Lively Charcoal Forge question

G

Gauge7

Joined
Apr 13, 2006
Messages
264
Hi everyone.

I recently attended Tom McGinnis's tomahawk seminar (as posted in W&SS) and got really interested in making hawks at home. My only problem is that my "forge" is only good for getting steel to slightly above non-magnetic; therefore, I need to build one suitable for reaching welding temps.

My question is this: is the forge which Tim designed capable of reaching welding temps or would I have to go with a larger design with a stronger blower?
My only problem with using a powered forge is that I don't have power to my shop.

Thanks for any answers!
 
I haven't seen the forge in question, however I smelt steel with airblown charcoal, I have used air blown charcoal in my coal forge (hand driven crank) and easily hit welding temps (hell slagging temps) and in a pinch will dig a hole run half inch black pipe to the bottom of it with a mattress blower for air and be able to do small forging (just make sure you remove any large rocks that are in the edge of your hole or you migt get steam explosions

-Page
 
Sorry, I should have posted a link to Tim's forge. Here it is.

Thanks for the tip on the air mattress pump. That might just work for my knife making needs.

Devin Price (one of the instructors at the seminar) told me I could easily weld with a small forge, I just didn't know if Tim's design was too small.
 
that may be a bit big for supplying with a mattress pump, if you do not have power but have 12 volts you can get a car heater fan from a junkyard for a couple bucks (especially if you don't care about brand just get what's cheap) and run it off a car battery (also probably scorable at a junkyard, doesn't necessarily have to start a car)

That's for forging on the cheap with no good AC power, I'll do that in a pinch or to make a point.
Tim's forge is certainly big enough if you blow it hard enough and maintain your fire well, but a mattress pump will not get you there with that large an area

-page
 
When i started out, i used a charcoal forge and used a hair dryer (one that had seperate switch for heat and speed) hooked to an extension cord that had a light dimmer switch hooked to it so i could vary the amount of air, through using the dimmer and the 2 speeds on the hair dryer. It worked pretty well.
 
Thanks for the tips! I have seen pictures of forges powered by hair driers, but I didn't know if they were strong enough for welding. My shop is about 200' from the nearest power, so that would require me getting a few extra extension cords.

The car heater idea definitely merits some thought. If I put a solar trickle charger on the battery I'd never have to worry about running out of juice.

Great tips!
 
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