- Joined
- Mar 6, 2015
- Messages
- 99
I purchased the Atlas Mini Forge and I'll tell you my first impressions. To begin with, I am a novice at forging so I don't have any comparison stories. For a newbie though, nothing could have been easier. I took it out of the box, installed the burner and the propane tank and fired it up. It worked the first time.
It heats up quick and achieves adequate temperatures for forging blades. Make no mistake, when they say Mini they aren't kidding. I make small blades so it is perfect for me. If there was a place to give it stars I would give it 5.
Stacy, thank you for the plentiful advice. I got some scrap and pounded steel every direction to get a feel for the hammers and moving hot and cold steel.
Here is the result of my first forged blade. It is 52100, I started with a 1/4 by 5 inch piece. The handle is bead blasted G-10. I'm pretty happy with it although I'm sure I'll refine the process as time goes by.
Stacy. When you said not to worry if I catch the floor on fire I laughed, I have a concrete floor. But when I dropped the first hot piece, and 8 years worth of lacquer dust caught fire........How did you know?
It heats up quick and achieves adequate temperatures for forging blades. Make no mistake, when they say Mini they aren't kidding. I make small blades so it is perfect for me. If there was a place to give it stars I would give it 5.
Stacy, thank you for the plentiful advice. I got some scrap and pounded steel every direction to get a feel for the hammers and moving hot and cold steel.
Here is the result of my first forged blade. It is 52100, I started with a 1/4 by 5 inch piece. The handle is bead blasted G-10. I'm pretty happy with it although I'm sure I'll refine the process as time goes by.
Stacy. When you said not to worry if I catch the floor on fire I laughed, I have a concrete floor. But when I dropped the first hot piece, and 8 years worth of lacquer dust caught fire........How did you know?
He was most disappointed with using a plumbers torch as the heat source. He researched many torches and ended up with one that was suitable. Then he addressed all the shortcomings of the wired up bricks. A few generations later he had made a home brew forge that was a 2BF with a little extra style and a commercial torch that would attach to a propane bottle. He modified it and improved it. He then took a good look at the torch and realized why old makers don't use one...it is a poor heat source. He designed a simple no-nonsense venturi burner. He has modified it to make improvements and made a larger version. Once the design was sufficient, he bit the bullet and ordered materials, parts, and contracted out laser cutting...and started Atlas Forge Co. He has continued to add improvements to his design, and probably will add more things as the idea grows. This is the real American Dream story...if you dream it, and work hard at it...it can succeed.
