I did it boys, made a forge

finally got my forge up and running last night. It worked pretty well for a first attempt.
It was made out of an old BBQ gas bottle. I bolted an old pipe to the bottom (Dont have any easy access to a welder at the moment) and lined it with some cheap clay.
I hooked it up to a hair dryer for this run but will probably change that.
I would like a little more control over the air flow on the next run so I will be thinking of ways to modify that aspect.
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Here it is after I topped up the charcoal, Its also when I thought "Oh man my wife's gonna S#!t if she comes out now" ;)
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The clay didnt stand up to the punishment as well as I would have liked, might re-line it a little different next time.

It all worked out pretty well. Made me realize I have a whole lot to learn, but a lot of fun to be had too.
I just started with annealing some steel for my first couple of projects...next comes figuring out grinding.

Thanks heaps to Mike and Bruno who have given me plenty of practical tips along the way.
Grant

I'm afraid that I am going to have to classify this as (censored) awesome!

Very nice. Thanks.

That is awesome. I will have to remember this for when I make my own.

Looks like you've got plenty of air. You could use a rheostat to turn down the rpms on the hair dryer or you could put a simple gate valve in the pipe after the hair dryer.

The wire mesh in the bottom will not last long, but treat that as a consumption item along with the clay. Eventually you'll settle on a good recipe for both. Professors Trial and Error are great teachers!

Good job.

Good stuff man!

Keep in thought that I have yet to make a forge, but what if you used the other half of the bottle with the insulation in-between, kind of like a scuttle to keep the heat in the bowl?

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Originally Posted by jdto

I'm afraid that I am going to have to classify this as ****** awesome!

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Jack took the words right out of my mouth

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Originally Posted by jdto

I'm afraid that I am going to have to classify this as ****** awesome!

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yep, also took the words outta my mouth too! lol...:)

Thats cool Grant. Always neat to see the ingenuity of the members here! Thanks for sharing and cant wait to see what comes out of that baby!

Thanks for sharing, pic 4 is a crowd pleaser!.
Mike

Awesome job mate.
Just thinking out loud, but i think you can get a mesh {think like matting in fibreglass} designed to hold the clay {at the same refactory suppliers} that you might find holds it together better than the wire.
Very, very impressive what you have achieved. Now comes the really therapeutic part of heating something super hot and beating the crap out of it with a hammer so that all that is left is a knife or razor. :D
Adam

Right on Grant! Way to go man. I can't wait to see what starts coming out of your shop.

This is awesome! I found this for you:
"The silica firebricks that line steel-making furnaces are used at temperatures up to 1650°C (3000°F), which would melt many other types of ceramic, and in fact part of the silica firebrick liquefies. HRSI, a material with the same composition, is used to make the insulating tiles of the space shuttle."

Silica is Quartz

Grant nice work Brother :tu

I have been thinking of doing something but I figure I am just going to wait for Mike Blue to move up this way and beg for him to visit and help me hehehe


@Jack and everyone else that quoted,, Dont ******ing make me work that hard again Please :)

g

Dude ! That's seven colours of awesome ! You burnt out the fireproof clay .
Fireworks R Us ...:roflmao

Mate that looks portable enough . You should bring it down to Sydney for a demo next time, maybe not in the Summer tho. :)

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Originally Posted by onimaru55

Dude ! That's seven colours of awesome !

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Better than I could say it, have fun with the fire.

Charlie

Another tip for getting a more efficient fire: cut a cinder block down to bricks, and use that to build an open 'log cabin' over the fire.
A lot more heat will stay inside, you'll need less fuel, and the metal will heat up quicker. A big cinder block costs only a buck or so.

If you're heating metal for heat treating, you may or may not want to do that. Quicker heating is nice when forging, but perhaps less so if you want to get the steel to an even heat. I am still experimenting with different ways of heating a kitchen knife to an even temperature in a fire (which is a lot harder than a razor).

Well done Grant. Awesome forge. Looking forward to seeing some sharp things get brought to life in those flames.

I like your new avatar :)

Stu

Well, and here I was thining along the lines of using the old disc plough out on the farm to make a forge. I wished I had have thought about cutting up a gas bottle or some such other thing to do the job with. I might have got around to it before now, myself. As it is, you've beaten me to it as well. Great job mate and I've already learnt something...Clay may not be the best insulator. But it will likely do me when I start anyway.


Mick

I can't comment on clay. But I use kitty litter mixed with ashes.
The lining of my forge (a repurposed BBQ) is about 2 inches, and even after 2 hours of forging, I can easily grab the sides and carry it out of the way.
It's not evne lukewarm at that point.

Thanks for all the great comments and advice guys. I'll definately be trying out some different approaches and making improvements each time I fire it up.
Now my brain is working overtime on grinding set-ups :thinking:...when will it all end ;)
Grant

Nice one Grant!

Got a few suggestions to think about:

Blower speed control
-could try securing a cardboard disc to the back of your dryer, just a single screw.
To change air intake, just move the disc to block off more or less air. (I did this with an air hockey fan, which worked fine...though I still preferred the hand crank blower).

Clay lining alternative - could try coal ash mixed with water... I was told that this works.

Heavy steel fire pot -instead of clay lining, make fire pot from some heavier steel. Mine is made from a car brake disc, & I welded a bit of steel to the bottom to block off the bolt holes.

Anyway, just a few thoughts...

Enjoy playing with fire!:cool:
Michael

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Originally Posted by FTG

Nice one Grant!

Got a few suggestions to think about:

Blower speed control
-could try securing a cardboard disc to the back of your dryer, just a single screw.
To change air intake, just move the disc to block off more or less air. (I did this with an air hockey fan, which worked fine...though I still preferred the hand crank blower).

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Not ideal. A hair dryer such as the OP uses is not meant to be used for prolonged periods of time.
Additionally: it heats up inside. If you choke the air intake, it'll overheat.
Even if it has thermal protection, it'll just switch off, shutting your fire down.

Yeah Grant, don't be such a fishes bum! Buy a decent hair-dryer with a variable setting button on it fer chrissake! :)


Mick

Actually, If you get a professional hair dryer (meant for prolonged use) it should have variable speeds. If you cut the heating coil, you'll have no overheating either. Or you could use an old kitchen exhaust (these are also vari-speed).

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Originally Posted by baldy

Now my brain is working overtime on grinding set-ups :thinking:...when will it all end ;)
Grant

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Uh-Never;)