We make a forge with our own hands. Making a forge for forging and melting metal. A simple do-it-yourself forge.

If you are one of those people who melts metal in your hands and you dream of having your own forge, then you need a 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 Rus'. But we want to talk about metal. More precisely, about metal forging. What do you need to start forging? The first is a blacksmith's forge.

You might be surprised, but the forge is the easiest thing to organize a forge.

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 forge is, of course, fire. You can burn gas, liquid fuel, fuel oil or crude oil, coal and firewood. Only the firewood produces little heat until it turns into coal. Firewood can only be considered as a raw material for producing charcoal, but charcoal is an excellent fuel for a forge. Perhaps the best, but also the most expensive, although also the most accessible. Charcoal for grills and barbecues is sold in any supermarket. So we’ll stick to the coal option.

If we talk about a coal-fired forge, then there are two options: with side blast and with bottom blast. Side blowing is ideal for charcoal, and is also the easiest to implement. The simplest option is a hole in the ground where air is supplied through a pipe. You can also line the forge out of brick and cover it with earth.

With the help of such a forge, novice blacksmiths try their hand. A hose is inserted into the pipe and 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 comfortable. However, you can put together a box of the required height, fill it with earth and make a forge in it. But since we are going this route, it is worth doing something more thorough. There is one more point. A forge with side blast is not very suitable for coal, while a forge with bottom blast through a grate is more versatile in this regard. That is, a forge with bottom 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 ШБ-8;
angle grinder, popularly called “grinder”;
cleaning wheel;
cutting wheels for cutting steel and stone;
welding machine and electrodes;
two wing screws (eye nut).

The forge consists of a table with a forge nest. Below, under the furnace nest, there is an ash chamber into which air is supplied. The table is made of steel sheet five millimeters thick. The size of the table is arbitrary, but it is more convenient when you can freely place working pliers, a poker and a scoop on it so that they are at hand. We cut a strip 125 mm wide from a five-millimeter sheet; we will need it later, and from the remaining piece we make a table.

Scheme of a forge with a forge nest

In the middle we cut out a square hole for the future forge nest. 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 plan.

To prevent the metal from burning through, it must be lined (covered) with fireclay bricks. We use ShB-8 brick. 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. Considering 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 out a square hole with a side of 12 cm. We also need four plates in the shape of an isosceles trapezoid with base lengths of 38 and 25 cm, a height of 12.5 cm. So the previously cut strip came in handy . Now you need to cook it all.

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

The ash receptacle from below is closed with a lid. We do it with thumbscrews.

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

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

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

You can connect a vacuum cleaner and try to light the forge.

First, we lay down wood chips and finely chopped firewood. We set them on fire with a weak blow, and when the wood burns well, add coal. Now you can increase the blowing.

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 regulate the amount of air supplied to the forge, that is, reduce or increase the blast.

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

Inside is a plate curved at a right angle, half the length of the box. The plate can be moved from one extreme position to another using a wire rod. As far as the air supply hole into the forge is blocked, the discharge hole will open to the same extent.

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

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

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

For an 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 positioned above the fireplace so that an imaginary beam directed from the point closest to the edge of the fireplace, inclined outward at an angle of sixty degrees to the plane of the table, falls inside the umbrella. This means that the higher the umbrella is above the fireplace, the larger it should be. On the other hand, the lower the umbrella is above the table, the more inconvenient it is to work. Here you need to proceed from the available material and your anthropometric data.

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

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

A forge is a very useful piece of equipment that can help a craftsman make various metal products. Having a forge can solve many problems related to repairing old or making new products.

Of course, there is always the opportunity to purchase factory equipment of this type 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 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 necessary tools, spend time, but you will have your own forge to use, which you can put in your workshop.

This device is used by craftsmen for the following operations: heating the metal before forging, cementing, as well as other operations. In artisanal conditions, a master using a forge is able to achieve temperatures of up to 1100 degrees, in some cases even up to 1200. Forges are usually large stationary equipment, but there are also small portable examples. In principle, creating your own forge is not that difficult. Tips for creating such a forge will be given in the article below.

To use a forge of a traditional design, you need to have certain skills and experience, and also be sure to have the necessary knowledge about what is the most appropriate fuel to choose. If you use a fuel such as natural gas for heating, this is unlikely to allow you to forge anything significant, but it will help significantly simplify the design. The fact is that a gas forge can be assembled in half an hour or an hour, using only six fireclay bricks and some steel scraps. 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 structure of such a device:

How the forge works

In order for a user to make a forge on his own, he first needs to understand the principle of its operation, so that he can subsequently work with what he has without losing quality. There is a chemical reaction for the combustion of carbon: 2C+O2=2СО2+188.1 kcal. It is this that underlies the operation 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, to prevent the metal in the device from burning. Another very important property of carbon is its high calorific value. This property is that if you blow enough air into the fuel mass, which would be enough for carbon, then you can burn it quite quickly, which will lead to more heat being released. This will allow it to develop a higher temperature.

To prevent metal oxidation, the blast in the forge should be adjusted so that the fuel lacks a little oxygen. 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 the different types of fuel that can be used to operate a forge. These are tips that will help better deal with forges:

DIY forges

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 the principle of operation is similar for all of them.

Mini horn

Such a small blacksmith's forge made of six bricks is the best option for beginner blacksmiths.

The shelves of the grate can be made from ordinary scraps of steel pipes, while the grates themselves can be made from steel strip 4-6 mm thick. The figure shows that the grate bars must be twisted at an angle with a screw in order to capture the blast flow. The following types of fuel are suitable for this option: coal or coke. Blowing and ignition are carried out with a blowtorch, gas or fuel-air burner.

It should be remembered that when using a blowtorch, you need to place an asbestos partition, with a window under the nozzle, between the lamp and the device. This must be done because the forge intensely emits heat, which can cause the lamp to explode. This homemade forge should be used outdoors, since it does not have an umbrella with a chimney.

You can make a portable blacksmith's forge with your own hands from a gooseneck. The design can be understood from the figure attached below. The lining here is fireclay sand, which is mixed with fireclay marl.

Supercharging does not have to be done with a fan from a manual siren, as shown above. In principle, you can use any suitable one that is at hand. It can be attached using a metal corrugator. This, by the way, will make working with long items 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 capabilities than the homemade six-brick forge described above, since its workspace is larger and open at the top. But it is worth mentioning the existing disadvantages of such a device:

Such a forge has a non-separable design, and when cleaning the tuyere, carbon deposits fall down. As a result, the air duct is perforated. To clean, you have to break the lining.
This homemade forge can only burn charcoal or coke.
Its operation is very expensive: carbon consumption is comparable to the same consumption of coal in real forges.
It can operate at relatively low temperatures: only up to 900 degrees.

Stationary

This is the most serious, complex and productive version of a homemade forge. It allows you to perform more complex manipulations.

Design

The manufacturing sequence can be identified by examining the figure below.

The photographs are numbered so that you can track the entire process of constructing such a homemade forge.

A little advice for craftsmen who will make such a forge: you cannot pressurize the air shower with a vacuum cleaner. In this case, there is a possibility that the fuel will blow out. It is better to find a snail from a car stove and subsequently use this particular device. Drainage for regulating the blowing is also not suitable, since the boost will be too weak. It is better to integrate the throttle valve into the air duct, and the lower cover of the tuyere should be made removable only for subsequent cleaning.

The word "horn" comes from the German horn. It's essentially a "horn". They made an ancient forge with their own hands to obtain screaming iron. Its appearance resembles an inverted horn trumpet, which was the reason for calling it a bugle. From him came the blacksmith's forge.

Note: In a forge, the device is used as a tool for heating metal before processing it. Therefore, forges are items that are needed by everyone who works in metal. With its help you can achieve high temperatures - over 1000 degrees. Consequently, he can allow himself to produce various metal structures. In our case, these can be boilers, pipes, decorative elements of fireplaces and other metal products.

There are two main types of equipment:

stationary;
desktop

An important feature of forges is that you can make them yourself. Of course, if you build a unit that runs on natural gas, you won’t be able to get a serious product like a Damascus blade, but you can make the structure in just a few minutes. This will require some fire bricks and pieces of steel. Such a device will be sufficient for melting or forging.

Homemade portable tabletop forge

Compound

Let's look at the design of traditional equipment for a forge:

fireproof table;
hearth;
lattice;
air drain and chamber;
umbrella;
valve;
air duct;
hardening bath;
removable furnace;
window for long products;
chimney.

Operating principle

Let's figure out how to make a forge with your own hands. After all, the traditional design for home use can be simplified without compromising the quality of the process.

The basis of operation is the chemical reaction of carbon combustion, which is effectively used to work with metal. It combines with oxygen, and the metal is released in free form. The forge also uses the calorific value of carbon. By adding air to the fuel, combustion will occur much faster, given enough carbon. As a result, the temperature will increase and more heat will be generated.

The flame of a handmade forge

The air supply to the forges is organized in such a way as to ensure a slight lack of oxygen to prevent oxidation of the metal. If the workpiece is left in the device for longer than the recommended period, the properties of the metal will be impaired. For example, steel sheets can become brittle with increased hardness. This means that its properties will be closer to those of cast iron.

Fuel

Note: A regular forge runs on coal. However, you can also use firewood. To do this, they are heated to coals. You can simplify the device if you use, for example, butane or propane.

Their composition includes hydrogen and carbon, which, when combined with oxygen, release a lot of heat. Moreover, such mixing can occur in advance, for example, in a burner.

However, it must be understood that it will be almost impossible to manage natural gas for such purposes, since it consists of different hydrocarbons that require different amounts of oxygen. Therefore, it will not be possible to organize optimal air supply. In addition, natural gas contains sulfur, which negatively affects the properties of the metal. Therefore, the mixture requires pre-cleaning or can be used to process non-critical parts.

Kinds

Let's look at what forges can be like. They are the main tool of the forge. Thanks to development and improvement, many varieties have appeared:

electric or fuel;

Portable electric forge blue

on liquid, gaseous or solid fuel;

Blacksmith's forge on coals in action

closed or open type;

with a central lance or with a side nozzle;

Homemade forge of simple design with a side nozzle

Open forge with central tuyere in action

stationary or portable.

Stationary forge in action

Let's look at the most popular types.

Gas

Making such a forge with your own hands is quite difficult, but possible. The homemade version, like the purchased one, traditionally has a camera and bellows. Operates on propane-butane. The gas is supplied to the mixing reducer, after which it goes to the gas burner. The latter in some cases may be located on the side. This format is quite often used in homemade versions used in forges.

You can make a gas furnace yourself to heat the ends of small-sized products. Can be used to create decorative solutions in artistic forging.

Portable

These forges are easy to use. The design uses a steel frame, on top of which there is a recess made of. At its bottom there is a tuyere, with the help of which the air supply is organized (a compressor or fan is used). The tuyere has small slots through which air is forced, but no coal or slag passes through.

Portable gas models of forges

This type of forge is used for processing small items. It can be carried or transported, so the place of work can be ad hoc.

Stationary

Can be open or closed.

The structure of the open version is a frame with a table in the form of a trough about 70 cm high. The hearth is made of fireclay bricks, and there is a tuyere inside it. To cool the device, there is a water tank located at the front. The fan creates pressure to supply air through a duct.

Stationary tabletop forge in action

The lever allows you to adjust the volume, which makes it possible to change the temperature in the fireplace. The damper protects the tuyere from pieces of ash and coal getting into it. Flue gases are removed through an umbrella and an exhaust pipe. The fuel can be charcoal or coke.

The closed type device has the following advantages:

rapid achievement of maximum temperature;
high efficiency;
increased fire safety.

The only problem if you make such a forge with your own hands is that it is difficult to work with large or long products, especially if you need to warm up their middle part.

The chamber is made of fireclay bricks located in a metal frame. It has a tuyere, a grate, a window and a firebox hatch.

Creating a stationary device

Let's look at how to make a forge with your own hands of a simple design. To do this you will need six fire bricks. Of course, it is impossible to obtain a very high temperature under such conditions, but it is quite possible to heat the metal, say, for forging or bending.

To make grate bars, you can take steel strips about 5 mm thick. Shelves can be made from pipe scraps. Charcoal or coke can be used as fuel. A blowtorch is used for ignition. However, when exposed to heat from the forge, it may not withstand it, so an asbestos partition must be placed between them. You can also use a burner (gasoline or gas). Since there is no umbrella with a chimney, the homemade device is used outdoors.

Simple DIY outdoor blacksmith's kit

Creating a portable device

For greater versatility, you can make a portable version with your own hands. It can be built from a goose barn. You can make a homemade boost using a fan from a hand siren or a corrugated pipe.

Making your own forge

Of course, such a homemade design has more capabilities than the described stationary version, but there are also disadvantages:

the temperature is not very high - up to 900 degrees;
expensive to operate, given the cost of carbon;
since there is no space for burning in such a homemade device, it operates on charcoal or coke.

Forge made from pipe

Summary

Forges are quite common today, despite consumerism towards things that are easier to buy than to make. However, if you are not too lazy, make a device with your own hands, build a small forge, you can create original metal products that can be used to decorate private property, create devices for heating rooms, etc. Therefore, making a forge with your own hands is the right decision .

Tips for making your own forge

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

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

direct production of the forge;
simple design improvements for comfortable work.

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

Part 1 - Making a gas forge

Materials needed to make a homemade gas forge:

fireclay brick – 9 pcs for the hearth +1 for the lid;
corner 25x25x3 - 2500 mm (I didn’t take the corner for the bed into account. Here it’s more convenient for anyone);
construction stud m8 – 4x300 mm;
M8 nuts and washers – 8 pcs.

Tools required for making a gas forge:

Bulgarian;
drill;
*welding machine.

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

From the corner, 2 frames are cooked, which will be used to tighten the bricks. Using a drill, holes are drilled in these frames for fastening with studs. You also need to drill a hole in the brick under. I did this with a drill and then bored it out with a milling cutter.
Then the forge is assembled: bricks are laid in the lower frame, covered with the upper one and tightened with pins. That's all! Without much expense, you now have a simple gas forge.
You can see details about making it yourself in my video.

Part 2 - modification of the forge for convenient forging

As I already wrote at the very beginning of the article, here I will describe the simplest modifications that I made in the first days of operating the forge. I brought the design to life using improvised materials.

Materials required for upgrading a homemade gas forge:

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

Tools required to modernize the gas furnace:

Bulgarian;
welding.

Everything is even simpler here. Since in the first part it was necessary to make frames according to the size of the brick. Now you just do what is more convenient for you.

I did this:

I welded 2 wheels to make it convenient to move the forge around the workshop. This is not necessary often, but it happens.
I welded 2 reinforcement bars between the two legs of the frame. This simple step will allow you to safely store your pliers between forges and simply keep them organized.
Working shelf. I welded a shelf of the simplest design to the right of the forge. I'd like to note. That he didn’t do it lightly. I am right-handed and hold the workpiece with my left hand, and work with my right. And the forge is on my left hand, so as not to intersect with the flame, I work on its right side. Therefore, it will be convenient to place the work shelf closer to you.
Lid. it should have belonged to the first part. But instead of a lid, you can simply use the 10th brick from the first part and cover the forge window. I put a little effort into making the lid on hinges and taking care of its appearance. Just something pleasing to the eye while working =)
Easy modification of appearance. Purely personal choice.

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A forge is equipment that allows you to heat metal to a temperature of 1200 degrees. Its dimensions vary widely. Some are large and stationary, others are small and portable.

You can make a forge with your own hands of any design, which will work on both solid and gaseous fuel.

In order to understand how to make a forge with your own hands, you need to understand its design. Physical processes are based on the combination of carbon and oxygen. In other words, the process of carbon combustion occurs, releasing heat.

To prevent complete combustion of the metal, the amount of oxygen is not supplied in full. This is regulated by air blowing. You shouldn’t overcook the workpiece in the forge either. The metal will dry out and become hard but brittle. A classic example is cast iron.

A homemade forge for forging consists of the following parts:

Table made of refractories.
A firebox or hearth with a grate.
Air chamber.
Air drainage.
Supply air duct.
Air valve.
Camera.
Window through which workpieces are fed.
Umbrella.
Chimney.
Crucible.
Quenching bath.
Gas-air chamber.

Figure 1: Forge drawing

To line the table with your own hands, refractory bricks are used. The hearth is based on a form that includes a firebox, grate bars and an air chamber.
With the help of air drainage, the blowing is adjusted. The chimney is designed to remove accumulated gases.
A hardening chamber is not always necessary. It is required in the case of forging damask steel so that the product undergoes the necessary heat treatment.
The crucible is the place where the maximum temperature is maintained. At home, it is made of fireclay bricks.

Fuel

The following can be used as fuel:

Small coke. Pre-kindling is done with firewood, on which coal is placed. The ignition temperature of coke is up to 600 degrees, so it is placed last.
Charcoal burns better because it has a microporous structure.
Coal. When burned, it should reach the carbon stage. It burns worse than coke, so it is used for forging less critical products.
Firewood. They are burned in the shell so that harmful impurities do not reach the metal.
Working with waste oil.

Solid fuel forges

To figure out how to make a forge that runs on solid fuel, you need to study the instructions and decide on the type. A closed-type forge furnace is better suited for working on coal or wood. It is made at home from scrap materials. A charcoal forge does not require special equipment.

Necessary materials:

Availability of refractory bricks.
Injection burner.
Hood.

Manufacturing procedure:

At the preparatory stage, drawings for the forge are developed.
A cube is being made from bricks. There remains a cavity with a hole inside.
Using reinforcement, the frame is secured.
A burner is installed in one of the side bricks.
There is a hood on top, which creates safe working conditions.

Figure 2: Drawing of a solid fuel forge

Making a forge for heating metal with your own hands makes it possible to adjust it to the necessary conditions. The material used must only be of high quality to ensure fire safety is maintained.

Gas horn

A DIY gas forge should be practical. Its walls are made of fireclay bricks.

Refractory bricks are being prepared.
The walls of the forge are folded. The amount of material varies depending on the complexity and size of the case.
Surfaces are processed using a hacksaw.
All elements fit tightly. The presence of cracks is not allowed.
A threshold is installed in the front part.
A rectangular hole is cut at the back. It serves both for ventilation and for working with long workpieces.
A hole of the appropriate diameter is cut out on the side for the gas burner.
The gas burner is made of stainless steel. This is a pipe welded at one end and with a metal mesh at the other.

Such a forge has its advantages:

The furnace is structurally simpler than a coal forge.
Simple fuel supply and simple temperature adjustment.
Light weight.
Low cost.

There are other types of gas forges made of metal. There are no fundamental differences between them.

Figure 3: Burner drawing for a gas forge

Waste oil furnace

Considering that petroleum products are expensive, it is beneficial to use a forge using waste oil. To make the forge during mining, parts that have served their useful life are used. After processing the furnaces, a significant drawback emerged - the spent mixture did not ignite well. To eliminate this problem, an additional compartment was built into the mining forge. Here the oil is preheated with coal or wood. To improve combustion, waste fuel passes through filters and diesel fuel or gasoline is added to it.

As a result, the mining forge has the advantages of a yellow flame and stable temperature.

You can make it yourself:

It is made from fireclay bricks, dimensions: 85×48×40 cm.
The vault is made in the form of an arch to maintain temperature.
The body is completely covered with sheets of iron. A thickness of 1.5 mm is used on the sides, and the top and bottom are lined with 2 mm sheets.
The supports are made from angles based on the weight of the structure.

Air is pumped into the chamber by a fan. A waste tank is installed on a hill. From it, the oil enters the chamber through a pipeline, where it is picked up by air, which moves under a pressure of 2 atm. The waste is broken up and fed into the nozzle.

To reduce the ignition time, a heating element is installed in the forge during testing. Ignition time may take up to 30 minutes. But the hot mixture burns well. Now you need to make sure that the fireclay does not melt.

Scheme of the furnace during development:

Aluminum smelting

Aluminum, which has a high degree of ductility, is a low-melting non-ferrous metal. A forge for melting aluminum is easy to make with your own hands. There are many designs that use furnace smelting. They have no fundamental differences between themselves.

Step-by-step instructions for creating a forge for melting aluminum:

The body is made of brick. The material is selected without cracks to avoid heat loss.
By selecting scraps of steel pipes, shelves for grate bars are made from them. Low-melting material cannot be used here.
Steel strips up to 6 mm thick are selected and used as grates.
The grate bars are screwed on.

Both coke and coal can be used as fuel.
Ignition is carried out using a blowtorch or gas torch.

Such a homemade blacksmith's forge can only be used in open space, due to the absence of a chimney. During operation, a lot of gases are released that should not accumulate in a confined space.

Mini horn

A small, portable forge is often useful on the farm. It can be used not only in the forge, but also in the garage or at the dacha.

To make a mini-forge with your own hands, you need to have 2 refractory bricks, a hacksaw, a drill with a diameter of 8 cm and a length of 15 cm. It is advisable to have a pobedite tip at the end. To fasten the structure, 2 pins with a diameter of 8 cm and a length of 21 cm are prepared. During the work, you will need 2 hole saws, 63 and 26 mm in diameter.

The operating procedure is as follows:

2 bricks, 250 mm long, are sawn in half.
Two halves of one brick are laid on top of each other and 2 through holes with a diameter of 63 mm are drilled using a hole saw.
Placing the third half under them, through holes for the studs are drilled in two corners, diagonally.
Using pins, a block of three bricks is assembled and pulled together. First, washers are put on the ends of the studs and nuts are screwed on.
A hole for the burner is drilled between the first two bricks using a 26 mm ring drill. It connects to the main passage, but does not touch the second wall.

The burner is inserted into this hole and ignited. Any metal is fed into the main passage, which falls under the flame and heats up in a few seconds.

Making a forge from a potbelly stove

Essentially, this is the same potbelly stove, only without the grate. The appearance of blacksmiths can be in the form of a cube, parallelepiped and cylinder. After cleaning the grate, the air does not come from the space below, but is blown through a side channel, which can be adjusted. As a result, the oven heats up better. It retains gases longer, which also increases the heat.

The manufacturing procedure is as follows:

From a pipe with a diameter of up to 300 mm, a ring 100 mm wide is cut. This part is called a collar.
A sheet 4 mm thick is taken and a circle equal to the diameter of the collar is cut out of it. This will be the door.
A piece of pipe for air supply is cut off. It can be from 76 to 102 mm.
The damper is inserted into it using a handle, a spring and a nut.
A strip 30 mm wide and length equal to the perimeter of the door is cut out of a 3 mm sheet.
The strip fits around the door and gets scalded.
A hole is drilled in the side of the door and a pipe for air supply is welded there.
Using a locking device, the door is attached to the collar.
This unit is installed on the firebox with a distance of 100 mm from the bottom.
In the back part, at the top, a hole is cut and a chimney is installed.

The disadvantages of such a stove include the absence of an ash pan. However, longer combustion results in improved combustion of solid waste. Ash removal can be done less frequently.

Making a forge from a bucket

The bucket forge is also designed for melting aluminum. To do this, you need a bucket with a capacity of 10 to 20 liters. In addition, gypsum and sand. This mixture is placed at the bottom of the bucket.

Step-by-step instructions for a forge made from a bucket with your own hands:

The selected bucket must not be galvanized. This is due to the fact that zinc, when heated, releases harmful gases. The container is made of ordinary metal.
A mixture of gypsum and sand, 5 cm thick, is placed on the bottom. The ratio is 1:2. First, such a mixture is formed at the bottom. After drying, the inner walls of the bucket are treated with it. Drying time is 15–20 minutes.
A water squeegee is installed below, through which air is supplied with a hairdryer.
A crucible is inserted into the bucket.
The ignition process begins.
Aluminum is placed in a crucible and melts under heat.

Small items can be cast in this way.

A hand-made blacksmith's forge is a necessary household device. However, first, you need to read the instructions for its use. Purchase the necessary drawings. The risk of fire must be completely eliminated. The right place has been chosen for it. Working with hot metal will bring not only pleasure, but also benefits.