Uncle Kenny's Backyard Forge

[B7510]

Uncle Kenny\'s Backyard Forge

I needed to bend some 5" x 1/4" plate today and quickly realized that my trusty plumber's propane torch was not up to providing the amount of heat needed. It was a bit more complicated by the fact that I needed to put a curl in the plate instead of just a straight bend. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

Thats when I remembered the homemade forge on my Uncle Kenny's farm. It didn't take much to replicate. I used a shop vac whereas he used a Hoover canister model. He used fire brick and all I had was rocks. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Well, it ain't pretty, but it got the job done. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

Photo 1/6 - The basic setup.
Shop vac blows air into a steel pipe.
Steel pipe discharges air at bottom of a pit lined with rocks.
Fill with charcoal, light and get to it.

 

[B7510]

Re: Uncle Kenny\'s Backyard Forge

Photo 2/6 - The Forge

 

[daedong]

Re: Uncle Kenny\'s Backyard Forge

was the fuel charcoal or coke

 

[B7510]

Re: Uncle Kenny\'s Backyard Forge

Photo 3/6 - Pipe into forge

Ran the pipe down to the bottom of the pile of rocks. Idea was to allow air out of the pipe but keep the charcoal from falling in and plugging the pipe.

A few elbows would be handy if this were a more permenant setup.

 

[B7510]

Re: Uncle Kenny\'s Backyard Forge

I just used plain charcoal for fuel.

Photo 4/6

Now we are starting to get things cookin.

I keep saying this is a pile of rocks. It is actually a cone shaped hole in the ground lined with rocks. I understand that some rocks can blow apart when heated, so I fired it up and let it cook for about 15 minutes before getting close to it and starting to work.

 

[B7510]

Re: Uncle Kenny\'s Backyard Forge

Photo 5/6

I later found that I could get the plate hotter by sticking it down into the coals, but as you can see from the photo, it got plenty hot just sitting on top.

 

[B7510]

Re: Uncle Kenny\'s Backyard Forge

Photo 6/6

It didn’t take too long to make up the forge and once I got the hang of it, it didn’t take too long to bend those plates.

Uncle Kenny has passed on and I’m sure that Hoover is long gone, but it was fun remembering those afternoons on the farm while I was doing this today. He always took time to show you what he was doing and explain it to you too, even if you were just 5 or 10 years old and mostly just in the way of getting things done. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

 

[mrcaptainbob]

Re: Uncle Kenny\'s Backyard Forge

Mine is Uncle Leonard. Fortunately, he's still around. Frail, but still around. A great part of what I am today is because of what he taught.

 

[polecat]

Re: Uncle Kenny\'s Backyard Forge

1,000,001 ways to skin a cat!!!!very clever!!!! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

TODD

 

[KiotiJohn]

Re: Uncle Kenny\'s Backyard Forge

B7510, this post was a real inspiration for me, thanks, John

 

[have_blue]

Re: Uncle Kenny\'s Backyard Forge

Leaf blowers are great for blowing fires. I once melted a stump down to nothing with one... and you know how hard it is to burn stumps.

 

[Henro]

Re: Uncle Kenny\'s Backyard Forge

Nice thread and pictures, B7510.

Funny, I still have my little homebrew charcoal fired furnace around, that I used to melt aluminum in for casting, but the thought of using the same method for heating steel never occured to me!

Thanks for the idea! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[bobodu]

Re: Uncle Kenny\'s Backyard Forge

I had a homemade forge when I was a teen ( 30 odd years ago).Everybody else would get off the bus and play...I'd go out back and ring steel.Back then,I belonged to a group called The Society for Creative Anacronism.This was not some CIA monitored (I think) terrorist group.We tried to recreate the middle ages,much like Civil War folks do.There are still many groups in college towns.I built up a box outta fire brick and used a blower off one of the first microwave ovens in town.There was a railroad track half a mile across the fields.That track was a never ending supply of clean coke.I guess it fell off the cars on it's way up to Gary,In. for the steel mills.I could put a couple railroad spikes in the fire and in a minute or two they would be white hot.Knock em on the anvil,sprinkle on a little 20 Mule Team Borax and whack em a couple of times with a two pound hammer.Two Oliver tractors couldn't pull em apart.You can make a decent forge out of a semi truck wheel and there are free plans for a propane fired forge here.Gonna try this when I get time...yeah right!!
http://home.flash.net/~dwwilson/forge/fgpl.html

 

[SPIKER]

Re: Uncle Kenny\'s Backyard Forge

here is a good link for ya

http://www.backyardmetalcasting.com/

metal casting also shows how to make sacrificial stuff and the forges...

Mark M /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[B7510]

Re: Uncle Kenny\'s Backyard Forge

Spiker,

Thanks for th great link. A great site for anybody wanting to go beyond the ususal bending, cutting and welding.

That guy seems like the type that will end up building his own nuclear reactor in his basement, just so he can power his homemade electrolitic refinery with an improved zooba schnagle.

 

[SPIKER]

Re: Uncle Kenny\'s Backyard Forge

7510:

ya I have lots of links like that to odd off the wall stuff. same goes for the rust removal using soda ask/soap and dc voltages... lots of links for tree stuff, electrical/electronic, applainces, home hobbie repairs, water wells cistern stuff and car items too. usually you can get some sort of info that is hard to find if ya ask! lol

anyhow now the problem is remembering what all thos dang links are for when I need them and remembering I have them ! lol /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Mark M

 

[higgy]

Re: Uncle Kenny\'s Backyard Forge

Good old yankee intuition, don't see it as much as we used to. Great idea and links.

It is nice to see someone still doing the hard way.

Dane

 

[polecat]

Re: Uncle Kenny\'s Backyard Forge

not only that but trtyin to memba which one was where and who had what on it!!!!!........I WENT TO THE OTHER END OF THE SHOP BUT ....I JIST CANT SEEM TO MEMBA Y...OR WHERE OR WHEN I PUT WUT WHERE ....AS A MATTER OF FACT!!!!WHERE THE HECK AM i!!!!!!! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[SPIKER]

Re: Uncle Kenny\'s Backyard Forge

I think I'm getting OLDTIMERS desise like regan had... he was a good pres as far as I can remember! /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

and I have no short term memory left now that I mention it I don't think I ever had any LONG term memory to start with cause I can't remember that far back! lol /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Mark M