Paint Can Forge tutorial done!

Chiro75

Chiro75

Joined
Feb 4, 1999
Messages
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Upon Darren Ellis' request, I took pics and made a tutorial out of my little forge project last night. I decided to put in in a PDF format that would be really easy to download. It's about 225KB, so even people with dial-up modems can download it in about a minute. Check it out and see what you think or if I could make improvements to it before I have Darren post it in his forge gallery. The pictures on the PDF are a bit small, but I think they're clear and show what they need to show pretty well. But, I also took the pics and know what's on them, so any input is appreciated! Of course the PDF is too big to attach, so you can download it by going to this link
 
I'll keep this as a saved file, thanks.

Now all I have to do is find a blower for my real forge. :D actually I have a blower I just have to set the forge up somewhere and mess with it.
 
Nice. Except it needs the obligatory photo(s) at the end of the article ...of the forge completely finished and fired up :)

Also, a 'total cost' of the completed project would be beneficial (torch included). This lets folks know beforehand how much they need to invest to get the forge up and running.

Anyways, good job!
 
That photo will be added tonight/tomorrow. I went home between patients to make a sheath for a knife that went out today and fired it up. My lack of heat was because of the way I drilled my hole for the torch. Was perfect until I packed 2" of wool in there, so I had to prop one set of the legs up on a brick and it brought the hole down. I got the propane going, kept it lit for maybe 2 minutes, then put a piece of 4" long 1/8" 1084 in it. I had it to critical in 30 seconds! Wish I would've listened to Darren a couple years ago, but that's life! :rolleyes:
 
Although, at least I DID get the obligatory "celebration brew" shot in. When I came down foor breakfast this morning my wife said "So, why are there pictures of beer on the camera?" I told her the whole story about IG's pics and how there is always Bud in the background, so I figured I'd give the reader a taste of our local New Holland Brewing Co. Red Tulip Ale, which comes out around Tulip Time in the spring every year. Yum!
 
Although, at least I DID get the obligatory "celebration brew" shot in.
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LOL! Yeah, I saw that. I figured you just got tired of taking pictures of the forge and went on to more 'important' matters ...namely, the beer :)
(Evidently, extra points get awarded if you have a shot of the forge running and beer in the same photo.)
 
jiminy said:
LOL! Yeah, I saw that. I figured you just got tired of taking pictures of the forge and went on to more 'important' matters ...namely, the beer :)
(Evidently, extra points get awarded if you have a shot of the forge running and beer in the same photo.)
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Ah, so that's it! Ironically it was almost 11:00 when I got this finished last night, so the beer went back in the fridge without being opened. Can;t say the same will happen tonight, though! More pics tomorrow! Mow the lawn, pick up dog poop, make dinner, eat dinner, wait for it to get dark, then let the pics fly!

It seems like a good idea to move my HT'ing out to the garage, right? I don't want CO poisoning. Also, the cool thing was how insulated this forge is. Even when it gets steel critical in 30 seconds you can hold the outside of it and it's cool. I guess that IS the point of the wool, brick, Satanite, etc! :)
 
VERY nice tutorial. Now that I stole an anvil from John, I'm looking to build a similar style forge.

I'm curious though... how bad is it to heat up a bare firebrick or insulating wool?
 
bare firebrick isn't an issue, I do it all the time since I have a 2-brick. I wouldn't take any chances with inswool or anykind of fiber insulation material, it's just not worth the health issues. My forge is awful, when the funds allow I will do this tutorial or something similar. Question: are you using MAPP for the forge? any special burner tips or anything? i oughta try MAPP on my current setup though I doubt it will make a difference.
 
I tried it with MAPP and actually think propane seemed to work better. I use the TS4000 burner, which is the one with the automatic starter integrated into it. My first upgrade will be a real propane tank and/or the hose burner thing that is $30. You need a "swirl" type burner, which I guess the TS4000 is. That thing had my 1084 red hot in 30 seconds, so it's pretty darn efficient!

For the cost of a 5 lb bag of Satanite from Darren it's well worth any expense to coat it. Unless, that is, the idea of horrifying lung diseases is appealing to you! Shoot, you really only need about 1 pound for this forge, really.
 
Gotcha
OdBall-thatworks2.gif



My lungs > $10
 
Here are a couple obligatory fire pictures! Mine doesn't really look volcano-hot like some, but this thing is a huge improvement over open air heating and it seems plenty hot enough!
forge1.jpg


forge4.jpg
 
can you angle the burner into it to make it swirl around the inside of the forge so there is no direct flame on the steel (less scale and more even heat)? Is that a hard or soft firebrick in the bottom? Soft firebricks reflect the heat more, hard ones absorb the heat and keep it, at least that is what i understand.
 
That's a soft brick in the forge. The way the heat is coming in, and the pics don't really show it, is that it comes is pretty much in line with the walls of the "tunnel", hits high on the opposite side, and swirls around. At least that's the way it looks. I've only seen one other forge and that was Sean Couch's, which is the real deal, so I;m flying by the seat of my pants with this! :D
 
good job chiro, very well presented and clearly explained. i've been looking for a simple forge design to use, and i think imuna use this one. thanks for doin the tutorial!

Alex C.
 
It probably is zinc coated, and I thought about that before I made it. You could probably throw it in your grill for a while and burn it off (clear the area!), but it's so well insulated, that the can doesn't even warm up, so I don't think it makes a big difference. You would probably be better off using that black stovepipe stuff, but you'll need to take a saw to it to cut it to length.
 
Harleyd2900 said:
Looks awsome to me!!!


My father and I are building a forge, and this helps some. thanks
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Glad it's been helpful! It was an easy project. Took me maybe 2-2.5 hours to do. Probably around $75 invested in it including the torch and propane.
 
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