How to make a ghetto forge

[Charlie Mike]

Get a soup can... The longer the better. Get something to make a rectangular die that will be roughly the size of the blades you are making and wrap it in tape and then foil. Put a hole in the center of the bottom of the can that is roughly the size of your torch nozzle. Place your die into the can so the hole is plugged. Make some mud, or if you have access to clay (the kind you fire in a kiln) even better. Pack the space in the can with your mud/clay and let it settle. Use a torch to speed it up. When dry... give it 2 days, use the torch to burn out the die. This should leave you with a channel to put your blade into. The purpose of this forge is to insulate you blade from the cooler outside air allowing the steel to get to non magnetic temp (red to yellow hot).

More pics to follow.

 

[Charlie Mike]

Now light a cigarette

 

[Seals]

Hey CM,Be careful laying those bottles down horizontally.Bad stuff can transpire.Also,the Mapp gas in the yellow bottle gets hotter.

 

[Charlie Mike]

I use MAPP for my HT. The blue bottle is for getting the BBQ or fireplace going.

Back in my dope days< I used MAPP to blow glass tubes into crank pipes... That MAPP is some HOT shit!

 

[JohnnyMayhem]

This is really cool, post more pictures!

 

[fast14riot]

Vermiculite or the cheap clay kitty litter will insulate it better than the mud. Vermiculite is used in potting soil because it retains moisture so you might be able to find it at Home Depot or other places like that. I really need to make a coffee can forge. Only problem is I don't drink coffee that comes from a can, so I need to go hunt one down!

Good on ya C.M. for keeping it simple and cheap.


-Xander

 

[Cornbread556]

Vermiculite or the cheap clay kitty litter will insulate it better than the mud. Vermiculite is used in potting soil because it retains moisture so you might be able to find it at Home Depot or other places like that. I really need to make a coffee can forge. Only problem is I don't drink coffee that comes from a can, so I need to go hunt one down!

Good on ya C.M. for keeping it simple and cheap.


-Xander

What would you use to hold the vermiculite in? I've got three bags of the stuff on the back porch and a some scrap ten inch pipe.


Nice little write up Charlie Mike. Shows you don't have to shell out a ton of money to get things going.

 

[Chuck Gedraitis Knives]

You would be better off making a one brick forge. You just need a soft firebrick. You could make it bigger by using 2 bricks but that would require more heat.

 

[catsmasher]

TWO great ideas!

 

[Charlie Mike]

Do you have a link of what/where kinda brick that is? Never seen a brick like that.

 

[duffy99]

It's called insulated or soft fire brick, pottery supply places have them.

 

[JohnnyMayhem]

It's fire insulation brick, or fire brick, you can find it at most big box hardware stores near the fireplace supplies.

 

[blindhogg]

Just make sure you get a soft firebrick not a hard firebrick. Hard bricks are as hard as real bricks and not good candidates.
Chris

 

[12345678910]

It's fire insulation brick, or fire brick, you can find it at most big box hardware stores near the fireplace supplies.

Really?
I've NEVER found it in a retail store - even people who supply fireplace bricks have never heard of it - you need to deal with refractory dealers

I had to go to a pottery supplier - sold as repair bricks or build your own kiln brick.


CM

They mention this one brick forge in the book $50 knife shop - shouldn't be a surprise to you

Insulating fire brick, or sponge firebrick - it's really light compared to a normal brick & you can carve it with a spoon.

http://www.hightemptools.com/firebricks.html



http://www.morganthermalceramics.com/products/insulating-fire-bricks-ifb/

 

[duffy99]

Ya there is a big difference between the two , the hard fire brick you buy at home depot isn't the right one it should be soft and lighter. A 4"x2 1/2 "x 9 is around $7 depending where you go.

 

[silver_pilate]

Holding heat is one thing. Most heavy bricks or mud will do that, but it's not very efficient. What is much much better is reflecting heat back into the chamber. That's where the soft fire brick really shines. Look for refractory suppliers in your area and pick up a case. They're pretty useful. I built several one brick forges from them when I first started, and I also used them to build a homemade heat treating oven.

--nathan

 

[Bo T]

I got mine from a store that sells pottery kilns. If one brick isn't big enough you can make a 4 or 8 brick oven although you will probably need a bigger burner with the larger forge.

 

[Charlie Mike]

 

[Phil Dwyer]

Ghetto about says it all. Have you got anything up to forging temp and forged?

 

[Charlie Mike]

Only small pieces. This is mainly for doing HT.