Blacksmith's forge on firewood. Making a forge at home

Today we have a master class on making a homemade blacksmith gas forge.

Hello! I divided the manufacture of the forge into 2 logical parts:

• directly manufacturing a forge;
• simple design improvements for comfortable operation.

The design is simple and does not need drawings, so without unnecessary water, straight to the point!

Part 1 - Making a gas forge

Materials needed to make a homemade gas forge:

• fireclay brick- 9 pieces for the forge +1 for the lid;
• corner 25x25x3 - 2500 mm (the corner for the bed was not taken into account. Here it is more convenient for anyone);
• construction stud m8 - 4x300 mm;
• m8 nuts and washers - 8 pcs.

The tool needed to make a gas forge:

• Bulgarian;
• drill;
• *welding machine.

* in principle, you can do without welding. Using bolted connections.

2 frames are boiled from the corner, with which the bricks will be pulled together. A drill drills holes in these frames for screeding with studs. You also need to drill a hole in the brick under. I did it with a drill and then bored with a milling cutter.
After that, the hearth is assembled: bricks are laid in the lower frame, covered with the upper one and pulled together with studs. That's all! Without special costs you have a simple gas forge.
You can see in detail about its manufacture with your own hands in my video.

Part 2 - refinement of the forge for convenient forging

As I already wrote at the very beginning of the article, here I will describe the simplest improvements that I made in the first days of operation of the forge. He brought the design to mind with improvised material.

Materials needed to upgrade a homemade gas furnace:

• corner 25x25x3;
• profile pipe 20x20x2;
• profile pipe 15x15x2;
• metal strip 100 mm wide;
• fittings round d10 mm;
• wheels, 2 pcs.

The tool needed to upgrade the gas furnace:

• Bulgarian;
• welding.

It's even easier here. Since in the first part it was necessary to make frames according to the size of the brick. Now you just do what you feel comfortable with.

I did this:

1. I welded 2 wheels, so that it would be convenient to move the forge around the workshop. It doesn't happen often, but it does happen.
2. I welded 2 bars of reinforcement between the two legs of the bed. This simple action will allow you to securely store the pliers between forging and just keep them in order.
3. Working shelf. I welded a shelf of the simplest design to the right of the forge. I'd like to note. What did it is not easy. I am right-handed and hold the workpiece with my left hand, and work with my right. And the bugle is away from me left hand, so as not to intersect with the flame, I work on its right side. Therefore, it will be convenient to place the working shelf closer to you.
4. Lid. she should have been in the first part. But instead of a lid, you can simply use the 10th brick from the first part and cover the furnace window. I made a little effort and made a hinged lid and take care of its appearance. Just something to please the eye while working =)
5. Easy modification of appearance. Purely personal choice.

In the old days, blacksmithing was held in high esteem. Not everyone could master it, not everyone had the opportunity to acquire essential tool and set up a workshop. Now you can make a forge with your own hands without attracting serious funds. Even simple design will give an opportunity to heat the metal to the required temperature and try your hand at forging.

Forge

People with creative inclinations involved in design work are often faced with the desire to use decorative metal elements handmade. You can make such things with the help of forging.

Thin sheet metal can be stamped, bent or minted even without heating. A thick workpiece cannot be processed without this. Making a tool out of carbon steel is all the more worth trying.

If you equip a blacksmith shop with a hearth and a massive anvil, you can not pay much attention to the thickness of the workpiece. When heated, it will be able to be forged, bent and flattened. The main thing in this process is a properly equipped forge.

It may not be possible for everyone to do it with their own hands, but for a true connoisseur of the craft, familiar with the device, features and principle of operation of the device, this will be possible. As experienced craftsmen assure, a simple forge can be equipped even with six bricks.

Purpose of the bugle

The steel billet must be heated to a light orange color before forging. This will approximately correspond to a temperature of 1000-1100 ° C. In this state, the metal can be deformed by a percussion tool.

Cooling down, the workpiece becomes less ductile, it is more difficult to forge. And if you use a heavier tool, the metal becomes brittle and prone to cracking. The only option is to keep the forging temperature constant. However, over 1000°C cannot be achieved in a conventional oven. This requires a hearth with forced air supply.

A blacksmith's forge, made by one's own hands, can be used to heat the metal to the forging temperature. In addition, it can also be used for other jobs. It is suitable for melting metal and its subsequent pouring into a mold, for hardening tools, for soldering using brass and copper.

Varieties of designs

First you need to decide what type of fuel the metal will be heated. Traditionally, forges used charcoal or coal (coke) for these purposes. In addition to solid fuels, natural mains and liquefied gas, as well as petroleum products (gasoline, fuel oil, white spirit, etc.) can be used.

Depending on the type of fuel, the design of the working zone of the hearth will differ. It will also depend on the method and location of the outbreak. If this is a stationary structure, then it makes sense to make the base massive and solid, using bricks and a channel for removing combustion products.

For a mobile hearth, a lightweight, collapsible version of the hearth is better suited. It is convenient because in winter you can work indoors, and in summer, if necessary, the workshop is taken out into the fresh air. This design is easy to disassemble and transport to the desired location.

Another feature is an open or closed combustion chamber. If a homemade blacksmith forge will have a vault or round shape, then the metal in it will heat up faster, since heat loss is noticeably reduced. On the other hand, it will be impossible to work with long or massive workpieces in a closed hearth, and this must be taken into account immediately.

You should start by choosing the type of foundation. For a stationary hearth, a brick is suitable, for a mobile hearth - metal constructions. The base must be on optimal height for convenience. The hearth for solid fuel assumes the presence of a working combustion zone. It can be lined with refractory bricks, lined or made of steel plate.

Another important element is the grate, which keeps the coals in the combustion zone and gives access to the air flow, which inflates the heat from below. Injection is usually made through a pipeline with a flow regulator. The source of pressurization is a vacuum cleaner with reverse air supply, a hair dryer, a “snail” with an engine from a car stove. There are blueprints forge where a turbine is used from a manual siren or fur, as was done in the old days. The hearth may have side walls and a vault with a channel for the removal of combustion products.

The designs of furnaces operating on liquid or gaseous fuels are distinguished by the absence of a grate. The combustible mixture and air are supplied through an opening in the housing. For these purposes, they often adapt a piece of thick-walled pipe or a tank that has served its purpose from a household compressor, lined with refractory material. The hearths are also laid out in the form of a cube of heat-resistant bricks.

Principle of operation

Even a person who does not have blacksmithing experience can assemble a blacksmith's forge with his own hands from six bricks. The device can work from pressurization of a gasoline burner. Two bricks are laid flat on the ground - this will be the bottom. Two more are placed on them with an edge - these are the walls. Moreover, the back of the bricks is reduced to limit heat loss. By their arrangement it is also possible, to some extent, to regulate the temperature within the working area. The last two bricks are laid on top - this will be the vault.

Grids can be made from a 4 mm steel strip. Two pieces of a half-inch pipe are placed along the walls. They put grates on them. Moreover, they need to be wrapped in the central part with a “propeller” so that the air flow is captured by the planes and directed upwards, where the coal is located.

The gasoline burner is ignited and sent to the furnace. It can immediately be buried in the ground and fenced off with a sheet of asbestos from the heat of the working area. To do this, a hole is made and a stream of burning gasoline vapor is directed through it to ignite coal. The temperature is maintained by the burner adjustment valve.

solid fuel forge

For one-time or infrequent blacksmithing, you can equip the hearth simply on the ground by digging a recess of the required size and laying it out with refractory bricks. It is most suitable for heating metal with solid fuel. Another option for table material is a thick (at least 5 mm) steel plate. You will also need to install a grate made of steel strip or cast iron. It can be replaced and steel pipe air supply. Her butt is brewed. In the combustion zone, the grinder cuts slotted grooves through which the outgoing air will disperse the heat.

How to make a blacksmith's forge simple and mobile? You can weld the frame from improvised materials and install a steel countertop on them. Interesting, convenient and practical design of the base from the old gas stove. A tabletop with a combustion zone is installed on top. The oven serves to house a vacuum cleaner or other source of air. Below there is also a compartment for tools and accessories.

Craftsmen consider this version of the hearth the most economical and effective. Gas is an inexpensive and affordable fuel. The design of the hearth is simpler for it, since there is no need for a grate. Adjusting the gas supply with a tap is convenient, which means that you can achieve the required temperature in working area will be easy. The hearth design may consist of a minimum set of elements. It is enough to adapt a suitable base for it.

However, it also has its own peculiarities. Gas is an explosive substance, so you need to work even more carefully. Adjusting the supply of a combustible mixture also requires experience and practice. Otherwise, everything is not so difficult. A brick cube is folded according to the size of the planned blanks. The back wall is deaf. In front, the hole is covered with bricks or equipped with a door. From above, a place is equipped for the entrance of a pipe through which a combustible mixture is supplied. Its length in different schemes is different. There are masters who make it up to 1.5 m long, and they say that this way the mixing of the combustible mixture goes better.

Natural or liquefied gas after the reducer is fed into this pipe through a nozzle. That's where air gets blown in. The intensity of combustion is controlled by the gas supply and the blowing speed. Above the mountain, when working indoors, it is necessary to equip the hood. Otherwise, the designs can either become more complicated (lining, thermocouples, forced removal of combustion products, additional dampers) or, conversely, be simplified.

There are no standards for a home craftsman. The main thing is to know the principle of operation, select materials, withstand technology, obtain the required temperature and at the same time observe safety precautions.

Forged products, if desired, you can do it yourself at home, but for this you need to purchase or make it yourself necessary equipment for heating metal - a forge. Exist various designs forges, they differ mainly only in the type of fuel used.

The greatest preference, despite its high cost, is given by blacksmiths to coke, when working it requires many times less than ordinary coal. In addition, coke provides a high temperature, less waste is released. To save time, craftsmen use "koksik" - small coke, because it does not need to be pricked. Furnaces for gas and liquid fuels are used mainly in large enterprises.

So, you have decided to master the art of forging, and you, naturally, immediately have the main question - how to make a forge? Making a forge, of course, can be ordered at the factory, but if you have the ability and desire, you can make the forge yourself.

First you need to decide what type of forge suits you, closed or open.

open and closed type

In the closed type furnace there is a special chamber, in which the workpiece is heated. In terms of energy costs, this type of hearth is the most economical, but the dimensions of the processed workpieces are limited by the size of the heating chamber. Perfect option Closed-type hearth, hearth using gas as fuel.

When using a hearth of an open, traditional type, fuel is poured onto the grate from above, and air is supplied from below. In such a hearth, the workpiece is placed directly on the fuel. This type of forge allows you to process large-sized workpieces.

Making a forge

The table is the basis of the hearth, its working surface, where the hearth with fuel is located, on which metal blanks are heated. The table top is usually made of refractory bricks on clay, but this construction is very heavy. You can make a metal cover from 4mm steel sheet, or make a metal frame using refractory bricks. The grate, usually made of cast iron, is placed in the center.

You can make a grate from a cast-iron frying pan and from an 8 mm steel plate by drilling holes in them with a diameter of up to 10 mm, you can also use a wheel disk.

The grate made must be inserted into the hole in the table, with a tight fit, so that the fit is really tight, the brick is carefully cut out. Brick pre-soaked in water is easier to process. The height of the table is made arbitrary, it all depends on the height of the blacksmith, usually at the level of the master's belt. The surface of the table is also made arbitrary, at your discretion.

Options for using the forge and their impact on the design

Air blowing can be mechanical (foot), but it is better, of course, to use a fan. A vacuum cleaner, etc., can be adapted under the fan, the main thing is that there is a speed controller, and it does not make a lot of noise, you can install a valve that regulates the air supply.

Forging begins with filling the grate with fuel. Most blacksmiths place the blanks directly on the coals, and add another layer on top. A small dome is formed inside the coal and extremely high temperatures are created, sufficient to melt the metal.

The preferred fuel, as we said, is coke, but even wood waste can be used.

example of a homemade forge made in 1 hour

To do this, a steel ring is installed on top of the hearth, 150 mm high and 200 mm in diameter. To position the blanks inside the ring and control the combustion process, a vertical cut is made on the wall of the ring, and on the opposite side there is one more - it is made in case the dimensions of the blank are large enough.

When burning wood waste descend down. At the bottom of the applied ring, under the layer charcoal a high temperature is created sufficient to work with metal.

When processing large workpieces, it makes sense to increase the table area; for this, a removable table is made from corners and metal plates of arbitrary size.

A necessary device installed above the hearth is an exhaust duct, it can be purchased - as a hood, or made by yourself from thin-walled metal.

The blacksmith's forge is made with your own hands, now you can get to work.

The device of industrial furnaces

For a better understanding of the process of functioning of the hearth, you can study the device of an industrial product as an example.

The picture on the right shows:

1. nozzle (tuyere) - air is supplied through it into the chamber;
2. refractory bricks keeping the temperature in the crucible;
3. grate or hearth board holding the fuel above the air chamber;
4. a hearth nest into which solid fuel is loaded;
5. frame-forming bricks;
6. fan for supplying air to the crucible;
7. holding frame made of metal;
8. air chamber;
9. ash pan;
10. duct;
11. casing.

If you are one of those people who melt metal in their hands, and you dream of your forge, then you need a blacksmith's forge. We invite you to use our example, and you can make a forge for yourself with your own hands, which will help you master the art of blacksmithing.

Carpentry or carpentry is, of course, good. Wood processing is traditional for Russia. But we want to talk about metal. More precisely, about the forging of metal. What do you need to do forging? The first is the blacksmith's forge.

You may be surprised, but the forge is the easiest forge to organize.

The task of the forge is to heat a piece of metal to a temperature that will allow it to be crushed without destruction.

The horn is, of course, fire. You can burn gas, liquid fuel, fuel oil or crude oil, coal and firewood. Only now firewood gives little heat until it turns into coal. Firewood can only be considered as a raw material for producing charcoal, but already charcoal is an excellent fuel for a furnace. Perhaps the best, but also the most expensive, although the most affordable. Charcoal for barbecues and barbecues is sold in any supermarket. So let's stop at the coal option.

If we talk about a forge that runs on coal, then there are two options: with a side blast and with a lower one. Side blowing is the best suited for charcoal, and also the easiest to implement. The simplest option- a hole in the ground where air is supplied through a pipe. You can also lay out a hearth of bricks and roll it with earth.

With the help of such a forge, novice blacksmiths try their hand. A hose is inserted into the pipe, connected to the blowing hole of the vacuum cleaner.

The disadvantage of this forge is that you have to work while squatting, and this is not very convenient. However, you can put together a box of the required height, fill it with earth and make a forge in it. But if you go this way, then you should do something more capital. There is one more thing. A side blast hearth is not very suitable for hard coal, while a bottom blast hearth through a grate is more versatile in this regard. That is, a forge with a lower blast can work on both charcoal and stone. But the design will be more complicated.

We will need:

• steel sheet five millimeters thick about 100x100 cm;
• sheet steel 2 mm thick;
• corner 30x30;
• six fireclay bricks ShB-8;
• angle grinder, popularly called "Bulgarian";
• sweep circle;
• cutting wheels for cutting steel and stone;
• welding machine and electrodes;
• two wing screws (eye nut).

The horn consists of a table with a horn nest. Below, under the forge nest, there is an ash chamber where air is supplied. The table is made of steel sheet with a thickness of five millimeters. The size of the table is arbitrary, but it is more convenient when you can freely place work pliers, a poker and a scoop on it so that they are at hand. We cut off a strip 125 mm wide from a five-millimeter sheet, it will still be useful to us, and we make a table from the remaining piece.

Diagram of a horn with a horn nest

In the middle we cut a square hole for the future mountain nest. Here you need to decide on the size of the nest. A large nest will require a lot of coal. A small one will not allow heating large workpieces. The depth of the nest to the grate also matters. Without going into details, let's say that a depth of ten centimeters will be optimal, regardless of the size of the nest in the plan.

To prevent the metal from burning out, it must be lined (overlaid) with fireclay bricks. We use brick ShB-8. Its dimensions are 250x124x65 mm. These dimensions will determine the size of the forge nest - 12.5 cm at the grate, 25 at the top, 10 cm deep. Given the thickness of the brick, the size of the hole in the table will be 38x38 cm.

From the cut piece we cut out a square with a side of 25 cm. In the center of the square we cut a square hole with a side of 12 cm. We also need four plates in the form of an isosceles trapezoid with base lengths of 38 and 25 cm, a height of 12.5 cm. So the strip cut off earlier came in handy . Now we need to weld it all.

From two millimeter steel, we roll a square pipe with a side of 12 and a length of 20-25 cm. This will be an ash collector. In the middle of one of the walls we make a hole for the duct. We weld a pipe into the hole. We use a piece of ordinary water pipe for 40.

The bottom of the ash receptacle is closed with a lid. We do it on the screws with the lamb.

The table is ready. It remains to place it on the base or weld legs to it from the corner. You can make a base of foam concrete blocks.

We pay attention to the opening. An air duct will pass through it.

Using a grinder with a cutting disc on a stone, we cut out a lining from a brick. Be sure to use a respirator and goggles. And follow the safety precautions when working with angle grinders.

You can connect a vacuum cleaner and try to kindle a forge.

First, we lay the chips and finely chopped firewood. We set fire to them with a weak blast, and when the firewood flares up well, we fill it with coal. Now you can increase the blow.

The vacuum cleaner can be connected not directly to the air duct of the forge, but through a homemade air supply regulator. This device allows you to adjust the amount of air supplied to the hearth, that is, to reduce or increase the blast.

Usually, a damper is installed to regulate the air supply to the duct. But blocking the flow increases the load on the vacuum cleaner motor. The vacuum cleaner is usually used old, and in order not to overload it, an air supply regulator is built. The air flow is not blocked, but diverted to another duct. For this, a box with three pipes was made. Two opposite each other - the entrance from the pump and the exit to the furnace. The third branch pipe, on the upper wall, is the discharge of excess air. The third branch pipe is shifted relative to the first two by the value of the diameter of the holes.

Inside is a plate bent at a right angle, half the length of the box wide. The plate can be moved from one extreme position to another by means of a wire rod. As far as the hole for supplying air to the horn is blocked, the discharge hole will open just as much.

The box is closed with a lid with a hole for traction.

Now we have a working forge suitable for outdoor use. To protect from rain, you need a canopy, which must be non-flammable. A forge needs an umbrella and a pipe to collect and remove smoke.

We make an umbrella from sheet iron two millimeters thick. Firstly, such an umbrella will last longer, and secondly, it is more difficult to cook thinner iron by manual arc welding.

For the umbrella to be as effective as possible, the slope of its walls must be at least sixty degrees to the horizon. The umbrella should be located above the hearth so that an imaginary beam directed from the hearth point closest to the edge, tilted outward at an angle of sixty degrees to the plane of the table, falls inside the umbrella. This means that the higher the umbrella above the hearth, the larger it should be. On the other hand, the lower the umbrella above the table, the more inconvenient it is to work. Here we must proceed from the available material and our anthropometric data.

The umbrella is supported by angle steel posts. We put a pipe on top of the umbrella, which we also weld from a steel sheet of two. The pipe must be covered with a spark arrester, which is made of a metal mesh.

If you direct the air discharged from the throttle through the air duct (it will go water pipe 1 inch) to the beginning of the chimney, you get an ejector that increases the efficiency of flue gas removal.

That's all. Your horn is ready. Forge for health, forge like us, forge better than us!

Do-it-yourself forging has not lost its relevance at the present time. To give the metal plastic properties, it is necessary to heat it. The blacksmith's forge successfully copes with this task. Its main function is to gradually increase the temperature at which the metal can be forged. The forging temperature is about 1200 0 C. There are several types of horns, each of which can be purchased at a specialized store, but in order to save money, you can make a horn with your own hands.

There are 3 classifications of forges for forging with your own hands:

• by design features;
• by fuel used;
• depending on the size of the surface.

Depending on the design, closed or open forges are distinguished. Depending on what fuel is used for the hearth, there are hearths that run on fuel oil, coal and gas hearths. Small, medium, large structures are distinguished as the basis for dividing furnaces by surface size.

The use of coal-fired forges is an outdated forging procedure. This is due to a number of disadvantages of this type of fuel.

Coal heats the hearth unevenly and requires significant consumption. A coal-fired device has a low efficiency.

In terms of application, furnaces operating on fuel oil are also becoming obsolete. But this type, if not used in industrial volumes, can be successfully used at home.

Making a gas forge does not take a lot of time.

In this case, it is enough to take steel scraps and 6 fireclay bricks.

Forge structure

Any homemade forging forge should include the following components:

• duct;
• valve;
• crucible;
• firebox with grate;
• umbrella;
• chimney or gas outlet (depending on the type of hearth);
• window for feeding blanks;
• air drainage;
• hardening bath;
• horn table;
• air chamber;
• forge tent;
• gas chamber.

Making a forge with your own hands

It is recommended to make forges of a closed type. They are made up of constituent parts: masonry (lining), support frame and pillars, chimney, hearth, fan and damper. To create a homemade forge, you will need the following materials:

• profiled metal-roll made of steel;
• coating;
• steel in the form of thick sheets;
• sheet steel for external finishing;
• steel chimneys;
• refractory brick.

Profile rolled metal is used for the manufacture of support posts, frames and dampers. The coating used must be strong enough to withstand the action of fire. The same requirements apply to thick steel. It must also be well protected from the action. high temperatures and fire.

Manufacturing of the hearth support frame

At the first stage of arrangement of the hearth, it is required to make its support frame. First of all, a place is chosen where the forge itself will be located. It is important that the structure itself is located near the wall of the room, not adjacent to other rooms. Otherwise, the master will have a problem installing the chimney and fan.

According to safety requirements, the hearth should be located 1 meter from the main wall. It is important that the wall itself does not consist of materials that can easily ignite.

Installation of the support frame involves the use of drawings and diagrams. It is necessary to compare in advance the dimensions of the future hearth and the dimensions of the workshop in which it is supposed to be installed.

For the manufacture of racks, steel grade 09G2S is used, which contains less than 2.5% of alloying elements (, chromium, nitrogen). Such steel is low-alloyed, which is expressed in its strength and speed of welding.

The support legs for the frame are welded. After the frame is ready, holes are made in it, through which parts of the outer finish of the hearth will be attached in the future.

Making vaults and hearths

The vaults of the forge, that is, its upper part, must be made of materials capable of withstanding very high temperatures. It is on the vaults that the entire load will fall. Dinas and chamotte are the most widely used materials for arches.

Dinas is one of the highly refractory materials. It can withstand temperatures of the order of 1790 0 C. Dinas contains a significant proportion of silicon dioxide. Therefore, this material has a milky color. Forges, which are based on dinas bricks, are particularly durable. For this reason, dinas is considered one of the most expensive horn materials.

Chamotte is made taking into account the requirements of GOST 390-79. Chamotte, which meets the requirements of the specified GOST, and ordinary brick are quite similar in appearance. However, the brick wears out quickly and begins to collapse at a temperature of 1000 0 C. High-quality fireclay bricks should have low porosity. Such a brick should have a milky cream color, and its weight should be at least 5 kg. Most often, fireclay bricks of the ShA, ShPD brands are used.

The masonry for the hearth should contain the following elements in proportions:

• dinas or fireclay in crushed form (40% of the total);
• refractory clay (60% of the total).

The chimney, like the fan, is laid out in strips of steel around their entire perimeter. Masonry (lining) together with the damper are made according to a similar mechanism as the vaults. The masonry is additionally covered with sheets with rigid ribs, which allows it to retain heat. In this case, the oven itself will not give off too much heat to the outside, while increasing the speed of internal heating.

When all the work is done, the master needs to dry the forge. Then you need to check the fan, after which you can proceed to a test check of the operation of the forge. If the design is working properly, then you can start forging metal.