smithy set up Ideas?

rocketmann

rocketmann

Joined
Dec 24, 2005
Messages
1,254
Well I'm finally getting the forge out of the basement !! I am building a 12 X12 ft tin building to use as a smithy...I plan to have the gas forge in one corner and the trenton in the center ...A post vice will have to go somewhere..? I am also looking at a large press that I plan to aquire soon..Any Ideas for the best arrangment of the basic smithy set up ?? I saw online somewhere someone was using a tee-pee.....Pic's would help !!:D
 
Try to have your most used tools (anvil included) in a triangle from the forge, so you can get from the forge to the anvil, press, power hammer, vice, etc (whatever you use most) as fast as possible with as little heat loss as you can.
 
Personally, I would not put a forge in the corner, it will limit you. if you put the forge along one wall, and the anvil a step away (as in a 90 or 180 degree turn) and the vise a little off to the side, you can use the corners for steel racks, tool racks, or storage of what isn't used all that often. What size tanks are you using? If you can, put your tanks outside, just in case of a leak, and it is easier to move a 100lb tank to and from the side of a building under an awning than to muscle it through a doorway.

ken
 
Consider putting a 8 -12foot awning (extend the roof) out from the front. That way you will have 100+Sq.Ft. of semi protected area. Put the anvil about 3-4 feet outside the door, and cover it with a BBQ cover (it is too heavy to move in and out). Mount the post vise just outside the door ( you can cover it with a Weber grill cover). Put the forge on a rolling welding cart (HF - $49.00 ) and roll it wherever it is needed. Put the press on one side of the shed and put the bench (with the grinder and drill press) on the opposite side. Put any other power tools by the press (band saw, etc.) Put hooks, racks ,and storage on the back wall. The awning area is the best place to forge in, as it gives fresh air and even light ( and it will get hotter than H*!! in a 12X12 with the forge going ).You can put the 100# propane tank out side the door,too. My smithy is pretty much what I have described. There are BBQ covers over all kinds of equipment that I don't have room to store in the two small enclosed buildings (anvils,post vise,bench vise,big band saw, caulking vise,propane tank,12" pedestal buffer, etc.). The NC Lowboy forge is mounted on a swing arm and stays covered with a....you guessed it....BBQ grill cover (they come in almost any size imaginable) . The two buildings are 8X12 and 8X7, I use one for storage and one for the grinding shop. You can even make temporary winter side walls for when the weather is too bitter to stand out in the open. Anything you can mount on a rolling cart will be a plus (HF is your friend !!)
Hope this helps - Stacy
 
I am keeping the grinders and most of the other power tools in the basement shop.. The smithy will be just for hot work. I may bring the chop saw out there along with a angle grinder. I just wanted to get the explosive gasses (propane forge and burning rig) out of the basement !!! I will use a #100 tank to run the forge..
 
All the better. Space gets eaten up fast in a smithy. With an awning to forge under, you would have almost exactly the same setup as I have.
BTW, Another neat trick to maximize the work area wherever you put your anvil is to make a metal welding table that fits on the anvil. Mine is a 24X12 piece of 1/4" plate with a hardie stub welded to the bottom. Hangs on the wall when not in use. Drop the stub in the hardie hole and it stays in place for welding jobs.
Stacy
 
Its always a lot to think about when setting up a new workshop. I went for a
personel door when I had mine built. I have wished a thousand times that I had put in a rolled door on one end. I get affraid of the fumes when I have the forge going in the shed with the small door. I have recently paved an outside area and plan to put a roof over it. As much to keep the sun off as the rain.

The other thing I noticed with a mates shed is he has the roller door. However he has the door close on top of the concreete. When it rains water runs under the seal. Your door needs to pull down outside the concrete so the water will not run in. I have a paveved skirt around my shed and the floor is 50 mm higher inside so no water can run in.

AT the end of the dat happiness is a new shed no matter how you have it.
 
bladsmth said:
Put the forge on a rolling welding cart (HF - $49.00 ) and roll it wherever it is needed.
Click to expand...
I have a lowboy I think too, Mine is a 3-burner forge that I have on a steel rolling cart and you are correct it is nice to be able to roll the forge out away from the wall and then later put it back against the wall out of the way.

I would like to convert my 3-burner to have a way to only have it a 1-burner, any ideas?
 
rocketmann said:
Any Ideas for the best arrangment of the basic smithy set up ??
Click to expand...
Every manner I have ever set up my shop has always turned out to be wrong.
My last design had my beltgrinder turned away from the door/window because of the light blinding me, but this was a problem due to now I had my back to the door and more than once did not hear nor see people knock and then walk right in on me.

The thing I have noticed is that when i need to use my forge I dont need to use the belt grinder nor the saws, so gave up my attempt to design a place for everything to sit all the time, and now move things out to the center when I use them then stick them away when they are done.

Im not sure it's the best system, but it's fun to have thew shop floor clear most of the time.
 
Allan
It is not really practical to convert a NC forge into controllable burners. It isn't really necessary, either. You can usually cut the gas back and run the forge at a much lower temp.

If you want a tunable multi burner forge, it is best to design and build one to suite your exact needs.
Stacy
 
bladsmth said:
Allan
It is not really practical to convert a NC forge into controllable burners.
Click to expand...
There is a square tube that runs the gas across the top to all 3 burners.
"If"....if I were to cut that tube, cap the cut end, and only have a 1 or 2 burner, would this screw up the forge?

Im worried that the forge would collect gas, or that there would be too much gas going to one burner...?

I dont want to blowup, I just want a way to dial-down the huge amount of gas I use just to heat a smaller blade
 
The burner manifold is cast and not a good idea to try and cut apart. The forge chamber is designed to run with three inputs.

If you wanted to do what you said about modifying the burner, here is what I would suggest.
Leave the manifold mounted on the forge (to keep everything lined up ). Cut through the manifold between the first and second burner. Slide a piece of 20 gauge sheet metal in the cut (make it so it sticks out about 1/4" all around) . Weld the piece to the manifold on BOTH sides. This will close off the gas path from burner one to burner two, but maintain the support of the three burners. The existing gas port is now hooked to burners 2 and 3. You will have to drill,tap and fit a gas port into burner one, with its own gas valve. You will now be able to run the forge with one, two ,or three burners. You will have to rebalance and tune the burners, of course.

THE ABOVE MAY OR MAY NOT WORK, depending on your skill, engineering knowledge of burner design and flow, and luck (mostly luck). You can not get a replacement manifold from NC Forge without sending back the old one or a piece of it (they don't want to sell burners to people who make their own forges). They basically will only sell replacements for damaged or worn out burners.

I would suggest building what you want using the existing forge body and making a complete new manifold, designed to run like you want. That way you could always put the old burners back on if needed. Or make a new forge and have two !!!
Stacy
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top