Forge questions

Rick Marchand said:
Nice forge Dixieblade! I like to forge with a single burner to localize heat and found the two burner overkill for blade forging outside of pattern welding(which I don't do.) At first I would simply shut down one of the burners but found out that unless it is fully removed, it's a quick way to ruin a good burner.
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Hey thanks Rick, the forge is sit up where the two burners divide the the body by thirds. I got a solution to that other burner not being used if not needed too! I have a removable partition that I slide just in front of the second burner if I am not using both. It just a piece of 1/8"plate, round with a flat bottom and foot to keep it standing upright! That way it helps to reduce heat loss and protects that second burner. I am in the process of hooking up a PID controller to be able to read my heats accurately and may go the next step with controllable gas valves to be able to regulate the heat.

I agree with Tai. I always preach if you are going to do it, do it right! You will spend more in cheap tools and the frustration caused by them than you will gain. So save a few extra buck and go buy something decent to do the job with. It's kind of like the old saying cheap isn't always the cheapest way to go!!!!!!!
 
Tai Goo said:
Good for you! That's the spirit! :)

As teachers, I don't think we should assume that every student is just looking for the cheapest and/or easiest way to do something. I'm sure you'll learn a lot and come out ahead in the long run.

I encourage you to put your personal goals first.
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Thanks for the encouragment! I really like the challenge of knifemaking. So many things to try and then to work toward mastering them. I can totally understand if someone doing this as a source of income going in the direction he mentioned.
 
From my learning so far, you want the gas to swirl inside the chamber for more complete combustion. By angling the burner back, it vortexes the flame forward, again causing more complete combustion. Longer pieces are managed by using a back flap to either keep the heat in or let the material pass through.

It's a pretty simple forge to build. I'll send you my plans if you want to build one.

toolrest.jpgswirl.jpgback flap.jpg
 
Something that I don't believe has been mentioned is coal/charcoal forges. These can be build extremely cheap.. you really only need a pipe with some holes in it and an end cap, and an air source. You can use a hair drier on the cool setting, and it works just fine.. though for a sword sized forge you might want a proper blower ($100-150 ?).. but you could use anything, I have built one from the blower fan out of a honda. Just get a metal washtub as long as you need, fill it with adobe or wood ash and shape yourself a trough for the work and material to be in.. with the pipe just below that and the holes pointing up towards the fire trough. Put your charcoal in (not brickettes, but hardwood charcoal, you can make your own too -- or actual coal, but its smelly without proper ventilation), light it up and turn on the air (don't need a lot), let the charcoal cherry out .. it will stop sparking as much.. put your work in and cover it with some charcoal so it heats all the way around.

You can use a pipe to heat up and put your work in, so keep less oxygen from reaching the metal as you're heating for a heat treat. YOu could easily build this sort of thing for $50 or less.. and it's been used for hundreds if not thousands of years.
 
I have used coal forges before and remember we went through a lot of hardwood char over the weekend. How long would a 10lb, $7 bag last you?
 
Rick Marchand said:
I have used coal forges before and remember we went through a lot of hardwood char over the weekend. How long would a 10lb, $7 bag last you?
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I went through 38 pounds of charcoal when making this:

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Of course, it wasn't really that proper a forge:

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It was last year when I last used it and it was bigger bags, maybe 20-30 lbs.. but that would last me a few days, doing 1-2 hour forging sessions.. if I recall correctly. It depends on your forge design how much you're going to burn.. but I would throw a handful on every 10 minutes or so.

You can also use scraps of non charred wood, as Tai has demonstrated in his first DVD. It takes a little longer and you're essentially semi charring it as you work, surrounding the main fire with the fresh wood and slowly circulating it in as it gets "ready". Or use bits of wood to extend the burn time of "proper" charcoal perhaps.
 
Charcoal and coal are definitely an option- they're fun to work with and more old-timey. Like mentioned, especially for a scrounger a solid fuel forge is real cheap to build.

I didn't find that I used a horrible amount of charcoal over time. You learn to keep your fire packed and wetted around the edges, to save fuel. Using a hand crank blower can keep you from burning your steel by forgetting to turn the blower off, but can wear your arm out on big projects.
 
With all the recent wild fires, you shouldn't have too much trouble finding free charcoal. :)

For long blades the softer woods work best. Air circulates though it better. It's a light fluffy fire that can be brought up the temp., with a good controlled draft and it's easier to get a long even heat with. I usually just go around to the construction sites and pick scrap out of the dumpsters with permission from the foreman.

I know it sounds cheap,… but it gives me something to do and it’s kind of fun. It gets me out of the house.
 
If i knew how to weld or even had a welder to learn how id probably attempt making my own forge but since i dont I kinda looking at the premade forges. Just want to get somethign that will meet my needs now and in the future
 
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