Forging

[RustyJr]

Does anyone here forge knives or other things? Also does anyone have pictures if their forges? I'm considering getting into it and am looking for ideas.

Thanks,
RustyJr

[JerryB]

Since you now be po-lice I thot you were talking bout checks. I think there are several forgers or blacksmiths here on the forum, Gobbler forge and others.

[AJMD429]

I think there are several forgers or blacksmiths here on the forum, Gobbler forge and others.

Yep. Some will chime in soon...

Some light reading for you in the meantime...

• http://www.levergunscommunity.com/viewt ... =1&t=30980
  http://www.levergunscommunity.com/viewt ... =1&t=26811
  http://www.levergunscommunity.com/viewt ... =1&t=17186

[Gobblerforge]

How can I help? Some things I've made. I'll try to get a photo of some knives.
Gobbler

[cshold]

Removed

[Pitchy]

Gobbler i gotta come visit you, great things you make.
How are those cork screw handles made?
Did you build those billows, i made one just like it 35 years ago.
RustyJR, i`m just a tinkier blacksmith but i`ll dig up a couple pics later.

Gobbler, nice sash

[Gobblerforge]

Thanks, Casastahle, and no I usually make them per order. They are $50, shipped.
Pitchy, the cork screws are made using a twist I call a cube twist. Not my invention but I love the looks. Yes I made the Great Bellows. In fact I made just about everything you see there. Brother, there is always a bed available here at Camp Run-A-Muck. Thanks for the sash.
Gobbler

[Pitchy]

Ya can start out making a knife from a RR spike.



Rifle stand.


steak flipper from RR Spike.




Gobbler here`s my billows.

[Pitchy]

If ya plan on using a coal forge look around for one like this they work nice. If you plan on making knives mostly i`d suggest doing a search on building a gas forge, lot cleaner and faster.

[Bill in Oregon]

I am not in Gobbler Forge or Pitchy's league. I just mash hot metal into fairly useless blobs. But I have fun with it. I started out with a Tim Lively charcoal washtub forge with a hand-cranked antique Champion blower. When I want to get serious, I fire up my propane forge from Diamondback. I started out with a 110-pound cast steel Russian anvil from Harbor Freight, but now have an old Trenton 125-pounder. It really pays to invest in a good anvil. You will also want a leg or post vise. If I could have just one book to start with it would be "The Backyard Blacksmith" by Lorelei Sims. She's just really good on the fundamentals.

Here's a Youtube of my charcoal forge. That's the Trenton on the floor next to it, awaiting its stand.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRrimSk6LzA

[Sixgun]

Rusty,
If you do plan on playing with the forge, you sure have some great teachers here.

Pitchy calls himself a "tinkerer" Ha! I say him and Gobbler are professionals. (Nice work guys) Quality work takes patience and skill, two qualities that are way ahead of me.--------Sixgun

[Pitchy]

That`s a neat designed forge Bill, like it alot
Thanks for the compliments fellers but when it comes to making knives i`m a 3 on a scale of 1-10.
I don`t forge much and make simple stuff, Gobbler is far better.

[harry]

Does anyone here forge knives or other things? Also does anyone have pictures if their forges? I'm considering getting into it and am looking for ideas.

Thanks,
RustyJr

This is a good place to start also:
https://www.blacksmithsdepot.com/page.p ... ts/blowers

[Blaine]

The talent on this board never ceases to amaze me

[Gobblerforge]

The talent on this board never ceases to amaze me

That is a nice thing to say Blain and I think it just comes natural to some boys and yes there is a lot of talent here. With blacksmithing, there's fire and smoke and steam and hammers and sweat and hot metal and banging away on the anvil that calls to more than the five senses. Ya gotta love it.
Gobbler

[M. M. Wright]

Years ago I built me a forge from a '49 Hydramatic torque converter housing. They bolted together so I took it apart and used the bowl shaped housing which already had a hole in the middle about the right size. Used a heater blower from some old car and got me some coal. It worked fine. Probably couldn't find one of those housings anywhere though.

[Rusty]

I am in awe


What talent

[jdad]

You blacksmiths/millwrights are just amazingly talented people. Unfortunately, it will be a lost art/trade, in another generation.

[bdhold]

If ya plan on using a coal forge look around for one like this they work nice. If you plan on making knives mostly i`d suggest doing a search on building a gas forge, lot cleaner and faster.

my grandfather was a blacksmith, mostly making sawmill and cotton gin tools. He used the same forge with a hand-crank blower. I remember turning the crank a few times when I was a kid. I have a claw hammer and axe that he forged.

[Pitchy]

If ya plan on using a coal forge look around for one like this they work nice. If you plan on making knives mostly i`d suggest doing a search on building a gas forge, lot cleaner and faster.

my grandfather was a blacksmith, mostly making sawmill and cotton gin tools. He used the same forge with a hand-crank blower. I remember turning the crank a few times when I was a kid. I have a claw hammer and axe that he forged.

This one is a little different as ya don`t crank the blower, ya pump that wood stick up and down and by means of the gear and ratchet and belt it spins the blower.

[Bill in Oregon]

I think all the cool stuff in the world is hiding in Pitchy's barns and sheds ...

[JReed]

I think all the cool stuff in the world is hiding in Pitchy's barns and sheds ...

I do think you're right on that one

[Pitchy]

I think all the cool stuff in the world is hiding in Pitchy's barns and sheds ...

I do think you're right on that one

That may have been true a few years back but i`ve since sold off most of my stuff when we had to buy a motorhome and go to TX to get away from family issues.
Used to have six oil field engines, smallest flywheels were five feet, that was a pretty sight all running.
Just lots of small home made junk now.

[bdhold]

This one is a little different as ya don`t crank the blower, ya pump that wood stick up and down and by means of the gear and ratchet and belt it spins the blower.

His originally had just a treadle, also, and still functioned, but he added a hand-crank as another way to drive the blower.

[Pitchy]

I see, cool and they are handy forges.

[Bill in Oregon]

Pitchy, oil field engines? Got any "pitchers" of 'em?

[RustyJr]

I have an old 22 inch steel Bud wheel off of a semi that I was thinking of using for my forge. Does this sound like it would work? My only concern is trying to "seal off" the holes in the rim.

RustyJr

[Pitchy]

Pitchy, oil field engines? Got any "pitchers" of 'em?

Not many, have all of them running on VHS tapes which i should get transfered too DVD

Had ,
25 hp. Marian side shaft.
22 1/2 hp Bessemer
10 hp Fairbanks N
15 hp Reed
15 hp Innis half breed
15 hp Fairbanks Z

And lots of smaller engines

RustyJr.
Just get someone to weld in the holes but if ya line it with fire cement that will plug them too.

[Pitchy]

Google for articles like this one

http://www.backyardmetalcasting.com/wheelforge01.html

[RustyJr]

Thanks for that link Pitchy. That looks great. Looks like I might be closer to having a forge than I originally thought

RustyJr

[Gobblerforge]

I have an old 22 inch steel Bud wheel off of a semi that I was thinking of using for my forge. Does this sound like it would work? My only concern is trying to "seal off" the holes in the rim.

RustyJr

Cast will always work better than steel for a forge. It doesn't rust like steel and can take the heat without getting soft. Look for brake rotors, drums and the like for a fire pot. You don't need a big fire to work, it just needs to be hot. If you look at most forges, the actual fire area is small. The extra space on a forge holds more coal, tools and work.
Gobbler

[Bill in Oregon]

Pitchy, here's my little guy, a hit-and-miss Maytag from about 1928 ...

[Pitchy]

Nice Bill
I`ve had a bunch of those too, singles and twins, always wanted a fruit jar model.