How To Build Your Own Forge

(Page 5 of 5)

September/October 1975
by JIMMY FIKES  
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[2] Never work with gloves. That sounds strange, I know . . . but we all develop habits, and the day the gloves are misplaced or forgotten will be the day you grab something that s too hot to hold barehanded. Learn to use tongs instead of your hands.

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[3] If you do get burned, there's a simple remedy which is very logical but seemingly hard for most people to grasp: Seek out water, snow, or ice immediately, immerse the injured part, and keep it immersed until the burning has completely stopped.

Once a guy accidentally jabbed my hand with an inch square bar of white-hot metal (a case of two people trying to work at one forge . . . a no-no). I made it to the water trough in about a thousandth of a second, plunged the hand in, and left it there until someone got ice to put on the burn. Then I packed the injury with ice for some time, with periodic checks to see if the pain had stopped . . . and after about an hour, it had. There was a large patch of skin burned away, but that was all: no blisters, no discomfort.

And never, never put grease of any kind on a burn. All it does is seal in the heat and cause more tissue damage.

[4] Never work the forge without some kind of eye protection. Partial or total blindness is not conducive to good blacksmithing. I ignored this rule for two years and got away with it . . . until a two-week period during which my apprentice and I generously donated $60.00 to some eye specialists.

Good luck with your forge, and don't be afraid to experiment with changes in the design. If possible, I'll be giving you some advice on blacksmithing tools and techniques in forthcoming issues of MOTHER.

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Comments

  • justin 4/18/2009 5:33:47 AM

    my email is
    nighteyes38@gmail.com

  • justin 4/18/2009 5:31:19 AM

    i have been experimenting with making forges for a few years
    for smelting copper and i found there are many cheap easy
    and affective ways of makingn a forge not including concreat
    if u want to tarsde tips email me

  • Caleb 12/17/2008 1:07:21 PM

    I have an interest in throwing knives but the ones I find either break or are to expensive. So I started making my own knives with my dad's grinder.When I was googling forges I found you site.I was wondering if the cement would explode when I start the fire.Thanks.

    -Caleb-

  • Tony 11/13/2007 12:18:01 AM

    I have picked up manny old dyres for nothing and taken the blower
    out. I used a 2" ball valve to regulate the Air flow.

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