Hey /DIY/. So I'm in the process of building this forge

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Just going to post a few pictures. Any advice or ideas or things I should have done differently?
Anything would help.

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The bottom of the legs are going to have two swivel and two non-swivel wheels on them.

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There's a couple of types of refractory mortars- generally the casting type will stand up to what you want it to do.
The other type is the mortar which you use with insulated fire bricks and just sort of fills in the holes around the IFB's and secures them- that might have been the type you used.

I reckon get some kiln bricks and use your mortar on those- most will handle 1400+C which should be enough for a forge

>>1022125
Ahh I see. So I guess the type I used was only meant to fill gaps instead of being the base for the whole thing.. Mistakes were made

Expensive mistakes

Using kiln bricks is an interesting idea. They aren't too porous are they? Do you think I'd be able to drill holes for the air just fine?

>>1022126
Kiln bricks are pretty cheap really when you only want a half-dozen or so, there are different grades- the white ones above are the highest temp ones I know of.

You can drill them with a masonry bit and also cut them with an angle grinder, so there's a bit of workability with them. Slightly softer and more delicate than a house brick so be gentle with them.

>>1022128
Great, That sounds perfect!
Thanks for your help.

OP, have you visited blacksmithing forums?

They are wonderful resources, as are welding forums since you work with metal.

http://www.iforgeiron.com/

http://www.anvilfire.com/

>>1022144
Oh, No I haven't.
Thanks for the links I'll check them out.

Heat rises, there is absolutely no reason to cover the thing with shit that will just flake off into your coal. Over time your forge will produce it's own insulation due to ash and other by products.

>>1022960
I'm more worried about the metal in the forge deforming. I understand that heat rises but with this forge that I've built I can get it to ridiculous temperatures (Which I don't intend on doing anyway) and I'd rather have some kind of insulation to protect it.

I'm a little paranoid because the first forge I built rounded out a lot only after 5 or so uses.

The air supply I have it hooked to is set at 210 PSI so I can literally blast coals out of the pot if I open the valve fully.

>>1023072
Jet engines don't melt because the hot sections are cooled with blankets of high pressure air.

You might be able to do something similar if you feel like building a double wall and using excess air between the walls for cooling. It won't affect your workpiece.

>>1022118

Any anons got any good ideas of what we could make with aluminium?

>>1024533

Sorry to post this in your thread OP, but I thought you might be interested too!

Just picked up a forge and a 100kg anvil

finally got a decent one and not some field forge or bloody vacuum cleaner noise generator

what are you going to forge OP? id recommend going for tongs first as its always handy

>>1024540
Well I'm waiting for my 30kg anvil to arrive. I'm going to head to auctions to look for bigger anvils but at the moment I'm using a shitty little 10kg from bunnings.

I've made a small file knife and an ash scoop so far. Very dodgy work but not too bad for a first attempt.

My workshop mainly works with aluminium building switchboards and such. But I have wanted to try Styrofoam casting things in sand like sculptures or a pair of aluminium knuckles.

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>>1024573
The karambit style was one my mate made on his second attempt.

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>>1024576
Heres my knife, Wasn't really sure what I wanted to make.. Just wanted to hit metal.

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>>1024577
And my shitty ash scoop.
Pretty crude but I tried doing a few different things and learned a lot about heating times.

The fact that you make tools that you can use is so awesome. I'll make another, better one later on maybe with a scroll or something weird like that.

Have any pictures of your work?

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>>1024580
Did you rivet the scoop to the handles?
here's a dinner bell and knife I made.Knife took like two week of just working on it on the weekends dinner bell took twenty minutes.

>>1024659
Na, It was getting late and there was a nice looking welder on the bench.. So I got lazy.
Those look pretty cool, How does the bell sound?

>>1024796
Whatever works right. Sharp but a little quiet but mostly for decoration.

Anyone have any idea's how I'd /diy/ an extraction fan?

I was thinking of making a box housing out of aluminium and deconstructing a pedestal fan (metal blades) and then using a length of ducting and attach that to my range hood for the forge.

Would the vacuum be enough?