Rusty steel barrel OK for a forge body?

cmd

cmd

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Feb 7, 2004
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I came across a 35 gallon steel drum (used for shipping racing fuel) and was thinking about using it to make a forge.

It had been filled with water and kept outside for a few years. It's rusty inside and shows some rust on the outside but is solid.

I plan on using a flapwheel sander on it to get rid of as much rust as possible but probably will not be able to get it perfect.

Would this make a good body for a forge?

Chris
 
Well, that's pretty huge for knife needs. My vertical forge is a 20" diameter pipe, and I cut the inside dimensions down to an oval by welding in some walls on the sides. So my firing chamber is about 10" wide and 16" long.

Rust won't hurt your forge... it's the inner insulation that will make it work. I like mine looking nice, but that's just me. Mine was all rusty until I painted it with high-temp paint. :)
 

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Nice looking forge, Nick. Interesting take on the oval, welding pieces on the inside.
 
Thank you Nick, that's good to know. I'm certain this will not be my last forge, just my first attempt so looks do not mean all that much on it.

Chris
 
The tank from a water heater makes a good forge body,and is much closer to the size you want.They are available free at CURBSIDE Forge Parts every Wednesday in my city.Any plumbing repair will give you all you want,too.
 
bladsmth said:
The tank from a water heater makes a good forge body,and is much closer to the size you want.They are available free at CURBSIDE Forge Parts every Wednesday in my city.Any plumbing repair will give you all you want,too.
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Excellent advice. It is amazing how things are all around and sometimes they just do not stand out. My next forge will most likely be made from a hot water heater tank.

Oh, and also about my steel drum, it is 15 gallons not 35. I was a little off on my estimates and found the markings on the side. The lable has markings of 5, 15, or 55 gallon sizes so this one must be 15. I'll still try to reduce the inside volume but it is definitely smaller than a hot water heater.
 
My welding forge is a 5 gallon bucket on it's side and I used castable to insulate it with a 6 inch stove pipe size opening in the middle.This is my second one I built like this,my last one lasted about 8 years before needing to be replaced.

I like the water heater with another smaller metal liner then castable,The one Nick built is Kick butt cool.....mine is ugly as heck but it works:)

So YES the barel will work if ya really need all that length.

Bruce
 
After making a copy of Don Fogg's drum forge for heat treating, I thought what the heck and made a couple of really nice forges from smaller drum-type containers. They are good BUT have one serious drawback. The shell is too thin to weld anything to. So I have had to rig up all kinds of secondary stuff to hold burners in place, work in place, etc. My next forges will be built from well casing or better so that I can weld directly on to them any and all legs, holders, etc. that I may want. A tiny bit more money up front for a much more versatile set up down the road, IMHO.

John Frankl
 
This is a mas useful thread guys. This week I'm setting up my first forge. The one brick variety (Ordered three bricks). I don't need big yet and I wanna test the forging waters before investing. Threads like this one help newbs like me in a big way. Thanks.
 
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