A forge furnace (in other words, a forge) is necessary for welding or forging metal in any forge, since this work is usually done at fairly high temperatures, not counting "cold forging".
A forging furnace (forge) is necessary for forging metal. It tolerates very high temperatures and should be in every forge.
If desired, you can make forged items yourself and at home. To do this, you will need to design a forging furnace with your own hands. There is a wide variety of such furnaces, their differences are only in the use of the type of fuel.
Some Features
There are several types of fuel - these are solid fuels, charcoal or coal, firewood and coke. Experienced blacksmiths prefer fuel such as coke, but it costs much more than regular coal. Although, in terms of consumption, it needs much less than coal, about 5 times.
When it comes to metal forging art style, then it is this fuel that is better to use. The coke will give a fairly high hearth temperature. And because of all this, forging will be well done, and there will not be much soot and waste in the form of slag.
If you opted for coke, then it is best to purchase coke. This is the same coke, only much smaller. If you take a large one, then it will still need to be split into small pieces. This will take a lot of time, which you can put to good use.
There are also forges that run on gas or liquid fuels, but this type of fuel is usually used in larger-scale production.
The forging furnace is quite simple to operate.
The working surface is the place where the main forging work is done. It burns coal, which will heat the steel blanks. At the moment, there is a wide variety of structures and designs of such furnaces. They have their differences due to the fuel that is customary to use on them.
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DIY forging oven
Let's talk about how to make a forging furnace on your own, and if you don't have the time or desire, you can order it from specialized industries. There are 2 types of ovens: closed and open.
The closed type of the stove is equipped with a special-purpose chamber, it is designed for preheating a metal workpiece. This type is the most economical, as its use requires minimal energy consumption.
However, there are restrictions on the dimensions of the workpiece, only those that match the dimensions of the chamber for heating will be suitable. One of the best closed forging forges is one that uses gas as fuel.
It is customary to heat the open type with solid fuel, it is poured on top of the grate, and air will be supplied below. In this type of hearth, the workpiece must be laid on fuel. With the help of this type of furnace, it is possible to perform forging on sufficiently large workpieces, there are no size restrictions.
The main part of the stove is a table, on its upper part there is the hearth itself and the necessary blanks. It is desirable to make the height of the furnace according to the growth of the blacksmith, while the table will fluctuate within the normal range from 700 to 800 mm. The surface can be any size you want, but it is customary to make it 80x80 cm or 100x150 cm.
For forging large metal blanks, it is enough to increase the size of the table, you can make a special removable tabletop. It is made using corners and metal plates. right size. In the center of the table there is a hearth nest, which consists of a tuyere, as well as a grate, this is necessary to supply air.
Scheme of the forge: 1 - exhaust pipe; 2 - exhaust hood; 3 - hearth box; 4 - lance; 5 - pipeline from the blower fan.
As a rule, a special brick with a refractory property and clay are used to cover the hearth. All this will make this design quite heavy. And in such a situation, there is a way out if you are not satisfied with the weight category of this equipment.
You can make a metal stove, it will have a special cover made of 4 mm sheet, a cast-iron grate. The grate must be placed in the center of the metal forging furnace. An important attribute for this stove is the hood, which is installed directly above it. The exhaust duct can be made independently from metal with thin walls.
It is customary to start metal forging directly from pouring fuel onto the grate. Many masters lay out their workpieces directly on the coals, and then pour another layer on top. A small vault will be formed inside the coal, the required temperature will rise.
Well, how we love wild abstruse definitions: special heating devices in order to increase the plastic characteristics of the metal. Let's try to translate all this disgrace into human language.
The forge is essentially a stove. It is clear that with its own characteristics, varieties and technological nuances, but still - this is a stove. It is needed to heat metal parts to a temperature so that they can be forged, that is, subjected to deformation.
This is the main and general fact for all kinds of forges - from primitive cottage crafts on bricks to industrial furnaces with many technological features of application and purpose.
Two main and only properties are required from a forging furnace: to give a very high temperature, up to 1200 - 1500 ° C and the ability to maintain the desired temperature for a certain time. In other words, we need a strong and even heat.
At what temperature can metals be forged, that is, they begin to be ductile? This is different for all metals and alloys. But the visual sign that the metal part has heated up to the desired temperature is also common - this is the orange color of the part.
All metals respond to heat by changing color from dark red to piercing white. So the orange color is a signal that you can start real blacksmithing on metal.
Drawing of a blacksmith's forge.
The only metal that behaves rather meanly and does not change its color when heated is aluminum. It is not the easiest metal to forge and weld in principle, with aluminum there are many special requirements to be aware of and apply.
So the lack of an orange color while it is already heated for forging is a significant factor that makes it difficult to work with this capricious metal and its alloys. After all, you can't overheat. Underheating is also no good.
Classification of forges
There are several criteria by which you can breed all these stoves into neat types.
Most often, forges are divided according to the type of fuel on which they work:
solid fuel forges
They work on coal. Their use is becoming rarer, as coal is a fuel that does not give a stable and even fire, which is the most important requirement for a forge. Not only that, such stoves require not just coal, but high-quality coking wood or coal of the same quality.
There are lovers of such exotics, so below we will focus on a couple of tips on arranging such a stove.
Gas forges
We will talk about this type of stove in detail: they are the most common in both home handicraft workshops and professionally equipped blacksmith centers. The gas forge is without a doubt the favorite tool of domestic blacksmiths.
Liquid
Here the main type of fuel is fuel oil.
Coal forge.
According to the design solution, the forges are divided into closed and open. They are small, medium and large in size. That, in fact, is the whole classification of blacksmith forges. A homemade forging forge is a very real thing and, most importantly, necessary in the household.
The main thing is to decide what kind of bugle will suit you. And for this, you must clearly know what kind of blacksmith products you are going to make, for whom and in what quantity.
The basic design of a homemade forge
The first question is: what kind of horn to make - open or closed? The answer will depend on your plans - what are you going to do in your blacksmith shop? If this is a hobby in the form of artistic forging in small quantities exclusively for the home and gifts for relatives, then it will be quite enough for you to get an open forge.
It is much simpler and will cost you less in terms of cash and labor costs. On an open hearth, it is easier to heat massive or long parts.
If you plan to work with metals seriously in order, for example, to earn money, then we would advise you to build a closed-type forge with your own hands.
Here are the details that make up a well-assembled forge:
- frame on racks for support, everything should be made of steel;
- under - the bottom or lower part of the hearth wall;
- gate valve with special holes to accelerate the heating of the metal and save fuel;
- fan;
- smoke exhaust pipe
- lining - thermal protection of the furnace in the form of fireclay bricks;
- heat exchanger is a special device for recovering the heat released in the form of flue gases and thus efficient use of resources.
Building a solid fuel forge
The main disadvantage of solid fuel hearths is that coal itself cannot produce the desired temperature above 1000 ° C. Therefore, in such stoves, an air jet is always needed. Previously, these were furs, now more often air is supplied through a pipe with a welded end, also made of steel.
The easiest way is to dig such a stove right in the ground - it is enough to cover the hole with refractory bricks. A homemade forge can be made differently: from a steel plate with a decent thickness, build a table with a grate of cast iron or steel.
Grate for the forge.
The plate for the table must be made from a blank with a thickness of at least 5 mm. If the hearth of an open design is installed on the street, it will not be necessary to specially deal with ventilation.
Here are the main building steps. homemade forge coal-fired:
- Build a platform for the base with concrete and reinforced rods.
- Fold the bricks in the form of a rectangular base, the surface of the table can be of any height.
- Make a hole for the blower in any wall of the base.
- Assemble the underside of special refractory bricks on the base.
- Install a grate with holes, which must also be made of refractory material, for which a cast-iron door from an old stove is perfect.
- After installing the grate, report the walls from the same refractory brick.
- Do not forget to leave a hole in one wall for air supply, it is better to do this immediately when laying bricks.
- Install a fan in the air supply pipe.
- If you are making a closed structure, be sure to build a chimney, which is absolutely necessary for draft.
Such a horn can be made mobile - it all depends on you. An old gas stove can serve as an excellent frame for a solid fuel forge.
Building a gas furnace
Before you start building a gas forge with your own hands, you need to determine the parameters of the hearth - its area.
There is a tricky formula for this:
N is the productivity of the hearth, which depends on the tension H and the area of the hearth F. It is calculated that the gas supply rate in the range from 1 to 1.5 m/s is sufficient to optimally maintain the required temperature in the hearth.
Scheme of a gas burner for a forge.
You know the area of your workshop and the approximate number of forging parts in kilograms that you plan to produce. With this data, you derive the tension of the hearth with a maximum allowable upper limit of 150 kg/m².
Required materials to get started:
- refractory brick type dinas or fireclay;
- plates with a thickness of at least 5 mm from heat-resistant steel;
- steel profile for racks, frame and forge damper;
- flue pipe and ventilation duct of steel;
- putty for sealing cracks between bricks with heat-resistant properties;
- sheet metal or additional layer refractory bricks for lining with outside;
- from double-circuit boilers of high power;
- fan;
Gas forges can also be open. With it, everything is much simpler, it will be enough to arrange grates with air supply for greater heating efficiency. In this case, combustion gases are removed by a fan made of heat-resistant metal.
The support frame is best placed close to one of the walls of your workshop. The choice of wall must be made taking into account the fact that a chimney will be needed and ventilation tube, so adjacent walls, if any, are best not used.
The most important condition is the strict observance of the rules fire safety, which consists in using only refractory and heat-resistant materials. It doesn't hurt to check what the walls of your workshop are made of. We treat with great care different kind drywall constructions.
Racks and the frame itself are best welded from low-alloy steel according to drawings that can be downloaded on the Internet. Low alloy steel is strong, light and, most importantly, resistant to specific high-temperature corrosion. The outer lining must be thought out in advance in order to immediately make holes in the support frame for its fastening.
Now about refractory bricks and masonry. It is important to buy real certified fireclay bricks made in accordance with GOST 390-79. If you buy a non-standard brick, you run the risk that ordinary bricks will start to melt in you already at a temperature of 1000 ° C.
Real cream-colored fireclay bricks with small pores in small quantities, they are much heavier than ordinary ceramic ones, the weight of one fireclay brick of large dimensions reaches 5 kg. The most suitable brands of fireclay are ShB, ShA and ShPD.
Forge device.
The second type of refractory bricks is dinas. These bricks are more expensive, but more resistant to high temperatures: they withstand the regime with a level of 1800 ° C. They are lighter than fireclay bricks due to the high proportion of silicon salts in their composition.
If you have the opportunity, it is better to lay out the hearth with dinas bricks: forges made of refractory dinas bricks are more durable and withstand the most severe temperature conditions.
Lay the bricks with a mortar of refractory clay with the addition of chamotte and dinas powder in a clear proportion of 60:40. Treat the chimney and fan along the perimeter with metal corners.
The most important final stage is the drying of the entire structure. After it, you need to check how the fans for the forge forge work. And only then it will be possible to make a test inclusion.
How to make a gas stove burner
Apart from general instructions how to make a forge, there are rules for installing a gas burner. gas forge can be purchased at the store, or can be made independently.
Do-it-yourself gas furnace burner must be made with the obligatory consideration of the requirements for it:
- gas ignition must be completely safe;
- combustion must be stable;
- resistance to humidity inside the hearth;
- safety when changing thrust and the risk of an explosion of a combustible substance.
The burner is installed through a pre-prepared lining hole. The mouth of the burner is attached to the confuser, which is pulled through a steel gasket. Then pipes for supplying gas and air are installed.
Gas is supplied from or network controlled by regulators. A test run of gas is carried out to check the regulators and pressure, monitor the smell.
The forge is a very useful piece of equipment that can help the craftsman in the manufacture of various metal products. The presence of a forge can solve many problems associated with repairing old or making new products.
Of course, it is always possible to purchase this type of factory equipment if there is a need for it. You can also resort to the help of blacksmith workshops, which can definitely be found in almost every locality. But there is an opportunity to create a blacksmith's forge with your own hands. Having certain skills in handling tools that will help in this matter, there will be nothing difficult in this. You need to make an effort, find all the components, the right tools, spend time, but you will have your own forge in use, which you can put in your workshop.
This device is used by craftsmen for the following operations: metal heating before forging, cementing, as well as other operations. In artisanal conditions, a master using a forge is able to obtain temperatures up to 1100 degrees, in some cases even up to 1200. Forges are usually presented as large stationary equipment, but there are also small portable samples. In principle, creating your own forge is not so difficult. Tips for creating such a forge will be given in the article below.
To use a traditional blacksmith forge, you need to have certain skills and experience, as well as be sure to have the necessary knowledge about which fuel is more appropriate to choose. If you use a fuel such as natural gas, this is unlikely to allow you to forge something significant, but it will help to significantly contribute to the simplification of the design. The fact is that it is possible to assemble a gas forge in half an hour or an hour, using only six fireclay bricks and a few scraps of steel. At the same time, the quality and temperature of heating will allow you to work with non-ferrous metals and small products.
Horn device
In order to move on to tips on creating a homemade forge, you should first familiarize yourself with the traditional device of such a device:
The principle of operation of the forge
In order for the user to be able to make a bugle on his own, he needs to first understand the principle of its operation, in order to subsequently work with what is, without loss of quality. There is a chemical reaction for burning carbon: 2C + O2 \u003d 2CO2 + 188.1 kcal. That is the basis of the work of any device. The reaction immediately shows that carbon is a fairly strong reducing agent, that is, it greedily combines with oxygen.
This reducing ability of carbon is partly used in the forge to prevent the oxidation of the workpiece, that is, so that the metal in the fixture does not burn out. Another property of carbon is also very important - its high calorific value. This property lies in the fact that if enough air is blown into the fuel mass, which would be enough for carbon, then it can be burned quite quickly, which will lead to more heat released. This will allow you to develop a higher temperature.
To prevent metal oxidation, the blast in the hearth should be adjusted in such a way that the fuel lacks oxygen a little. But it should be remembered that if the workpiece is overexposed, carburization will occur. This means that the metal will become overdried, that is, brittle.
A few words should be said about various types fuel that can be used to work with a forge. These are tips to help better deal with horns:
Forge forges with their own hands
You can proceed to the procedure for making your own device of this type. Below are some of the most popular options for making a forge with your own hands. They differ in structure, but they all have the same principle of operation.
mini horn
Such a small blacksmith's forge of six bricks is an the best option for beginner blacksmiths.
The shelves of the grate can be made from ordinary scraps steel pipes, while the grates themselves can be made of steel strip 4-6 mm thick. The figure shows that the grates must be angled with a screw in order to capture the blast flow. For this option, the following types of fuel are suitable: coal or coke. Blowing and ignition are carried out with a blowtorch, gas or air-fuel burner.
It should be remembered that when using a blowtorch, you need to put a partition, with a window under the nozzle, made of asbestos between the lamp and the device. This must be done, because the forge intensely radiates heat, which can cause the lamp to explode. Such a homemade forge should be used outdoors, since he does not have an umbrella with a chimney.
A portable blacksmith's forge can be made with your own hands from a goose. The design can be understood from the figure, which is attached below. The lining here is fireclay sand, which is mixed with fireclay marl.
It is not necessary to pressurize with a fan from a manual siren, as shown above. In principle, you can use any suitable one that is at hand. It will be possible to attach it using metal corrugated. This, by the way, will make working with a long length somewhat more convenient. In this case, you will need to use an air drain at the blind end of the duct.
Of course, such a portable forge has more possibilities than the homemade six-brick forge described above, since it has a larger working space and is open at the top. But it is worth mentioning the existing disadvantages of such a device:
- Such a hearth has a non-separable design, and when cleaning the tuyere, carbon deposits fall down. As a result, perforation of the air duct occurs. To clean, you have to break the lining.
- This homemade forge can only run on charcoal or coke.
- Its operation is very expensive: the consumption of carbon is comparable to the same consumption of coal in real furnaces.
- It can work at a relatively low temperature: only up to 900 degrees.
Stationary
This is the most serious, complex and productive version of a homemade blacksmith forge. It allows you to perform more complex manipulations.
Design
The manufacturing sequence can be identified by considering the figure, which is given just below.
The photographs are numbered so that you can track the entire process of constructing such a homemade forge.
A little advice for the craftsmen who will be engaged in the manufacture of such a forge: you can not pressurize the air shower with a vacuum cleaner. In such a case, there is a possibility that fuel will blow out. It is better to find a snail from an auto-stove and subsequently use this particular device. Drainage to control the blast is also not suitable, since the boost will be too weak. It is better to build a butterfly valve into the air duct and the bottom cover of the lance should be made removable only for later cleaning.
Forge - workshop for manual processing metal blanks, mainly by heating and forging. Handicraft blacksmith workshops are maintained by enthusiastic masters of simple and artistic forging, who, thanks to their hobby, preserve the traditions of the craft.
Forges are equipped with a hearth (mountain) and an anvil. A huge number of metal processing works are carried out in the forge: melting, pouring molten metal into molds, forging, welding, soldering copper and brass, hardening, stamping, drawing, bending, torsion, chasing and others. Finished melting furnaces in this shop.
In one of the previous articles described by a talented craftsman. Here we will consider what kind of forge for the forge this master made with his own hands. Creating a homemade forge at home, practically in the yard, he used, as one of the forums aptly put it, “a minimalist-primitivist approach.” However, it should be noted that this approach proved to be very effective.
The basis of the forge was a portable blacksmith's forge from a pipe 1 cm thick, weight approximately 60 kg, bottom 1.5 cm. Under the bottom there is a hollow part, to the base of which a pipe for supplying boost air is welded. Air is supplied from a vacuum cleaner. A door is installed in the hearth to reduce heat loss.
The anvil is a piece of rail welded to the channels. On the side of the anvil there is a fastener for a vise, which can be installed if necessary for torsion and other work. The distance between the forge and the anvil is approximately 1 m, which makes it convenient to work.
Checking a coal forge shows how effective the device is. The video shows that using a small amount charcoal for testing, you can disperse the oven to 1200 degrees.
Brief preface:
About three years ago I decided to make a forge - I got tired of making handles, I wanted to forge it myself. I went through literature, the Internet, asked old blacksmith acquaintances. In general, to be honest, everything is incomprehensible. Fans even make (!) a forge in the bathroom (!) Vacuum cleaners are recommended, pots ... But I need it - so that it’s small, but really “not on my knee”.
I already have experience, I make very good knives: I mainly use bearing steel, as it is cheap and affordable. Basic principles for building a forge:
The cheapest possible.
The maximum available materials.
Most convenient.
So, first - what is needed for the forge.
Materials.
1) Ordinary brick, even white, even red - about thirty, I took from landfills and from the ruins
2) Metal grate. Best of all - metal pallets, preferably cast iron. I managed to buy in a rural store (hardware) - cast iron pallets for the stove. If desired, you can simply put the reinforcement, or weld the grate. Functionally - coals will burn on it, so the thicker the better. Holes - respectively, so that no more than one and a half centimeters (otherwise the coals will fail.
3) Anvil. Of course, a piece of rail will do. But an anvil is better. This is not only one of the most "costly" parts, but you will find figs. But I was lucky, I found again in a rural store. But if you sharpen on knives, then the rail is enough.
4) Fan. The most important thing is blowing. I bought thousands of dollars on the construction market for two and a half rubles - this is the second costly part, but quite lifting.
5) Aluminum foil sleeve - put it on the fan, stuck a pipe from the water supply into it.
6) A water pipe, one and a half meters, diameter - with a tin can from peas.
7) A tin can from peas - on one side there is a hole, on the other it is notched and bent, it plays the role of a structure that guides and reflects the air stream - in order to blow it to the right place.
8) A large stump for installing the anvil.
Everything. Total budget costs (for 2010):
Anvil - 900 rubles
Fan - 2.500 rubles
Flexible aluminum sleeve - 80 rubles
Pallets 2 pieces - 160 rubles
Bricks are free, everything else is free.
Total: we fit into 4000 rubles easily.
How is the forge.
The forge is simple.
It is necessary: to blow from below with air, through the grate onto the coals. The workpiece lies on the coals and is heated. You can poke into the coals. The sides are covered with bricks. Dot. Everything.
Therefore (see Photo 1.) - first we lay out a rectangle from bricks. I did NOT care about "cement, refractory clay, etc." - just PUT the bricks. Move - I'll fix it. Crash - I'll replace it. I don't need to forge gates, I need blades. Quite.
You can see two rows of bricks in the top photo ... further - we continue to lay out
The photo shows that a rectangle of bricks is folded, of various colors. True, it rests on an iron box - on the lower left - but it was just a box, I also used it. In fact, these are two walls of bricks in two rows with the letter "P". Width - to put pallets. You can clearly see how I foolishly burned one of the pallets - I achieved a “white glow”. Achieved. Is it necessary?
I put bigger blocks at the head - I just found these, you can just do it from bricks. Here is a front view of where to insert the blown pipe from.
Two layers of bricks, pallets resting on them with edges, an iron box at the bottom - do not pay attention - we believe it is on the ground. Next, we continue the walls and the butt - just a few bricks up.
The pipe is a piece water pipe for blowing.
You can see how the blower pipe is inserted.
Top view: two more rows of bricks have been laid. In fact, almost everything is ready. But experience has shown that - since all this is in the open air - it is better to bring the walls higher so that the breeze does not cool down. Therefore, I raised it a little higher (there is no photo, I just added two rows of bricks. But this year, two years - that's exactly how it was in the photo, and forged.
Now - blowing.
On the next photo- fan on wooden pallet(knocked on hastily) with a fitted aluminum sleeve. The fan costs money - but here even the vacuum cleaner is old, even home-made furs - it is important that air is supplied where it is needed and convenient. The pipe does not heat up.
Fan, bought at the construction market.
It is important that the air supply should be from the bottom up, I put a crumpled tin can on the end of the pipe, which turns the air flow from horizontal upwards - this is more than enough. Banks - free
The sleeve is put on and wrapped around the fan with wire. No tightness, everything is tacked on, just to hold on. I'm not worried. In the next photo on Sun. case - fan output. The crumpled end of the aluminum sleeve is clearly visible, where I stick the pipe during work.
Fan output.
As I said, next - we take a tin can from under the peas. We put on a pipe. The bent cover is a reflector, we direct it upwards - and we put the pipe under the pallets. We put the pipe into an aluminum sleeve, crimp it and tie it with a wire. We turn on the blow. You need a switch, step with your foot - turn it off and on, so that it doesn’t blow in vain when it’s not necessary - your hands are busy.
Further - the stump, placed in the disk from the wheel, is covered with sand. In principle - any such foundation, shob did not stagger. On the stump - an anvil (a piece of rail or piece of iron is more massive) - and forward. Everything. Who already has what - I managed to buy an anvil - together with a fan, these are the two biggest expense items. If there was no money, I would take a piece of a thick channel or a rail. Most importantly, everything is working.
And here is a general view of the forge at work. If you need to shelter from the wind - I report a wall of bricks. I need a long length (for example, I forged a one and a half meter skewer from rebar) - I remove bricks from the end - etc. Everything can be rebuilt in a minute.
The forge is at work.
Good luck, guys! The forge is great. I forged knives for myself - the main thing is that your hands are untied, and you can really not lick your lips at other people's records - but make your own gizmos. But that's another song!
I forgot to add about safety: sprinkle sand around, when forging ALWAYS let a bucket of water nearby (but do not drink during and after forging for about 20 minutes - your teeth will crack, I'm serious) - because pieces of chopped red-hot metal can fly away and burn painfully. Necessarily - closed clothes - I'm in a windbreaker, in an apron - glasses also do not interfere. Shoes - boots, pants out, otherwise if a piece of metal flies - you have to dance!
Blacksmith masterpieces have always enjoyed special love and popularity. And if you have the strength, desire and opportunity, then you can always engage in this profitable craft within the territory of your private home. Moreover, a home-made brick horn turns out to be very simple to do on your own.
Purpose of equipment
In any forge workshop, the forge is used for a number of important operations - to heat the metal immediately before forging, to cement it, or to do other heat treatment operations. Even outside the production hall, it allows you to get temperatures up to 1200 degrees. The most amazing thing is that such equipment can be made by yourself - in its simplified version, it can be assembled in about thirty minutes, using only six fireclay bricks and a few pieces of steel. At the same time, both temperature and quality indicators of the heating process itself will meet the requirements for fine art forging and even melting.
Horns are divided into open and closed. In the first version, the source is heated in a special space-chamber.
For the second type, fuel will be poured directly onto the grate itself, and air will be supplied from below (it is convenient to work with large workpieces on it).
How will homemade equipment work? The operation of any (both industrial and home) such equipment is based on the principle chemical reaction given by the combustion of carbon. This element is capable of literally “greedily” wanting to recombine with oxygen (which was noted in metallurgy). Ores of iron and other metals are oxides and their compounds. When heated, oxygen goes to carbon, and the metal begins to stand out in a free form.
However, you need to ensure that the metal itself does not burn out - overexposed, it will simply become overdried (this is, for example, cast iron).
That is why it is important to regulate the flow of air into the furnace. And this cannot be done without a properly built structure.
How the bugle works
An industrial apparatus has a slightly different device from a home-made device. Before proceeding to self-manufacturing such a product, you need to study its basis:
- Through a nozzle (otherwise called a tuyere), air enters the chamber space.
- Refractory bricks will maintain the necessary thermal power.
- The grates will hold the used fuel above the air chamber.
- A source of fuel will be loaded into the forge nest.
- Another brick will form the frame of the device.
- A fan supplies air to the crucible.
- The overall frame is usually made of metal.
- Air chamber.
- Ash pan.
- Air pipe.
- Casing.
Of course, in order to comply with all of the above, an ordinary person does not have enough knowledge and means. But a more simplified version is quite realistic to install on its own.
Horn made of bricks: a simple closed option
A temporary forge is easily built from available improvised means. For this you will need:
- six refractory bricks;
- soldering lamp;
- homemade grate (grate) made of steel strips with a thickness of at least 3 mm.
All work must be carried out in a pre-designed fireproof place. The correct sequence of steps is as follows:
- The bottom "layer" of bricks is laid (two pieces).
- Then two cut drainpipes are laid on them, on which a grate is placed in such a way that a gap is still visible between it and the bricks from below.
- On the grate, you need to slightly bend the transverse rails - this will help them capture the flame of a heated blowtorch and already direct it straight up.
- Two side bricks are laid (these will be walls).
- On them, similarly to the lower ones, a pair of the remaining upper ones will be located.
- Coke (coal) is poured onto the grate and a blowtorch (already heated) is placed in front of the mountain itself. From its flame coals flare up and further burning is supported. Now it remains only to find the optimal direction for the flame, so that the output has a very high temperature.
- For safety reasons, it is better to shield the blowtorch from the hot forge with some screen made of non-combustible material.
Parts manufacturing
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The working surface will be a table - that is, the base of the hearth, where it will place the hearth with fuel. It is on it that metal blanks are heated. This design is usually very heavy. It is easy to make: for example, you can make a metal cover in 4 mm steel sheet.
How is the grid made? You can “adapt” an old cast-iron skillet for this (only before that you need to drill a few holes with a 10 mm diameter). Alternatively, a wheel rim is also suitable.
After completing work with the grate, we adjust it by inserting it into the hole in the table. To better “fit”, the brick can even be slightly filed (after soaking it in water). The height of such a table can be chosen arbitrary, but it is better to do this at the level of the master's belt.
Gas options
Is it possible to replace coal (usually coke) and a blowtorch with some other analogues? For example, it could be gas-burner. In industry, yes, it is easy for the simple reason that the monogases used there are specially designed for such purposes (they consist of a specially selected mixture). But household gas will not give in use the optimal heating of the air, which can heat the metal. In addition, in a household burner there is an admixture of sulfur, which can simply “kill” everything. operational properties metal (for the reverse process, everything will have to be melted down again). It also "poisons" steel and sulfur from wood.
Of course, this can be fought. Only ways are somewhat "exotic":
- Pass gas from the cylinder through a container with naphthalene before feeding it to the burner.
- Heat parts that are not very responsible and subject to stress with such a gas (these can be any decorative art elements of forging).
How to use "homemade"
homemade brick horn
An additional supply of air blowing can be provided using a foot drive (usually mechanical). It can be replaced with both a fan and a vacuum cleaner. As for the latter, it can be said that it is important here that the speed controller be present and make little noise.
The brick horn is almost ready. Now it is important to learn how to use it correctly:
- The forging itself will begin with pouring fuel onto the grate area. Although many blacksmiths act on this basis: the blanks are placed on the coals themselves, and another layer is added on top (this allows a vault to form inside the coal and create the necessary enormous temperature).
- Wood fuel is still allowed, but for this you will have to install one ring on the forge (height 15 cm and diameter 20 cm). A vertical cut is made inside the ring and the same on the other side.
- So as it burns wood waste will fall down, and in the lowest part the optimum temperature will be set for working with a metal product. If you plan to work with workpieces big size, it is better to increase the working surface - for this it is enough to make a special removable table of the required size from the corners.
- An extractor hood will also need to be installed above the blacksmith's mini-workshop - such a box can either be purchased or made independently.
- The workpiece selected for forging must be buried in already hot coal, where it is aged to about a light orange color (this is an indicator that the temperature has also approached about a thousand degrees). You can’t hold blanks for too long - this will only worsen them mechanical properties and make the metal too brittle.
- For forging, a hammer weighing up to one kilogram is used. You need to work in special protective glasses - this will prevent hot scale from getting into your eyes.
- As an anvil, you can use any massive metal thing - a sledgehammer or even a piece of rail.
Homemade forge will even help to make welding- only in this case, the parts must be heated to white heat (and this is already a temperature of at least 1300 degrees) and overlapped. But for this, it is better to use low-carbon steel materials.
On such equipment, you can even solder. For such parts, they are preliminarily wired and coated with borax (or flux) and then sent to the furnace to be heated to a temperature of 900 ° - this will be seen by the orange color of the metal. It remains only to bring pieces of brass into the soldering places and wait until they spread along the seam.
With the help of such home-made equipment, you can make grills, tongs for a fireplace, decorative door and gate hinges, and even a candlestick. The assortment will depend only on the desire of the master behind the mountain.
For a more detailed disclosure of the topic, we recommend watching a video on making a simple forge:
