Finally have the pieces of the forge!!! Now we get to build it!!!

[Judcargile]

Hi everyone, I am an apprentice bladesmith with ABS with about 1 year down and 2 to go before I can submit knives for my journeyman examination. With only 2 attempts to make a blade, a reasonable person might assume that I am counting unhatched chicks. I have been rebuilding machines, fabricating kit grinders, designing and stocking most things a bladesmith needs for the smooth means of seeing a drawing come to life. The knife community has been out of this world and so many of them have kept me out of the ditches.





It took me quite a while to find a suitable shop frame on two axles; But, they are atually a thing. It also took me quite awhile to treat and repaint the metal on account of my concerns over spontaneous human combustion these past couple of months. So, now I get to go to the steel yard and get some angle and plate to shore up support for the heavier machines. The Harig 612 is 900lbs and the press is based in 1.5 x 5 cold finished flat bar; So, it will most likely go north of 1K.. I can calc the area of the steel that gets left after I get that big boy together. Press is going to have 25 tons with a frame that can upgrade to 50. I just like a big bowl for my ice cream, I reckon.

I would like to keep this project in front of anyone wants to follow it. My initial idea being perhaps I might be useful to the newer smiths, being that I have learned so much about the tooling side from never having a metal oriented background.
Wait until we homemade hoist that griinder onto this thing! LOL!!!

 

[DevinT]

Why do you want your shop on two axels?

Hoss

 

[Judcargile]

mainly, because I rent my home. We have a covered 16 ft at work that we use on work sites and it rocks!!! My dust mitigation gets really simple, I can use misting instead of flood cooling without putting a sheen on everything in the shop. I can do events and remote loations. The freedom of being mobile is very appealing to me.

 

[Ken H>]

When renting a mobile shop is about the only real option it seems to me. With a good dual axle trailer with solid rails it can hold a good bit of weight when hauling, and putting good supports under the rails while parked it should be as steady as an actual building.

Do keep us updated on your progress.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Mobile shops are a great way to have a shop in a place where there isn't any room in the house. You can use it at home or take it to a place where the noise isn't a problem. It is also perfect for doing demos. MY one advice is to make it with strong sides

For about five years I had an 8'X16" (inside about 7'X11' with a 6'6" ceiling) mobile shop trailer. It was originally a large BBQ trailer for festivals. I got it for free from a friend who used to do festivals and catering events. Dual axle, all steel frame and uprights, aluminum sides and roof, melamine paneling inside ...... and insulated. His father was a welder and they built it from scratch.
It had Formica inside counters, shelves and cabinets, a long 220VAC power cord attached to a breaker box, inside and outside power outlets, air conditioning, inside and outside lights, two 40# propane tanks, and a 4-foot back platform with the cooker/smoker. It had a small sink and a 10-gallon water tank, plus a small refrigerator (cold beer!!!). It had screened windows, a narrow side door with flip down steps and a wide back door to the platform. I removed the stove and grills inside and cut off the cooker leaving the back platform as a large steel grate deck. I welded 2" ID square tubing on the deck corners. One was where I would mount my forge and the other allowed mounting things like vises and other metalworking tools. I welded 2" square stock on those tools and stored them in the trailer when not in use. The grinder had a 2" square post on the base so I could put it on the square tubing outside. I make flip down steps for the back of the platform. The anvil and stand would be set on the ground by the forge, and I was ready to go at events and demos. I put tie-down rings inside to secure my generator and the anvil while traveling. I would roll the generator out the back door and set it 50 feet away to run the trailer. All my tools and other equipment stored neatly inside.
At home it kept all my stuff safe and dry when I only had a simple outdoor smithy and a small shed. I kept it plugged in to a 220 outlet on the side of the house.
Only problem was it was a HEAVY beast. When I switched from the big camper-van to a mini-van it was too big to safely haul any distance. I eventually tore it down and made a parade float from it. By then I had a shop, and all my stuff was inside or in the larger smithy. But, at the time it was a wonderful shop.

You can often find great deals on used construction trailers and make the same basic rolling shop. Also, check around for used horse trailers or old camper trailers.