How To Build Your Own Forge

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Electric blowers are by far the easiest to acquire, with hand-cranked air movers next in line. Bellows-on the other hand-are almost impossible to find and even more so to purchase (and folks who do come by these rarities sometimes use them for—ugh!—coffee table displays). Still, all is not lost. Bellows aren't really difficult to construct, and I hope to provide plans in a future issue of MOTHER.

Just as a general guideline: Any time a good blower can be had for $30.00 or less, take it. I've paid that much for one in only fair condition, and once was able to buy a really fine bellows for $10.00. And don't be intimidated: When you're haggling over price and a seller gives you the old runaround, just stand firm on your offer. If all else fails, keep on looking.

Occasionally a good blower—or even a whole shop—can be obtained from a farmer or retired blacksmith for little or nothing. The secret to such a windfall is the sincere desire to put a fine piece of equipment to the use for which it was intended. Anyone who has ever seriously used a forge and its associated tools is loath to sell them for doorstops and barbecue pit accessories.

Whatever air supply you acquire should be connected to one end of the air pipe; the left end—as you face the forge—if you're right-handed and vice versa for southpaws. This setup leaves the more proficient hand free to tend the fire and the heating metal. Be sure, also, to place the blower so that you can turn the crank, adjust the rheostat, or whatever while standing within comfortable reach of the forge.

At this point one end of the pipe is still open . . . and, although you can't leave it that way, you can't seal it off permanently because you'll need access to the air inlet to remove clogging ash. If you're more industrious than I am, you may want to thread the extremity and obtain a cap that screws on and off. Otherwise, just whittle a wooden plug (slightly oversized for a good snug fit) and hammer it into the hole so that several inches protrude for easy removal of the stopper at cleaning time.

FUELS

Three fuels are generally used in blacksmithing: coal (hard or soft), coke (coal heated in the absence of oxygen), and charcoal. The following are some of the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Hard coal is easily found in the northeastern states, and is fairly inexpensive. It provides very high heat and burns clean, with little smoke. It is, however, extremely hard to light (add it to a brisk blaze of paper and wood). The fire goes out quickly when unattended, and leaves ashes and clinkers which you'll have to clean out of the forge rather often. Don't throw the ashes away, incidentally . . . they can be reburned in a coal stove.

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