Do-it-yourself forge forging. Forging oven: do-it-yourself process Do-it-yourself horn from a barrel

Sometimes in the life of people living "on the ground", there are moments when you want to do something with your own hands, without putting it off indefinitely. Someone thinks about carpentry, someone is engaged in manufacturing decorative items, and someone literally lights up with forging. Moreover, real, i.e. - "hot".

So, in this article:

• Which minimum set tools and equipment needed for forging.
• How to make an anvil from an old rail.
• What can be used to construct a portable forge.

The initial set of tools needed for metal forging

The method of imparting ductile properties to a metal by heating has been known to mankind since time immemorial. Unlike the so-called. " cold forging”, in which the metal is not subjected to heat, when forging “hot” (and, as it is considered, “real”) the metal is heated in a furnace.

The forge is a furnace open type, in which the metal for subsequent forging is heated to high temperatures.

Due to plasticity, heated metal can be given a wide variety of shapes, which is what masters of artistic forging use.

In addition to years of experience, forging requires the right tools. These can be special tongs, mandrels, bending templates, etc., but the most important “helpers” of a blacksmith for many centuries have been a hammer and anvil.

Any person who has thought about doing blacksmithing is faced with the need to purchase the appropriate tools. A high-quality and heavy anvil weighing under 100 kg is not a cheap pleasure.

Screw FORUMHOUSE Member

I bought my anvil by weight on a secondary metal. Based on my experience, I can say that what I could not flatten on a rail, I succeeded on a real anvil.

Olger73 Member of FORUMHOUSE

Vtorchermet, although a "gold mine", but a lot depends on luck. We have the price of a used anvil is approaching the cost of a new one. Although I managed in this way to acquire a powerful vice and an anvil weighing about 30 kg. True, her “face” is wrinkled, but this is fixable.

So, what to do if you want to forge, but family budget does not allow such spending? Especially if it is not known whether the business will be to your liking, or in a few months all expensive equipment will begin to gather dust in the garage.

In this case, you should take advantage of the experience of FORUMHOUSE participants and acquire a mini-forge made from materials that are at hand. Moreover, even on such a “country” option, you can make a lot of various things that are needed in the household, and which you cannot buy in a store or on the construction market.

Olger73

There are few good blacksmiths and, as a rule, they are loaded with orders, and the farm often needs specific products, for example, a forged nail or some kind of “cunning” rivet. In order not to rack your brains with finding a master and ordering, as well as saving money, it’s easier to do everything yourself. After all, such nails, as in the photo below, just can not be bought.

Forged products even entry level allow the home master to significantly expand the range of their work. Furniture looks especially beautiful with wrought iron details. handmade or "antique" decor in a country house.

How to make an anvil from an old rail

Interesting user experience of the portal with a nickname DIMDIM. He tells what can be achieved in the manufacture of homemade products, if you apply ingenuity to the matter.

DIMDIM Member of FORUMHOUSE

I decided to take up forging. I reviewed a lot of videos on the net and came to the conclusion that I could make the entire tool myself. First of all, I need an anvil, a forge, as well as various devices. To save money, I will do everything from what is in the "bins", i.e. from improvised materials.

From the Internet, the user learned that most often a homemade anvil is made from a railway rail.

Because there was no rail in the "bins", DIMDIM to search for a "donor" involved all friends, relatives and acquaintances. Soon the search was successful, and the user became the owner of an old but strong rail.

It remains to cut off everything superfluous from the workpiece and give it desired shape. Having uncovered the cutting machine for metal, the user set to work.

According to DIMDIM, it took 4 hours to cut and trim a rail made of high-carbon heat-treated steel with regular stops for the cutter to cool down.

Then came the turn of making the so-called. "horns" of the future anvil. Because the sawn-off part of the rail did not fit at the right angle on the frame of the cutting machine, it was necessary to disassemble the clamping device and dock the frame with an additional table.

The user had difficulty cutting the rail into a triangle, then the dreary work of giving the "horn" of the anvil the desired shape began.

The work was carried out alternately using an angle grinder, a cutting machine and a variety of fasteners and linings.

This job took another 5 hours.

DIMDIM

Having made the blanks, I proceeded to assemble the anvil and tried to connect all the parts together. Because the rail caught a curve, the parts could not be connected. My friend and user of the Movik portal helped me out.

FORUMHOUSE member suggested DIMDIM assemble the anvil on the frame, which was adapted as a steel counterweight from the elevator. As the author of the idea Movik welded all the details into a single design.

The next stage is the manufacture of a square hole in the "tail" of the anvil, which is necessary for fixing various devices - mandrels, brackets, bending forks and cones, the shank of which has the same cross section as the "receiving" hole.

At self-manufacturing anvils craftsmen make a "square" in different ways. The hole is burned with a welding machine, drilled and then finished with a file. The user simplified his task - taking a "grinder", he cut a groove in the rail, and then welded a corner made of a T-shaped guide from the elevator to the end.

When assembled, the anvil acquired the following form.

The user also made a set of anvil fixtures.

Homemade portable blacksmith forge

The forge is necessary for heating metal blanks. The most commonly used fuel is wood or coal. In order to reach high temperatures, air is supplied to the forge. For the manufacture of the simplest open portable hearth, a “hearth”, or, as it is also called, a “hearth nest”, as well as a base and a device for forced air supply, is required.

DIMDIM

To understand how to make a forge, I again sat down to study the Internet. The search yielded a bunch of ideas for making a homemade forge. As I understand it, everything is in play. Most often, forges are made from auto parts from the undercarriage, sets of pipes, fittings and electric fans.

In addition, blacksmith forges are made from what is “underfoot”.

Often used as booster building hair dryers(thermophanes).

Having roughly decided on the designs of the hearth, the user again reached into the "bins" and dug out an adapter with steel pipe on cast iron, which was used as a barbecue.

Fitting dimensions:

• diameter - 35 cm;
• height - 35 cm.

Inside the adapter looks like a pipe with a shelf. Bye DIMDIM I thought about what to insert into the pipe to make a real “mountain nest”, I came again Movik and brought brake disk from an SUV that fits the pipe perfectly.

Further, the components that are used for the installation of the water supply system went into action. This is a two-inch tee, a coupling and a piece of pipe, fished out from behind the barn. All "wealth" docked, and Movik welded.

At this stage, the homemade blacksmith's forge began to look like a finished item.

It remains only to attach the ash pan. A bracket from a heated towel rail was used for this role, which was welded to the pipe in the form of a valve.

In blacksmithing, the forge is used to warm up and heat up metal blanks before heat treatment. The operating temperature in this device rises to 1200 degrees. By design, the device can be stationary and mobile (that is, it can be placed directly in a specially equipped forge or transferred to a place convenient for work). For industry, the equipment is equipped with various devices; for domestic use, the hearth is made in the simplest version.

Features of a household blacksmith forge

Due to the high cost of melting plants, not every user can buy such equipment special purpose. For domestic needs, it is not difficult to assemble a gas forge with your own hands subject to the correct determination of the form, power and structure of the pressurization system. A simple household forge for artistic forging or casting from non-ferrous metal can be assembled from several fireclay bricks and sheet steel.

Making a horn at home for working with ferrous metal is not difficult. Craft the simplest design it is possible from a metal container, in the side of which it is necessary to make a hole for a gas burner. The fuel supply system can be assembled from a piece of pipe and a coupling; long bolts are suitable for the support structure under the tank. The lining of the gas chamber is carried out by filling a solution of alabaster or gypsum, sand and water.

The horn must be equipped with a protective cover, a ceramic tube or a suitable bottle. After lining and drilling a gas supply hole, the device is installed in a convenient place, but at a distance from flammable materials. The advantages of the design include the ability to move the furnace, adjust the degree of heating of the workpiece, which is especially convenient when working with different forging materials.

The principle of operation of the installation

Before proceeding with the assembly of the thermal installation, you need to understand the principles of operation of a homemade forge for forging metal to simplify the design of the furnace for home use. The operation of the device is based on the energy yield during the combustion of a mixture of carbon and oxygen, the percentage of metal release in molten form. During the smelting process, carbon stops the oxidation reaction of the metal, the constant blowing of gas into the fuel quickly increases the temperature in the hearth.

The process of heating metal requires certain skills and specific knowledge. It is not enough to assemble a mini-horn with your own hands, you need to learn how to control the supply of oxygen to the fuel, the volume of which should be no more than 95%. If the workpiece overheats, carburization of the metal occurs, the steel becomes brittle, turning into cast iron.

Developing a drawing of the future blacksmith fixture, Special attention should be given to the type of energy substance that affects the design of the hearth. By type of fuel for the furnace is:

• gas (butane, propane);
• liquid (diesel oil, fuel oil);
• solid (charcoal, coke);
• mixed (gas-liquid).

Depending on the planned work and the size of the workpiece, the thermal furnace can be with an open or closed hearth zone. Home master it should be remembered that household gas can be used in the hearth only after preliminary purification from sulfur by the method of "running" through liquid naphthalene. Products from heated gas burner metal cannot be used as loadable parts.

The main requirement for the security of the wizard is the installation of a powerful forced ventilation system, even if the device forge a household soldering machine that runs on bottled gas is used. The device will allow you to manufacture decorative elements interior and exterior in your own garage.

Making a stove from a blowtorch

When making a forging forging with your own hands, you need to install a blowtorch in a recess, along the perimeter of which lay fireclay bricks with a grate. When laying refractory bricks, it is necessary to observe the distance between the enclosing elements in order to ensure the entry of air masses into the combustion chamber. The angle of the blocks relative to each other building material determined by the master.

Charcoal or coke is poured into the recess, equipped with bricks on the grate, a pipe is put on the blowtorch, which is brought under the grate. The blank for forging is placed in the gap between brickwork, coal concentrate is ignited from below. To remove smoke, a probe, tent or chimney is installed above the grate.

Solid propellant forge device

The simplest model of a solid fuel device for a private forge is an outdoor open oven, which does not require the installation of a ventilation system. The construction of the structure provides for the pouring of reinforced concrete base, at the heart of the structure it is necessary to lay a wall brick. The table is set at a comfortable height, a hole for the blower is left in one wall.

The mountain hearth is laid out from fireclay bricks supported by steel corners; a cavity for the grate is left in the middle part of the structure. A chimney or a probe will help to ensure sufficient draft in the hearth, the air supply system is mounted at the final stage construction works. The installation of an electric fan in the chimney or the installation of bellows will help to strengthen the draft.

In the home forge, the tank for hardening parts and the gas-air chamber are not mandatory elements. They can be useful in the case when, in the process of working with damask steel, it is required to carry out thermal or shock hardening. In the gas-air chamber is carried out:

• drying and heating of oxygen;
• filtration of oxygen from condensate and impurities;
• mixing air with filler substances for steel alloying.

To melt precious metals and create an alloy of non-ferrous metals, it is necessary to make a crucible from a heat-resistant material. The device, made in the form of a cap, allows you to increase the working temperature in the furnace without the risk of overheating the workpiece and the formation of soot.

Home forge on gas

For the manufacture of a simple home forge on gas, you can use parts from an old bicycle. If on lathe to turn the "asterisk" from the gearbox, the device can operate on butane or propane, heat closed small-volume horns. An important condition the use of a portable design is a ban on the operation of a burner with acetylene, since the high temperature of the flame can burn the former “asterisk”, and the furnace will simply explode.

It is not difficult to assemble such a device, while a home-made forging forge is not much inferior to industrial ones, but it is much cheaper. The main thing is to observe the safety rules in the manufacture and use.

Hand forging is becoming more and more popular - both to meet your own needs and to produce various products to order. Heating of the metal, in order to improve its plastic characteristics, must be carried out in special heating devices, the simplest of which is a forge. The main task of the hearth is to ensure a stable increase in the temperature of the metal to forging temperatures, i.e., not less than 1200 °C. How to make a homemade blacksmith forge, and whether this is possible in principle, is discussed below.

Classification of types of blacksmith forges

It can be made according to the following main indicators:

1. By type of fuel used. There are gas furnaces, as well as devices operating on solid (coal) or liquid (fuel oil) fuel.
2. By design features open and closed forges are being built.
3. According to the size of the hearth (effective surface) - small, medium and large.

Solid fuel forges that require the use of coking coal - spectacular for video shooting, but outdated technical solution. This will require not only a continuous supply of high-quality charcoal, but also come to terms with technological shortcomings, including:

• uneven heating;
• inability to control the process;
• high sulfur content, which will increase brittleness during forging;
• increased fuel consumption, it can be up to 120 - 150% of the weight;
• low efficiency of the device, accompanied by significant waste.

Nevertheless, such designs in the conditions of a single production of products can be used at home, especially if these are mini-forges running on cheap fuel oil.

Forge design

To create more favorable conditions blacksmith's work it is more expedient to build closed forges. Although they are somewhat more difficult to manufacture, they differ more high efficiency, and provide uniform heating of workpieces, in particular, round or rectangular cross section. Open hearths remain for art forging forges of insignificant size products.

Forge closed type consists of the following elements:

1. steel support frame with uprights;
2. hearth;
3. linings;
4. slide gate;
5. fan;
6. flue pipes.

If during forging it is necessary to heat the metal not completely, then technological holes are made in the damper. They are equipped with closing eyes, which are necessary in order to reduce fuel losses and speed up the heating process.

When arranging a workshop, it is economical to equip the forge with a simple recuperator - a unit that increases the temperature of the exhaust gases from the furnace. Forges with recuperators have a higher efficiency, and the heat generated can be used, for example, for a furnace that performs post-treatment forged products- their forge welding, bluing, etc.

Stages of making a homemade forge

How to make a blacksmith's forge, and where to start? To make a closed hearth, you first need to determine the dimensions of its hearth. They are determined by the desired performance, and depend on the fuel consumption and the intensity of the forge. For the gas version, the fuel supply rate of 1–1.5 m/s can be taken as optimal: in this case, heat transfer processes in an enclosed space will proceed quite efficiently.

The tension of the hearth H is related to the productivity of the hearth N by a simple relationship:

where F is the area of ​​the hearth.

Taking into account the area allotted for the forge, as well as the expected productivity of forging (for example, in kg of products), it is possible to establish the actual minimum tension of the hearth (it should not be less than 100 - 150 kg / m 2 ∙ h, otherwise the arrangement of even a mini-version of the heating installation turns out to be disadvantageous).

In order to make a horn with your own hands, you will need the following materials:

1. thick sheet heat-resistant steel;
2. refractory brick (chamotte or dinas);
3. steel shaped rolled metal (corners, channels) for mounting the hearth frame, manufacturing dampers and support posts;
4. steel chimneys for the removal of gases generated during the heating of products;
5. refractory coating for sealing cracks;
6. sheet or wide strip steel for the outer lining.

Design open hearth much simpler - there it is necessary to equip only a system of grates, and provide air supply, which intensifies the heating process. In this case, a conventional ventilation hood made of heat-resistant steel is sufficient to remove combustion products.

In addition, during construction, it makes sense to use standard nodes. Here we should mention a fan for a hearth, which can be taken as units produced for double-circuit boilers of high power. Also suitable are ventilation pipes and steel chimneys designed for flue gases at 300 - 400 ° C. You can equip the forge with your own hands using burners from powerful double-circuit boilers.

Base frame manufacturing

Since the forge is a stationary unit, you should clearly determine its location. At home, not all of the workshop can be used as a forge. But, of course, the hearth should adjoin one of its walls, preferably one that does not communicate with adjacent buildings, since in this case it is much more difficult to equip chimneys and install a fan for the hearth.

Terms fire safety the structure must be separated from the main wall of the workshop by at least 1 m, while any use of materials with reduced fire resistance (including GKLO brand drywall) is excluded.

In the manufacture of the support frame, it is advisable to use ready-made drawings that can be bought or downloaded on the Internet. The dimensions of the forge / mini-forge are consistent with their own capabilities. It is good if the drawings are also accompanied by a photo and / or video of a working forge.

The support posts and frame are made welded, for which low-alloy steel 09G2S is usually used. It has sufficient strength, is easily and reliably welded, and is resistant to high-temperature corrosion. The step of the lamellar cells of the support frame is determined by the dimensions of the refractory. In the finished frame, holes are provided for the subsequent fastening of the elements of the outer lining.

Making a hearth and vault

When choosing refractories for the arrangement of the upper part, they are guided by considerations of durability, the type of heated products, as well as the intensity of use of the forge. Chamotte and dinas are used more often than others.

Chamotte is made according to specifications GOST 390-79. It is very dangerous to buy non-certified products, because it is sometimes difficult to distinguish fireclay bricks by color from ordinary fireclay bricks, which melt already at 1200 ° C. Fireclay bricks suitable for masonry should be cream-colored and have low porosity. In this case, its weight is at least 5 kg. There are enough demo videos on the Internet that can be used to distinguish quality products. For the construction of a hearth, the ShPD, SHA and SHB brands are suitable.

Download GOST 390-79 "Refractory fireclay and semi-acid products for general purposes"

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 version.

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 from steel sheet five millimeters thick. 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 burnout of the metal, it must be lined (overlaid) 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, 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 into another. As far as the hole for supplying air to the horn is blocked, the outlet hole will open to the same extent.

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

Now we have a working forge, suitable for use under open sky. 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 stands made of steel angle. 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!

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've decided to learn artistic 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. An ideal variant of a closed type hearth, a hearth using gas as fuel.

When using an open forge, 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 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 grid from cast iron skillet and from a steel 8 mm plate, having drilled holes in them with a diameter of up to 10 mm, you can also use a rim.

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 fitted 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 workpieces inside the ring and control the combustion process, a vertical cutout is made on the wall of the ring, and another one on the opposite side - it is made in case the workpiece is large enough.

When burning wood waste descend down. In the lower part of the used ring, under a layer of 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 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 that keep the temperature in the crucible;
3. grate or hearth board holding the fuel above the air chamber;
4. mountain nest into which it is loaded solid fuel;
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.