Welding Tips and Tricks

I have a strong interest in the dying art of forge welding and blacksmithing. I do not know very much about either one, I guess you can call me a noob on this subject, but have been looking into building a forge for about a year. So here is a shout out to anyone who has a interest or has a forge and wants to share some tips and tricks. Anyone here forge weld or do any ornamental blacksmithing?
To start I am going to build a gas fired forge, starting this weekend, following these basic plans;
http://www.arscives.com/bladesign/forge.tutorial.htm
The main reason I like this one is it is inexpensive and can be made by anyone, even with basic skills. I also have a air tank laying around so this will be perfect.
Also will start a coal fired forge at the beginning of the week, which should be sweet. I would like some pictures/prints for ideas.
Since I am just beginning their will be a lot of tooling that will need to be made, so there will be a lot of welding and fab work on this project. I do not have a anvil, but am thinking of fabricating my own. I have seen some interesting ideas on making your own. My ultimate goal, a long while down the road, is to make a sword.
Follow along as I make my forges and I will be posting pictures as it progresses.
-Jonathan

The design looks functional and simple enough, but I would think it will be expensive to use propane. Have you looked into building a brake drum forge? You can get a large truck brake drum pretty cheap. Anyway whichever way you go post up pics so we can follow along.

Yes propane (especially right now) is probably not the cheapest option, but keep in mind this is for hobbyist use only. One benefit of propane is I don't have to get a coal fire going if I just want to go out to the garage and play.
I looked at the brake drum idea and think that would work as well. I could also do the same thing with a large pipe. I have come to realize there is more than one way to skin a cat when it comes to building forges. Anyone else have a different idea or pictures of your forge to share?
-Jonarhan

Check here tons of ideas

http://www.iforgeiron.com/

Hey,

Dont forget the old blacksmith only had coal and forced air. Ive seen a heavy steel stove, we call them a pot belly, hooked up to a pipe with a hair drier on it, which forced the air in. You could probably also use a vacuum cleaner motor.

Mick

Here is the air tank I will be starting with. I will be making a trip to the store to pick up material in the beginning of the week. I actually got sidetracked with making a anvil. I have started a thread in the "projects" section of the forum for the anvil.

I picked up a Hay Budden 146# anvil a while back and decided to do a brake drum forge. I use a hair dryer for a blower and yes i have gotten some laughs about it but it works. Shaping heated metal is fun and not really that difficult but forge welding can be a pain. If you are trying for a Damascus its a lot of forge welding. Borax is the only way to go.

I like shaping metal. I have only really bent things and made lambs tongues. It will be a while until I actually get to forge weld but I am excited to give it a try.
I have been searching the internet and YouTube on forge welding and blacksmithing and have found a lot of information. Here is a YouTube channel that I found interesting, especially on the forge welding
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC081pwDejypmeWVzBbaTn2w
Do you have any pictures of your brake drum forge?

I don't have any pictures of it but if i ever make it back out to my shop ill get some. I learned a lot from the youtube videos and have had a lot of fun playing. I learned a lot about heat treating and different grades of steel in some of the research i have done and it has helped with some of the welding projects i have done.

Quite interesting video - could'nt see why he used coal - it's so full of crap & when it boils / burns out it stinks the place out - can be explosive & is not great except as a last resort - I only ever used coke on the forge at my place - I think maybe I'm just old enough for this type of work to seem normal - most farm workshops had a forge - in recent years I have'nt tried to fire weld as it has no real economic place these days unless someone is paying you plenty for some "authentic antique ! " never really tried fire welding on mild steel as we were always told at school it did'nt work - only wrought iron - guess it's possible & worth a try as it's quite hard to find wrought around here - if all you want the forge for is to heat bits of metal prior to wailing on them you could build a regular hearth forge quite easily - hardest thing is finding suitable fittings to make the " two iron " out of - but not impossible - it's way cheaper than using propane - I think the most efficient way with propane or natural gas is the little " FlameFast " ceramic chip hearth - with a bit of ingenuity one could copy these - occasionally you get lucky & find an ex school one - mate of mine is meant to be picking one up soon - other options are look at Northern Tool / Horrible Freight - they often have a large propane torch sold for weed burning or roofing - not sure on the BTU but we have a couple - use one in an enclosure of fire bricks mainly for pre-heating - the other is firing a small enclosed rivet oven - just accept you will not achieve fire weld temperature with propane in my experience - you got to have real coke .

Kentucky and Pennsylvania rifles were forged over hardwood charcoal, before the huge coal deposits were discovered in the appalachians.

There's more than one way to skin a mule...

I suggest the series of books called "Foxfire", which is a history of appalachian life researched and written entirely by high-school students! Every detail you would wish to know about "how the old-timers did it", from making horseshoes and forging rifle barrels, to butchering and smoking meat, and ten thousand other crafts of self-sufficiency, are explained in a level of detail History Professors could earn a new degree from. There were ten books at my last count, and your local library should have them or be ashamed.

Edit: I think it's Foxfire V that explains seam-welding a rifle barrel in a forge.

Steve S

I have the full set of those books. Its been years since i have seen them. May have to dig them out and give them a read.

Arizona SA200 wrote:I have the full set of those books. Its been years since i have seen them. May have to dig them out and give them a read.

When I asked my broker what I should invest in today, he said, "Canned goods and ammunition"...

So the Foxfire books are more "current" than one might suspect!

Steve S

Given our current dictatorship i would have to agree with your brother and that gives me another reason to read them again.

Thanks for all the info so far guys! This is turning out to my more interesting than I originally thought. I have been talking to friends here and it has opened up a interest in forging.
You are correct Steve, it is Foxfire 5 that discusses Ironmaking and Blacksmithing. Ordered it and it's on the way!
http://www.amazon.com/Foxfire-Ironmakin ... ries+books

Well I am gathering up material for the coal forge and hope to start on it this weekend. Still have not made it to get supplies for the gas forge. Does anyone have a good source for the blower on either forge? I would love to get a manual air pump like used in the old days, if nothing else for the nostalgia.

A steel dealer in VT hosts an annual event open to the public where local blacksmiths get together to smelt? steel into pig iron, they in turn make wrought iron. I'm pretty vague about the process, it makes quite a show.

If you ever decide to do any metal casting, check out Stephen Chastain's books.
I have them all and they are excellent!
http://forum.weldingtipsandtricks.com/v ... =19&t=2448

A cheap hair dryer will work,nice cause even the cheap ones have two speeds. A bathroom fart fan provides about the right CFM also.

This is turning into an old timers & preppers post ! I like the canned goods & ammunition part !

Since it is going in this direction, my wife asked why I wanted to get into forge welding and I said " in case we loose all power like in Revolution, at least I will still have a job"

Seriously, I appreciate all input. I am going to look into the hair drier, sounds quirky but might just work. I want to break the wife's sweeper just to try that theory out.
I want to look into clubs or local events to see whats out there.
WerkSpace- I actually was watching a YouTube on casting Aluminum. Looks interesting. Have you ever done it?

The blower for a forge needs to deliver more pressure than an average hair dryer will achieve to force air through a good fire - I would suggest a shop vac that has the outlet air available to put a pipe on as viable - also the small fans used for cooling hot spots in stored grain work OK if you can find one - the hand bellows may seem good if there is no electricity after the apocalypse - but unless you have someone else to operate it this becomes a real chore - I've done it once - never again !

noddybrian wrote:....the hand bellows may seem good if there is no electricity after the apocalypse - but unless you have someone else to operate it this becomes a real chore - I've done it once - never again !

I was not going to be operating it...I have a 5 year old son that is always wanting to help daddy in the garage

I could not wait for my book to come, so we took a trip down to the Library and they had all of the Foxfire books. There is a lot of information here!

I've only experimented on small items. The MultiPlaz heats up to 14,400 F while acetylene only reaches 6,000 F. It seems like the perfect tool for doing the smaller projects.

I've collected the components for Stephen Chastain's cupola furnace but I haven't put one together yet. Last year, I bought an acreage away from everyone, so hopefully I will get a chance to try some serious casting in the near future.

Superiorwelding wrote: WerkSpace- I actually was watching a YouTube on casting Aluminum. Looks interesting. Have you ever done it?

Does anyone have any good plans for a coal forge? Looking through my scrap, I have a couple pieces of 1/4" plate for a bottom and pipe for the fire pot. From there all I have is the internet and a few books. Info or pictures would be great. Thanks
-Jonathan