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gary250582

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Aug 7, 2013
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Hi everyone im in the process of working out how to build a home made forge ive seen a pretty easy looking one made out of an old breakdrum an some plumbing bit and a hair dryer but how do you know when you are at the right temp for all the different processes and sorry for the strange title my tablet decided to post this befor I was finished
 
There is a lot to learn in operating a coal/charcoal forge. Building one is the least difficult part, but if you plan on using it for anything but the most simple tasks, you need a bit better forge than something run by a hair dryer. Try and go on some of the blacksmith sites and look at forge designs, and also read some info on using a coal forge. A propane forge is nearly as simple to build, and far easier to operate. Also, getting forging coal or hardwood lump charcoal is a lot harder than getting a propane tank filled. You can't forge properly with regular heating coal.

A trip to the library will probably find several good books on blacksmithing, BTW.
 
Charles McRaven's book "Basic Blacksmithing" has some good info in building a simple solid fuel forge. Randy McDaniel's book "A Blacksmithing Primer" has also got some coal forge building plans.

As for colors, Stacy's right. Read everything you can, and watch YouTube videos of smithing. Your question about correct heats for everything is too wide. It would take a wall of text to thoroughly answer. A couple guidleines for messing around: if you start to see sparks, you got it too hot for forging or anything else. Start over with new steel. If you got it to yellow, it's around forge welding temps. If it's barely hotter than black, and won't move under the hammer, heat it to red/orange to forge it. Heated until a magnet won't stick to it, then just a bare shade hotter, is the right quenching temp for some simple carbon steels.

That's enough to ruin some old leaf or coil springs in your forge, trying to make knives. To do good work, you'll have to know much more than that- which you must find for yourself.
 
Gary, I'm not that far ahead of you in terms of experience, so you should listen to the other posts first, but I may have a few insights. I built a brake drum forge for myself and started forging a few months ago, and as Stacy suggests, it was far easier to build than to use well. (Btw, in lieu of a hair dryer, I use a 100 CFM bathroom vent fan as the blower. It was pretty cheap, is designed to run more or less non-stop, and you can control the air flow using either a dimmer switch or an airgate). Even regulating the amount of air, it can be difficult to control the heat and you get hot spots. This can be a good thing for forging, especially if you are also interested in trying ornamental work, but can be frustrating if you are looking for an even heat. If you are primarily using the forge for the quench portion of heat treating, skip the brake drum entirely and go with gas. I have since picked up a two burner propane forge for this purpose. Other than that, read up on the basics, watch some youtube videos, and then go for it. Other than the heat treatment, where there are relatively precise temperatures to shoot for and procedures to follow, experience (and the mistakes that come with it) seems to be the best teacher.
 
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