forge idea- will it work,or will i kill myself?

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Jul 14, 2000
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i saw on another forum where someone had built a forge using a steel bowl shaped object (not sure what it was).he lined it with quick kreet,and had a tube running through the middle with a blow dryer attached to the tube.
my guess is that he would build a small fire in there,get the coals going,then turn on the blow drier.
sounds like a good idea.so i'm thinking of getting an old wash tub,hair drier,concrete,and tubing to do the same.

any suggestions? it would sure beat trying to cut knives out of rock hard files with a dremel
wink.gif
 
Maurice,

The forge setups that you are talking about work like a dream.
One problem though, you mentioned quik-crete. Don't use it. It won't hold up to the temperatures. Instead, bank it with wood ash.
Ash is a poor heat conductor and will keep the pipes and bowl/wash tub from burning up.

Here is a link to Tim Lively's page for the forge you mentioned.
http://expage.com/washtubforgesale

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Phillip Jones
Jones Knives
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumList?u=126319&Auth=false
 
its not the EXACT forge i saw,but yeah,its pretty dang close.

i have some free time this week (schools out) so ill try to get to building it this week.
 
Maurice,

You're basically describing Tim Lively's forge, except for the quick-crete. Like Philip said, don't use that. However, if you can find some clay, mix it with the ash.

I did my forge in a similar manner, except I used a 5 gallon steel pail. Mine runs off of a venturi, though.

Good luck!

Mike
 
I'm going to try this myself soon. I don't know what to use for the washtub though. I was thinking of buying an old beatup charcoal grill and converting it.
 
thats basically what i was thinking,too.
im sure i can find one at a junk yard around here,if not,ill go buy one,cant be too expensive...
or hell,even a 55 gallon drum,if i could find a way to cut it in half..
 
yeah,great place,aint it?
biggrin.gif

i got my washtub last thursday i think.i got my clay and ash today,and all i need now is a pipe to run through it,a blow drier,and to get my adobe all mixed up and lined.
 
The only problem now is the air source--I think I have the rest lined up. That's not a hair dryer Tim Lively is using in his photos. I don't know that one wouldn't work, but that's a hand-cranked blower on his model.

Anybody know if a plain 'ol electric hair dryer will work as an air source? I looked at the hand-cranked and shop varieties on EBay just to get an idea of prices and if I can start out cheaper I'd love to.
 
How about an old vacuum cleaner with a rheostat wired into it for a variable speed blower?
 
TRY THE BLOWDRYER WITH A RHEOSTAT. I USED THIS FIRST, THEN I FOUND A 220 FIREPLACE BLOWER. I RUN IT ON 110 WITH A RHEOSTAT AND IT GIVES VERY EXACTING AIR FLOW TO THE FORGE.
KEN

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KandS KNIVES
 
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