which forge?

M

moon59

Joined
May 2, 2005
Messages
208
Well I was going to build myself a forge,but the wife said since I quit smoking to just go out and buy one :eek: uh ok :D .This is where you guys come in, which one?A bladesmith buddy {hi Fred} has a three burner N.C. A blacksmith buddy swears by the two burner Forgemaster both get hot enough to weld so help me out guys, which forge?
 
Dude, you can build one for under $150 and the $$$ you save you can use for other goods.
There is a tutorail on my site on buildind one.:D
 
moon59.
While IG is right about saving money - time,tools,and and skill vary among us.( IG could build a car if he needed a new one)
If you want to buy one I recommend the N.C. whisper lowboy (three burner).
Stacy
 
Moon59 has been working at my forge for the last 6 months. He is a quick study and has some real talent. He will be posting pics of his work here in the near future. Watch for him. Fred
 
Hello guys. This is my first post in this section of BF. I have been hanging out in the HI section for a few months. In that time I have begun grinding blades out of files. Then annealing them in my oven and handling them. I really enjoy it. I'd like to learn to forge a blade, and want to build a forge. (I looked at your site IG and didn't see any plans.) I have shop skills, but mostly woodworking related. At work I do some machining of brass on a Grizzly mill also so I'm not a total newb in the shop. I don't know how to weld at all YET, so that's a weakness, I understand that. I will learn. What I want to know is whether it would be better for me to get simple forge plans and have someone else do the welding, or just buy one. What are the price ranges? Who are the vendors? Moon, you are lucky to be able to see the whole process first hand. Is there anyone near here that would like to show a newb the ropes? I'll do clean up work around your shop in exchange for the lessons. Sorry for the length here, and thanks in advance for any advice.
 
Aproy, I can't suggest on the forge part as I don't have my own... yet. But I can comment on the welding. I was in the Boy Scouts for the past 19 years and most of the camping equipment that we had was home made from a $100 welder that I purchased from Harbor Freight. It is a wire fed welder and it only has a 2% duty cycle, but it gets the job done. When I was in high school I was a Red Iron welder and I made alot of money during the summer and weekends. I would recommend getting a wire fed welder as they are easier to learn than "Stick" welding. Go to your local scrap yard and get some steel and play with it.
 
aproy1101 said:
Hello guys. This is my first post in this section of BF. I have been hanging out in the HI section for a few months. In that time I have begun grinding blades out of files. Then annealing them in my oven and handling them. I really enjoy it. I'd like to learn to forge a blade, and want to build a forge. (I looked at your site IG and didn't see any plans.) I have shop skills, but mostly woodworking related. At work I do some machining of brass on a Grizzly mill also so I'm not a total newb in the shop. I don't know how to weld at all YET, so that's a weakness, I understand that. I will learn. What I want to know is whether it would be better for me to get simple forge plans and have someone else do the welding, or just buy one. What are the price ranges? Who are the vendors? Moon, you are lucky to be able to see the whole process first hand. Is there anyone near here that would like to show a newb the ropes? I'll do clean up work around your shop in exchange for the lessons. Sorry for the length here, and thanks in advance for any advice.
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It's in the gallery section. Here ya go!!!!
http://indiangeorgesknives.com/building_a_forge.html
 
You might consider contacting Darren Ellis. He makes a nice forge and his prices are much better than NC. Ron Claibourne also makes a good forge,I have one of both, no complaints. Heat em up and beat em up!!!
 
Thanks, IG, for the link. I guess I should have seen it before. That's the one I want to build. Not too big, and looks like it could be stored in a corner of my shop. I really gotta learn to weld now.

Your knives, by the way, are breathtaking.
 
aproy1101 said:
Thanks, IG, for the link. I guess I should have seen it before. That's the one I want to build. Not too big, and looks like it could be stored in a corner of my shop. I really gotta learn to weld now.

Your knives, by the way, are breathtaking.
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Thanks Bro!! Feel free to call if I can help you and if you are ever in the area stop on by.:D :D
 
My latest forge was Indian Georges design and it took me only one week working two hours each evening to build it. I spent a total of $80 and it worked perfect on the first try. It welds and even smelts. My stick welds usually look like a cross between a lava flow and a napalm drop but they do hold so what the heck.

At least give IG's forge tutoral a look before buying one. I used an old propane tank as the body and the rest is from the local hardware store. He even post's a link to a very affordable ($18) 100cfm blower that works great.
 
Hi fellas!
I've been forging knives for 2 years this summer - so I know I'm still new to this. HOWEVER - In the course of beginning down the road of knifemaking knowledge, I've developed a strong opinion about forges, and tools in general. To wit, it's better to make your own. I honestly feel that I have learned more through making mistakes in making blades and building the tools that I use, that I have in actually using them. So Aproy and Moon, my advice as a newbie, is to build it yourself if it's at all possible. (However, if you have the means, there is something to be said for "just getting it now", and using it!:D ). Either way, it's good to make knives!
 
Bennett brings up a good point....Making tools we need does a lot for us. Besides saving money, the boost in confidence it can give you is more than worth all the effort.
 
Even if you want to buy one I wouldn't touch any of the current commercial ones in comparison to buying one of Rex's burners: www.Hybridburners.com

The burner is the heart of the forge, the rest is just a metal box with some insulation in it. Or a stack of fire bricks. I'd hate to see a guy lay out a pile of dough, and when it comes to getting the unit out of the box, he is still doing as much screwing together or parts as if he had made his own, and at far higher cost for a less well made product.

I haven't tried one, but if I wanted to drop some dough, and I was going to use flux, I would at least consider buying The zawata shell and a Rex burner. Comes out around 500, and it should be to die for.

http://tzknives.com/forgead.htm

But the real bottom line is that if you can weld, you might be better off just getting the burner. There are different styles of forge for different puposes, and you can wack together a new shell to handle differnet work as the mood takes you. Want to temper a sword, or just make plane blades? Different shell. Want to do wraught iron? Different shell.

I almost bought a Merkel, but I'm glad I didn't, not that they are bad or anything, but it makes more sense to put your money where it might count. There is lot's of very cool stuff that might be more worth your while, like a pyrometer, laser heat gun, rex burner, or Zawate, vs these 1920 style gas forges.

Safety wise. Try this. Get your propane torch. get a coffee can with the top off put it on it's side on a flame proof surface. Punch a hole large enough for the torch in the side of the can. Light torch, and stick through side of can. That's as exciting as it gets. You are not going to blow up. Take the torch out of the can before it gets too hot, it isn't insulated, though if you did insulate it, you would have a forge. I can see people not wanting to make their own burners, for safety and efficiency reasons, but if you can buy a ready made burner for not much more than the cost of a Bernzo torch, why not go that route?
 
I have one of Tim Zowada's forges, and it works great. You have to assemble a frame for it, put the shell together, and get a good sized blower. Once you get it all set up you don't have to fool around with it. I find that once I get it going I can run at 1900 degrees all day with only about 1/2lb of gas pressure. If you are interested in damascus, these forges will easily reach welding temperatures.
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That's a good picture of the the total set-up. Thanks. I would try it with a hybrid burner, it has to have enough heat, you can melt a car with the rex or mongo, and the set-up is simple and very temperature controlable. That is certainly a good sized blower. I don't forge indoors so my personal system has to be pretty simple. That unit also seems to have minimal nasties on the inside. Having the blanket on the outside is a great idea. I love your set-up good example of the use of some stock parts to make something that is state of the art.
 
It's the kind of set up you have to make if you can't weld. :( Welding is on my long list of things I need to learn. All I need is some spare time.

The high pressure blower is available from Grainger's, but I found this one at the flea market. It appeared that it had never been used.

There is nothing inside the shell, other than the kiln shelf I use to support the blades I'm working on, and the thermocouple probe for my temperature gauge. The cast refractory shell takes a little while to heat up, but then it holds the heat and radiates it back to the blades. That way your blade heats up very quickly.

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I kinda get a kick out of building my own tools too. Or rebuilding old ones. I've done that a few times (lathe, large sander, shaper, scroll saw, small belt sander). I've just gotta learn to weld. Anyone wanna recommend starter welding equipment and maybe a link to an online tutorial? Or should I just go take a course at the community center?
 
I have a Wisper Low Boy that I have had since 98, I also have a home built with a forced draft.

The wisper Low Boy is OK for forging and is super easy to light up, but mine is borderline for welding. The forced draft home built will go to 2700°F if needed.

I just took one of the three burners off the Low boy. I never use the entire length of the forge any way and it cuts down on propane use. The low boy with three burners uses propane almost twice as fast as my home built. The only advantage of the low boy is quiter and faster to light.
The advantages to the home built, hotter, less fule use and most of all I can control whether I have a reducing flame or a oxidizing flame.

Jim A.
 
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