Forges

Forges

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Audio Archive for the Tinkers Shop 11-09-13 (Right-Click to Download)

	Brake drum Forge
Many people push the beginner to start with a brake drum forge. They would have the beginner believe that a 'brake drum' forge and a cheap hair dryer are a good substitute for a real blacksmiths bottom blast forge and blower. The work done with a brake drum forge is usually of the simplest design 'S' hooks, tent stakes and railroad spike knives. It is better to learn how the best forges work and to build something that functions much like the professional blacksmith's forge. A brake drum forge is only suited to the production of amall things because of the limitations that are inherent in it - the biggest limitation is the diameter versus the depth. For any projects of decent size you should have a coal depth of roughly 7." This is over half the width of most drums. Because of this you have the extreme hazard of coals falling out of the firepot and ending up underfoot! You also do not have any place to put your fire tools to keep them to hand.


	My Portable Forge




	Wood Box Forge
This is what is sometimes called a 'Mud Box' or Wooden forge. These are actually a quite efficent and relatively cheap forge. The air input is from the side ('side draft') and goes into the clay/mud firepot. As you can see when the fire is going you have the ability to have a large enough fire to get the 'ideal' 7" depth of hot coals. This type of design is found all over the world and uses natural materials. It obviously can be sized to the anticipated tasks to be preformed. One might say that this design is like the old 'Viking Pit Forge' brought up to a standing height!


	Gas Forges
Pictured to the right are a group of smiths at a 'Demo' using a natural gas/LP gas forge. This forge is one which is suited for larger pieces of work. Note the pass thru opening on the side.
These are two smaller, front loading, gas forges from Centaur Forge. As you can see, one uses a single burner while the other is a double burner setup. These are natural gas/LP fired.

	Coal Farriers Forge
This is a modern update to the traditional Farriers forge. It uses an variable speed electric motor to to drive the blower. The air from the blower is fed thru and past the ash dump/gate (aka the Tuyere) to the actual fire pot. Traditionally these used a hand cranked blower because many farriers would travel to the horses which needed to be shod. In most cases electric power was not available on site! The 'pan' surrounding the firepot on this one is roughly 20-24" in diameter.