[Regia-NA] [MedEnc] Portable easily made forge / Re: blacksmithing
J. K. Siddorn
kim.siddorn@blueyonder.co.uk
Tue, 23 Apr 2002 02:02:15 +0100
Hi Magnus,
This should find a corner in Chronicle next time around. If it;'s OK with
you, I'll add some parts where voltages/ suppliers are different in the UK.
These I'll render in a different font.
You might enjoy this newsgroup and there are other similar ones in the
States too.
http://www.newsgate.co.uk/uk/uk.rec.engines.stationary/index.html
Regards,
Kim Siddorn.
The early bird may get the worm -
but the second mouse gets the cheese!
----- Original Message -----
From: "rmhowe" <MMagnusM@bellsouth.net>
To: <MedievalEncampments@yahoogroups.com>; "- Regia Anglorum - North
America" <list-regia-na@lig.net>; "- Atlantia" <atlantia@atlantia.sca.org>
Sent: Monday, April 22, 2002 8:55 PM
Subject: [Regia-NA] [MedEnc] Portable easily made forge / Re: blacksmithing
> The most basic forge can simply be a hole in the ground with
> a pipe (tuyere) supplying air from beneath or beside it.
>
> Or:
>
> An easily made portable forge can be had with some basic 2"
> pipe fittings, an electric blower, and a cast iron brake drum.
>
> I have had three forges in my time, a brake drum forge
> (actually my favorite), a very large commercial Buffalo forge,
> and a cast iron bandsaw brazing forge in which large tongs
> were heated to braze huge bandsaw blades together. I sold the
> Bandsaw brazing forge because it got too hot to be anywhere near.
> I traded the full size forge eight years ago when it became
> impossible for me to hammer much anymore, with a few other
> items to make a fair trade for a milling machine/lathe combination.
>
> To make an easily transportable Brake Drum forge you need:
>
> A brake drum from a car. Larger car sizes are preferable.
> (Truck brake drums are huge, deep, and have huge holes.)
> These are found at any scrapyard.
>
> Some fire clay, and some Hydraulic cement to mix it with
> 50/50, obtainable at a building supply place.
> Something to mix it in. A plastic bucket for example.
> Something to trowel it in with. (Plug your blower holes first.)
> or
> Some -soft- refractory brick to cut to fit the bottom
> of the forge. You can cut this stuff with a hacksaw.
> If your local brickyard/home supply place doesn't have
> it try a pottery supply store.
>
> You also need a set of -2"- (preferable) or 1 1/2" pipes:
> A pipe flange for the bottom of the brake drum, where the hole is.
> In my case I scrounged around and found an old cast iron
> gear to put over this. The center of the gear had a one
> inch hole in it and I drilled the outside of the gear with
> a number of 3/8" holes at an angle tapering to the center
> to create a focused air blast a few inches above the gear.
> This is where you obtain maximum heat.
> You could also use a cast iron drain plate or some holed
> stainless steel to help cover the hole in the bottom of
> the Brake drum over the 2" pipe, which is large enough to
> allow chunks of coal/coke/clinker to drop down it.
> Ordinary steel will burn through because of the carbon in
> it. Cast Iron won't burn easily and stainless would have
> to melt. To drill stainless steel you will need to buy
> or borrow a cobalt steel (some say C or M42) drill bit.
>
> Rest of pipes:
> 2 six inch long threaded pipe nipples to screw above and
> below a 'T' connector. The upper one screws into the flange.
> The lower one screw into the Pipe cap or oil drum cap.
> An oil drum cap to screw on the bottom of the bottom 6"
> nipple to function as a clean out. I used a piece of
> strap steel bolted to the cap with a counterweight to
> simply allow me to raise it with my foot to clean
> the pipe out. You could just stick a nail in the lock
> holes that are in these caps. If you can't find one
> you can simply use a pipe cap. You need a way to clean
> out the pipe either way.
> A foot long piece of pipe threaded at both ends.
> to screw horizontally into the 'T" fitting to connect
> it to the blower.
>
> Some bolts and nuts appropriate to what you are bolting
> through.
>
> A Drill and a few metal bits.
>
> A Piece of Sheet metal to make a blower cover out of.
>
> A little knob and screw.
>
> Most hardware stores have all of the above in stock.
>
> A blower:
> This can be a 120 volt electric blower with plug and
> in line switch (buy and install it in the hot side of
> the wire) or a 12 volt blower to hook up to your car
> battery with a set of alligator clamps. Or both interchangeably.
> In my case my initial blower had a square hole, I made a
> wooden block to fit the opening, screwed the block inside
> the square opening and drilled a hole I could thread the
> 1 foot long pipe into. (Alternately you could use a hair
> dryer, or a vacuum exhaust. They just aren't as controlable.)
>
> If you are going to be working on damp ground I recommend a
> three wire system hooked up to a portable GFCI or plug it to an
> in line GFCI, also known as a Ground Fault Circuit Interruptor.
> If you can't find a place to connect the green wire
> to on your blower, attach it to a bolt on the outside motor casing.
> This is so you won't get a fatal shock. If you don't know
> for sure what you are doing, ask an electrician or look
> in an electrical book.
>
> (I got my sophomore housing at college because my predecessor
> at the house electrocuted himself with a vacuum cord he'd
> dropped into a puddle he'd made washing his car mats.
> I am told that can be a slow way to go.)
>
> GFCI's can be had for as little as $10 or less. They only
> work on three wire grounded circuits with Black (hot)/
> Green (Ground) / White (Neutral) wires. GFCI's cut the
> circuit before you can receive a fatal shock. This is what
> is required within six feet of water outlets in your house
> as well. Look in the kitchen and bathroom. They usually
> have a test and an on switch on them.
> Portable ones are $10-35.
>
> Hot black wires go to brass colored screws, White to the silver
> colored screw, green to the green screw or wire or to the bare
> wire without any insulation inside the wall box.
> (My wife could have easily died when someone hooked these up
> incorrectly and hotwired a new stove case. She did get a shock.)
> If you are wiring in a GFCI wallbox remember to cut the power
> at the main panel. Test to make sure it's off. A radio or light
> that is turned on will tell you when it is off if you don't
> have an electrical circuit tester.
>
> Northern http://www.northernstores.com/
> and stove supply stores sell 120 volt blowers.
> So does American Scientific Supply or Surplus Supply usually.
>
> Blowers also exist within old air conditioners.
> These can be 120 or 240 volt in larger ones.
> (The problem with old air conditioners is that they
> also contain freon, and if you rupture a pipe getting
> one out you can blind yourself with the spray. I don't
> recommend this, but if you dig one out of one of these
> at the very least wear eye protection, with or without
> a face shield.) Getting one out can be difficult, so
> I recommend a different source. Call around.
>
> 12 volt blowers can be picked up at any auto scrapyard.
> They are used in the car heater system under the dash
> board. Alligator clamps may be had at Radio Shack or an auto
> supply place. Make sure you put the insulators back on their
> handles. Or put a lighter receptacle plug in instead.
>
> A blower's blast is simple to control by simply putting an
> egg shaped piece of metal over the intake hole with
> a small bolt in the small end of the egg shape to pivot
> on. I also put a little knob on mine opposite the pivot.
> Sliding it to cover or uncover the intake hole changes
> your airblast to the forge.
>
> When you are not heating metal switch the blower off.
> This saves fuel, the fire won't go out.
>
> In my case I mounted the whole thing on some old metal stool
> legs bolting the leg tops to the bottom of the brake drum.
>
> Basic set up:
> Brake drum on top, thick rim horizontal.
> _____________________
> |_____________________|
> |_____ _____|
> | \ _ _ / |-- fire clay/cement
> |______|_| |_|______| infill here.
> '-|__|-' bolted together
> | |
> |__|
> | |_ Tee fitting.
> | |-----------|
> | _|-----------| to blower
> |____|
> | |
> | |
> _|__|_
> (o|______|0) pipe tank cap / cleanout.
>
> Alternately you can set it up on blocks instead of putting
> legs under it. The blocks go on either side of the bottom
> of the brake drum. Mix the fire clay/hydraulic cement
> and cover the area inside the bowl on either side
> of the blower hole(s) in the bottom. Plug the holes
> first. Any bolting/assembly should be done before
> you lay your fireclay/cement.
>
> These things make an interesting place to have a
> cookout/party session around as well (when the wind
> doesn't shift your way). A hot dog can be done
> over wood scraps in about half a minute, or a
> marshmallow in about five seconds. My blower at
> full opening would produce a wood fire about a
> foot wide and four feet long. Coal/Coke is a bit
> more controllable. Coke is coal with the impurities
> burned out of it. Charcoal briquettes are easily
> obtained. Just get an adequate supply.
>
> That in-line switch really helps.
> You can obtain an in-line cord switch anywhere
> that sells electrical supplies.
>
> You also need a little can with holes in the bottom
> and a steel strap handle bolted to it to control
> the fire as a sprinkler. You need a water bucket
> anyway to quench your steel in.
> A piece of 5/16' iron made like a poker with a 90
> degree bend at the end to pull out clinkers.
> Clinkers are what is left when the coal burns itself
> out. I bent the other end of mine to make a handle shape.
>
> This forge will get hot enough to easily burn steel up,
> so watch your pieces. A beginner also needs thick leather
> gloves, a real pair of American-made Vise-Grip pliers
> (trade name, better than the softer Chinese imitations)
> (round jaws style recommended) and a smooth faced hammer.
> Other hammers with crossed straight and ball peen heads
> will help. Any damage to the hammer face or your anvil
> will transfer with each blow to your piece you are working.
> Leather gloves will smoke before you feel the heat.
>
> Use some eye protection. Red hot steel produces scale.
> Hot scale or embers hurt. For a smoother finished item,
> brush off the scale each time with a long handled wire
> brush before you hammer it. Natural fiber clothes are a
> *lot* safer than synthetics.
>
> Steel anvils tend to ring. Cast iron kind of clunks.
> Cast iron anvils are a lot more prone to spalling or
> throwing off chuncks. Hitting it with a hammer and listening
> might help you find a better one. Some have steel welded
> to a cast iron base. A good quality anvil is about $4+
> per pound. Centaur Forge is on the internet. Cheap
> Chinese imitations claim to be useful. I don't happen to
> have one. Rail Road Rail can be made into an anvil.
>
> Since I am writing this in the U.S.A. I am using electrical
> terms familiar to us. Your overseas wiring may be different.
>
> Master Magnus Malleus, OL © 2002 R.M. Howe
> *No reposting my writings to newsgroups, especially rec.org.sca,
> or the SCA-Universitas elist. I view this as violating copyright
> restrictions. As long as it's to reenactor or SCA -closed-
> subscriber based email lists or individuals I don't mind. It's
> meant to help people without aggravating me.* Inclusion, in the
> http://www.Florilegium.org/ as always is permitted.
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