Planning hot shop/shed: Suggestions???

[happycat]

I am planning on building a hot shop this summer and am soliciting input. I'm thinking about 10'x12'ish, possibly dug into the ground (friend with backhoe). Maybe fieldstone (lots of that lying around). Noticing a petter here? I'm cheap and relatively poor. I'd like to do something knid of out of the ordinary rather than just the standard "pole barn" style shed, but am open to suggestions.
If you were building a small building for a hot shop, what would you want? What features should I try to include in my "ultimate dream shop plan"? I would love to hear what you think, and to see any pics too. I need my imagination stirred up and you folks are really good at that, whadda ya think?
No idea is too outlandish, I'm wide open here
Thanks for playing.....
Ed

 

[truck]

Stone is a really cool material, but it takes a LOT of stone to build with. It is also very time consuming to collect by hand. I used to collect when I was landscaping, but finally gave up because I just didn't have the time in my schedule. In other words, free rocks became more expensive than store bought. If you have easy access to that much rock, have at it. I'm also assuming that you are planning on being at your present address for quite awhile. If not, I'd go with stick built for ease of construction. BTW, how is that perfect little knife doing that I saw at the hammer in. That thing rocked!

 

[mete]

Have you ever built a stone wall ? Not only does it take lots of stone but also the right kind of stone. If you don't use flat stone it won't last. A properly laid wall takes time since you have to constantly sort out and find the stones that fit . My house ,on the first floor ,is made of stone three feet thick.It's been there 150 years and no it doesn't shake in the wind.

 

[B . Buxton]

Ed here's 3 pictures of my smithy, maybe they will give you an idea or 2. The size is 10' wide 12' long. it consists of 6 - 10' 4"x4" cca posts buried in the ground, stringers to nail the fiberglass panels on 2' centers and door hinges so they will swing up and out. The roof is galvanized sheet metal. I don't remember total cost but it wasn't much. All the sides open if I want them to, and in hot weather I usually do, with a good breeze its not to bad. In winter I can open one side closest to my forge half way and when its 10 degrees out its still 80 + in it. Its hard to tell from the photos, but inside is my 25 ton press, anvil on and 24" dia. stump, 25# little giant power hammer, vertical forge, and a 5" bench vise mounted on a 3" pipe in front of the forge, and lots of dies for my press.. The power hammer and press are sitting on concrete pads that I mixed and poured myself. to give them a good flat and solid base. It looks pretty rough, but a good coat of paint would make it look just fine, I might try to do that this summer if I can find time.

Hope this helps some.

Bill

 

[happycat]

Thanks for the input guys. Bill, I like those openable walls. Truck, thanks for the compliment. Which one was it you were refering to?
Truck/Mete: thanks for the imput on the stone. It is good field stone, and I've worked with it before, though not to build walls, just face them. I have a good amount pretty close. My house is a 150 year old farm house with a dry layed fieldstone foundation. there is another ruin of a foundation (now a stand of sumac) about 40 yrds from where I'm gonna build. If I don't go stick built, I could lay block and just face it, but I like the idea of using native (read "free" materials too). I also love the look of the stone.
Ed

 

[Sweany]

There is a black smithing how to book.
Randy...somebody.
Built a really nice Forge shop, rock half walls with a roof. Open on all sides.

The walls were about sitting down and BSing height.
Pole barn,type. I'd like one like that. Slideing doors on all sides maybe?

Build it bigger than 10X12 or build it so you can stretch it out later. You'll want to.

Oh yeah, The roof was open at the pitch, about 18" or so IIRC then it had a Little roof over that opening about foot above the peak of the rafgters. The little roof overhung the opening. The whole roof setup worked to "draft" draw the air. Damn handy in a hot shop.

 

[jhiggins]

You fellers that live in the South have it made. Summers are hot and you can forge under an open pole barn. Winters are mild, so you don't really need insulation in a hot shop. Up here its all about keeping in some heat so a body don't die of hypothermia - even while forging!

That said, I'll be rebuilding my smithy this year, and like you, Ed, I'm on a shoestring. Well, the showstring broke once and I retied it, but its holding together in a fragile sort of way

I'm using four 6x6x12 p/t timbers for the base, resting on 8" sonotubes. The floor will be packed driveway mix. The walls will be 2x2 contruction, and since the roof will be 12-12 pitch, I'll be using 2x6's - all spaced at 16". The sheathing will be 1/2" OSB and the roof sheathing will be 1/2" ply. The roof will have a 2-foot-wide second roof set 6" higher than the main roof, and overlap approximately 12" to offset for weather and will allow all fumes and smoke to draft normally.

My last smithy fell in during the hard snows we got last year. This time I'll have a steep roof pitch and metal covering. That stuff should slide right off!

Btw Ed... if you decide to do something like this, the 6x6x12's here in NH are about $32 each. The whole base would only cost around $150, including the driveway mix.

Oh and for those of you who are wondering what I mean by driveway mix: Up here we get this mix of crushed and splintered granite stone. It packs right down and makes a darn good driveway. Tough on your bare feets, but really decent for making a good driveway. Looks good too. Just rake it if it starts to get shoddy.