says a pipe of at least 8" diameter, and I think the can is a little more than that, but the pipe he uses looks to be at least 1/4 or 3/8 of an inch thick! Second of all... I want to be safe with the propane, but I was wondering if there was an alternative method of regulating the propane influx (by alternative I mean cheaper ). If not, I'm willing to bite the bullet and pay, but I'm just making sure. Lastly, what is the gate valve for? At first I assumed it would regulate the pressre somehow, but wouldn't the back pressure of the air cause the blowers to labor and burn out? Maybe the burners slowing down is OK and is what is supposed to happen... I don't know. Thanks again for all the posts!

P.S. My grandpa says that a "globe valve" would be better than a gate valve fore regulating the air. I don't know if this is akin or the same to a ball valve, but I need to know before I go and return the gate valve to Home Depot.

-Jon

[AcridSaint]

There's a coffecan forge or two on darren's forge gallery, it will work if you insulate it. I've been thinking about using a small coffee can and my blue torch for some smaller stuff.

[dudeinthehut]

Check out Ebay items:

6156474785 and 6150411010.

I bought one and love it. Good price.