In a private house      06/15/2019

A simple homemade blacksmith's forge. We make a gas forge with our own hands - two design options Exhaust device for a forge

Today we will tell you how to build a forge gas forge with your own hands.

Types and types of homemade blacksmith gas forges

There are a lot of models of homemade blacksmith forges. It all depends on the imagination of the "homemade master" and his capabilities. By and large, all designs of home-made blacksmith forges are divided into two types:

  • open;
  • closed.

There are many differences between them. But the main thing is the presence or absence of an umbrella stove with forced draft on top. Moreover, it is simply impossible to unambiguously say which of these types is better. You will understand this yourself later on.

open horns

The open forging gas forge is vertical racks on both sides of the metal container, which is installed on a fire-resistant base. The role of the foundation can be performed by:

  • concrete floor (platform);
  • several refractory bricks laid in a row, etc.

A gas burner is installed on the racks, directed with the nozzle down. In most cases, the forges are mounted on a metal stand, which has a tray at the bottom to accommodate the workpieces to be processed.

Closed forges

The designs of closed forge gas furnaces differ, as we have already said, primarily in the type of thrust. It is carried out forcibly through an umbrella installed above the mountain with the help of a fan. Any suitable design is used as a fan: from car “stove” assemblies to old household vacuum cleaners. On the latter, however, you still have to install a damper to adjust the intensity of the air flow. By the way, this option, according to some experts, is preferable, as it provides better ventilation of the room.

We bring to your attention several options for the designs of gas forge forges that you can build with your own hands.

Open type gas forge

A diagram of an open-type gas forge, which you can make yourself, is shown in the figure.

The hearth has a refractory base in the form of a flat platform or a table with a recess. The bottom of the structure (base) is lined with refractory bricks, there are racks on the sides (made of steel or the same refractory brick). A gas burner will be attached to these sidewalls. It is installed so that the axis of the nozzle is oriented to the center of the refractory pan (direction - down).

The design is very simple, but with high efficiency. This is explained by the fact that the shape of the hearth is open, the length of the blanks is not limited by the dimensions of the oven chamber, and blanks of different lengths can be heated on the pallet. Only the space between the side racks can serve as a limitation. This design feature is very attractive to many craftsmen. However, it should be noted that this type forging equipment absent exhaust hood and chimney. Therefore, it is possible to use a mountain of this design only on outdoors or in a well-ventilated area. That is, where there is no risk of smoke.

Brick gas forge

We bring to your attention step by step photo instruction on the construction of a gas forge made of bricks with your own hands. This form of acquaintance with technology was chosen due to the fact that it is better to show than to describe.

The construction of a gas furnace out of bricks is easier to understand from a series of step-by-step photographs of this construction.

To determine the temperature inside the forge, a piece of metal was placed ( old file). Judging by the color of the file, the stove "fired up" to a temperature of something around 800 ... 900 ° C. Further, after complete cooling, produced:

  • putty formed during the firing process cracks:
  • insulated with ceramic wool;
  • connected air blowing (fan "stove" from "Zaporozhets").

The result, i.e., how much combustion has improved, you see in the photo.

After that, the forge was sheathed with sheet iron, and a door was installed. To improve ventilation, back wall gas forge drilled holes. At this, the author of the design completed the construction of the gas forge forge, and its operation began.

Closed type gas forge with umbrella

Gas forge closed type has an umbrella with a hood and forced ventilation. This device greatly improves operating temperature forge, its efficiency and productivity. In addition, the smoke content of the room is much lower, which has a positive effect on the health of the people there. The author of one of these structures tells in detail about its device and construction technology in the video at the end of this article.

Where to buy a fan

See where you can buy a forge fan.

Hand forging is becoming more and more popular - both to meet your own needs and to produce various products to order. Heating of the metal, in order to improve its plastic characteristics, must be carried out in special heating devices, the simplest of which is a forge. the main task hearth - to ensure a stable increase in the temperature of the metal to forging temperatures, i.e., not less than 1200 ° C. How to make a homemade blacksmith forge, and whether this is possible in principle, is discussed below.

Classification of types of blacksmith forges

It can be made according to the following main indicators:

  1. By type of fuel used. There are gas furnaces, as well as devices operating on solid (coal) or liquid (fuel oil) fuel.
  2. By design features open and closed forges are being built.
  3. According to the size of the hearth (effective surface) - small, medium and large.

Solid fuel forges, for which it is necessary to use coking coal - a spectacular for video filming, but an outdated technical solution. This will require not only to ensure a continuous supply of high-quality charcoal, but also to come to terms with technological shortcomings, including:

  • uneven heating;
  • inability to control the process;
  • high sulfur content, which will increase brittleness during forging;
  • increased fuel consumption, it can be up to 120 - 150% of the weight;
  • low efficiency of the device, accompanied by significant waste.

Nevertheless, such designs in the conditions of a single production of products can be used at home, especially if they are mini-forges running on cheap fuel oil.

Forge design

To create more favorable conditions blacksmith's work it is more expedient to build closed forges. Although they are somewhat more difficult to manufacture, they are more efficient and provide uniform heating of workpieces, in particular, round or rectangular cross-sections. Open hearths remain for art forging forges of insignificant size products.

The forge forge of the closed type consists of the following elements:

  1. steel support frame with uprights;
  2. hearth;
  3. linings;
  4. slide gate;
  5. fan;
  6. flue pipes.

If during forging it is necessary to heat the metal not completely, then technological holes are made in the damper. They are equipped with closing eyes, which are necessary in order to reduce fuel losses and speed up the heating process.

When arranging a workshop, it is economical to equip the forge with a simple recuperator - a unit that increases the temperature of the exhaust gases from the furnace. Forges with recuperators have a higher efficiency, and the heat generated can be used, for example, for a furnace that performs post-treatment forged products- their forge welding, bluing, etc.

Stages of making a homemade forge

How to make a blacksmith's forge, and where to start? To make a closed hearth, you first need to determine the dimensions of its hearth. They are determined by the desired performance, and depend on the fuel consumption and the intensity of the forge. For gas version The optimal fuel supply rate can be taken as 1–1.5 m/s: in this case, heat transfer processes in an enclosed space will proceed quite efficiently.

The tension of the hearth H is related to the productivity of the hearth N by a simple relationship:

where F is the area of ​​the hearth.

Taking into account the area allotted for the forge, as well as the expected forging productivity (for example, in kg of products), it is possible to establish the actual minimum tension of the hearth (it should not be less than 100 - 150 kg / m 2 ∙ h, otherwise the arrangement of even a mini-version of the heating installation turns out to be disadvantageous).

In order to make a horn with your own hands, you will need the following materials:

  1. thick sheet heat-resistant steel;
  2. refractory brick (chamotte or dinas);
  3. steel shaped rolled metal (corners, channels) for mounting the hearth frame, manufacturing dampers and support posts;
  4. steel chimneys for the removal of gases generated during the heating of products;
  5. refractory coating for sealing cracks;
  6. sheet or wide strip steel for the outer lining.

The design of an open hearth is much simpler - there it is necessary to equip only a system of grates, and provide air supply, which intensifies the heating process. In this case, a conventional ventilation hood made of heat-resistant steel is sufficient to remove combustion products.

In addition, during construction, it makes sense to use standard nodes. Here we should mention a fan for a hearth, which can be taken as units produced for double-circuit boilers high power. Also suitable are ventilation pipes and steel chimneys designed for flue gases at 300 - 400 ° C. You can equip the forge with your own hands using burners from powerful double-circuit boilers.

Base frame manufacturing

Since the forge is a stationary unit, you should clearly determine its location. At home, not all of the workshop can be used as a forge. But, of course, the hearth should adjoin one of its walls, preferably one that does not communicate with adjacent buildings, since in this case it is much more difficult to equip chimneys and install a fan for the hearth.

Terms fire safety the structure must be separated from the main wall of the workshop by at least 1 m, while any use of materials with reduced fire resistance (including GKLO brand drywall) is excluded.

In the manufacture of the support frame, it is advisable to use ready-made drawings that can be bought or downloaded on the Internet. The dimensions of the forge / mini-forge are consistent with their own capabilities. It is good if the drawings are also accompanied by a photo and / or video of a working forge.

The support posts and frame are made welded, for which low-alloy steel 09G2S is usually used. It has sufficient strength, is easily and reliably welded, and is resistant to high-temperature corrosion. The step of the lamellar cells of the support frame is determined by the dimensions of the refractory. In the finished frame, holes are provided for the subsequent fastening of the elements of the outer lining.

Making a hearth and vault

When choosing refractories for the arrangement of the upper part, they are guided by considerations of durability, the type of heated products, as well as the intensity of use of the forge. Chamotte and dinas are used more often than others.

Chamotte is made according to specifications GOST 390-79. It is very dangerous to buy non-certified products, because it is sometimes difficult to distinguish fireclay bricks by color from ordinary fireclay bricks, which melt already at 1200 ° C. Fireclay bricks suitable for masonry should be cream-colored and have low porosity. In this case, its weight is at least 5 kg. There are enough demo videos on the Internet that can be used to distinguish quality products. For the construction of a hearth, the ShPD, SHA and SHB brands are suitable.

Download GOST 390-79 "Refractory fireclay and semi-acid products for general purposes"

Well, how we love wild abstruse definitions: special heating devices in order to increase the plastic characteristics of the metal. Let's try to translate all this disgrace into human language.

The forge is essentially a stove. It is clear that with its own characteristics, varieties and technological nuances but it's still a stove. It is needed to heat metal parts to a temperature so that they can be forged, that is, subjected to deformation.

This is the main and general fact for all kinds of blacksmith forges - from primitive country handicrafts on the bricks industrial ovens with many technological features application and purpose.

Two main and only properties are required from a forge furnace: to give a very high temperature, up to 1200 - 1500 ° C and the ability to maintain the desired temperature for a certain time. In other words, we need a strong and even heat.

At what temperature can metals be forged, that is, they begin to be ductile? This is different for all metals and alloys. And here visual sign the fact that the metal part has heated up to the desired temperature is also common - this is the orange color of the part.

All metals respond to heat by changing color from dark red to piercing white. So the orange color is a signal that you can start real blacksmithing on metal.

Drawing of a blacksmith's forge.

The only metal that behaves rather meanly and does not change its color when heated is aluminum. It is not the easiest metal to forge and weld in principle, with aluminum there are many special requirements to be aware of and apply.

So here is the absence orange color while it was already heated for forging - a significant factor that makes it difficult to work with this capricious metal and its alloys. After all, you can't overheat. Underheating is also no good.

Classification of forges

There are several criteria by which you can breed all these stoves into neat types.

Most often, forges are divided according to the type of fuel on which they work:

solid fuel forges

They work on coal. Their use is becoming rarer, as coal is a fuel that does not give a stable and even fire, which is the most important requirement for a forge. Not only that, such stoves require not just coal, but high-quality coking wood or coal of the same quality.

There are lovers of such exotics, so below we will focus on a couple of tips on arranging such a stove.

Gas forges

We will talk about this type of stoves in detail: they are the most common in both home handicraft workshops and professionally equipped blacksmith centers. The gas forge is without a doubt the favorite tool of domestic blacksmiths.

liquid

Here the main type of fuel is fuel oil.

Coal forge.

According to the design solution, the forges are divided into closed and open. They are small, medium and large in size. That, in fact, is the whole classification of blacksmith forges. A homemade forging forge is a very real thing and, most importantly, necessary in the household.

The main thing is to decide what kind of bugle will suit you. And for this, you must clearly know what kind of blacksmith products you are going to make, for whom and in what quantity.

The basic design of a homemade forge

The first question is: what kind of horn to make - open or closed? The answer will depend on your plans - what are you going to do in your blacksmith shop? If this is a hobby in the form of artistic forging in small quantities exclusively for the home and gifts for relatives, then it will be quite enough for you to get an open forge.

It is much simpler and will cost you less in terms of cash and labor costs. On open forge it is easier to heat massive or long parts.

If you plan to work with metals seriously in order, for example, to earn money, then we would advise you to build a closed-type forge with your own hands.

Here are the details that make up a well-assembled forge:

  • frame on racks for support, everything should be made of steel;
  • under - the bottom or lower part of the furnace wall;
  • gate valve with special holes to accelerate the heating of the metal and save fuel;
  • fan;
  • smoke exhaust pipe
  • lining - thermal protection of the stove in the form of fireclay bricks;
  • recuperator - special device to recover the generated heat in the form of flue gases and thus the efficient use of resources.

Building a solid fuel forge

The main disadvantage of solid fuel hearths is that coal itself cannot produce the desired temperature above 1000 ° C. Therefore, in such stoves, an air jet is always needed. Previously, these were furs, now more often air is supplied through a pipe with a welded end, also made of steel.

The easiest way is to dig such a stove right in the ground - it is enough to cover the hole with refractory bricks. A homemade forge can be made differently: from a steel plate with a decent thickness, build a table with a grate of cast iron or steel.

Grate for the forge.

The plate for the table must be made from a blank with a thickness of at least 5 mm. If the hearth of an open design is installed on the street, it will not be necessary to specially deal with ventilation.

Here are the main steps for building a homemade coal-fired forge:

  • Build a platform for the base with concrete and reinforced rods.
  • Fold the bricks in the form of a rectangular base, the surface of the table can be of any height.
  • Make a hole for the blower in any wall of the base.
  • Assemble the underside of special refractory bricks on the base.
  • Install a grate with holes, which must also be made of refractory material, for which it is perfect cast iron door from an old stove.
  • After installing the grate, report the walls from the same refractory brick.
  • Do not forget to leave a hole in one wall for air supply, it is better to do this immediately when laying bricks.
  • Install a fan in the air supply pipe.
  • If you are making a closed structure, be sure to build a chimney, which is absolutely necessary for draft.

Such a horn can be made mobile - it all depends on you. An old gas stove can serve as an excellent frame for a solid fuel forge.

Building a gas furnace

Before you start building a gas forge with your own hands, you need to determine the parameters of the hearth - its area.

There is a tricky formula for this:

N is the productivity of the hearth, which depends on the tension H and the area of ​​the hearth F. It is calculated that the gas supply rate in the range from 1 to 1.5 m/s is sufficient to optimally maintain the required temperature in the hearth.

Scheme gas burner for the mountain.

You know the area of ​​your workshop and the approximate number of forging parts in kilograms that you plan to produce. With this data, you derive the tension of the hearth with a maximum allowable upper limit of 150 kg/m².

Required materials to get started:

  • refractory brick type dinas or fireclay;
  • plates with a thickness of at least 5 mm from heat-resistant steel;
  • steel profile for racks, frame and forge damper;
  • flue pipe and ventilation duct of steel;
  • putty for sealing cracks between bricks with heat-resistant properties;
  • sheet metal or an additional layer of refractory bricks for lining on the outside;
  • burners from double-circuit boilers of high power;
  • fan;

Gas blacksmith forges may also be open. With him, everything is much simpler, it will be enough to arrange grates with air supply for greater efficiency heating. In this case, combustion gases are removed by a fan made of heat-resistant metal.

The support frame is best placed close to one of the walls of your workshop. The choice of wall must be made taking into account the fact that a chimney will be needed and ventilation tube, so adjacent walls, if any, are best not used.

The most important condition is the strict observance of fire safety rules, which consists in the use of only refractory and heat-resistant materials. It doesn't hurt to check what the walls of your workshop are made of. We treat with great care different kind drywall constructions.

Racks and the frame itself are best welded from low-alloy steel according to drawings that can be downloaded on the Internet. Low alloy steel is strong, light and, most importantly, resistant to specific high-temperature corrosion. The outer lining must be thought out in advance in order to immediately make holes in the support frame for its fastening.

Now about refractory bricks and masonry. It is important to buy real certified fireclay bricks made in accordance with GOST 390-79. If you buy a non-standard brick, you run the risk that ordinary bricks will start to melt in you already at a temperature of 1000 ° C.

Real cream-colored fireclay bricks with small pores in small quantities, they are much heavier than ordinary ceramic ones, the weight of one fireclay brick of large dimensions reaches 5 kg. Most suitable brands fireclay - ShB, ShA and ShPD.

Forge device.

The second type of refractory bricks is dinas. These bricks are more expensive, but more resistant to high temperatures: they withstand the regime with a level of 1800 ° C. They are lighter than fireclay bricks due to the high proportion of silicon salts in their composition.

If you have the opportunity, it is better to lay out the hearth with dinas bricks: forges made of refractory dinas bricks are more durable and withstand the most severe temperature conditions.

Lay the bricks with a mortar of refractory clay with the addition of chamotte and dinas powder in a clear proportion of 60:40. Treat the chimney and fan around the perimeter with metal corners.

The most important final stage is the drying of the entire structure. After it, you need to check how the fans for the forge forge work. And only then it will be possible to make a test inclusion.

How to make a gas stove burner

Apart from general instructions how to make a forge, there are rules for installing a gas burner. The gas forge burner can be purchased at the store, or you can make it yourself.

Do-it-yourself gas furnace burner must be made with the obligatory consideration of the requirements for it:

  • gas ignition must be completely safe;
  • combustion must be stable;
  • resistance to humidity inside the hearth;
  • safety when changing thrust and the risk of an explosion of a combustible substance.

The burner is installed through a pre-prepared lining hole. The mouth of the burner is attached to the confuser, which is pulled through a steel gasket. Then pipes for supplying gas and air are installed.

Gas is supplied to the burner from a cylinder or network under the control of regulators. A test run of gas is carried out to check the regulators and pressure, monitor the smell.

If you are one of those people who melt metal in their hands, and you dream of your forge, then you need a blacksmith's 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 the forging of metal. What do you need to do forging? The first is the blacksmith's forge.

You may be surprised, but the forge is the easiest forge to organize.

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 horn is, of course, fire. You can burn gas, liquid fuel, fuel oil or crude oil, coal and firewood. Only now firewood gives little heat until it turns into coal. Firewood can only be considered as a raw material for producing charcoal, but already charcoal is an excellent fuel for a furnace. Perhaps the best, but also the most expensive, although the most affordable. Charcoal for barbecues and barbecues is sold in any supermarket. So let's stop at the coal version.

If we talk about a forge that runs on coal, then there are two options: with a side blast and with a lower one. Side blowing is the best suited for charcoal, and also the easiest to implement. The simplest option- a hole in the ground where air is supplied through a pipe. You can also lay out a hearth of bricks and roll it with earth.

With the help of such a forge, novice blacksmiths try their hand. A hose is inserted into the pipe, 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 convenient. However, you can put together a box of the required height, fill it with earth and make a forge in it. But if you go this way, then you should do something more capital. There is one more point. A side blast hearth is not very suitable for hard coal, while a bottom blast hearth through a grate is more versatile in this regard. That is, a forge with a lower 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 ShB-8;
  • angle grinder, popularly called "Bulgarian";
  • sweep circle;
  • cutting wheels for cutting steel and stone;
  • welding machine and electrodes;
  • two wing screws (eye nut).

The horn consists of a table with a horn nest. Below, under the forge nest, there is an ash chamber where air is supplied. The table is made of steel sheet with a thickness of five millimeters. The size of the table is arbitrary, but it is more convenient when you can freely place work pliers, a poker and a scoop on it so that they are at hand. We cut off a strip 125 mm wide from a five-millimeter sheet, it will still be useful to us, and we make a table from the remaining piece.

Diagram of a horn with a horn nest

In the middle we cut a square hole for the future mountain nest. Here 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 the plan.

To prevent the metal from burning out, it must be lined (overlaid) with fireclay bricks. We use brick ShB-8. 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. Given 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 a square hole with a side of 12 cm. We also need four plates in the form of an isosceles trapezoid with base lengths of 38 and 25 cm, a height of 12.5 cm. So the strip cut off earlier came in handy . Now we need to weld it all.

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

The bottom of the ash receptacle is closed with a lid. We do it on the screws with the lamb.

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

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

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

You can connect a vacuum cleaner and try to kindle a forge.

First, we lay the chips and finely chopped firewood. We set fire to them with a weak blast, and when the firewood flares up well, we fill it with coal. Now you can increase the blow.

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 adjust the amount of air supplied to the hearth, that is, to reduce or increase the blast.

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

Inside is a plate bent at a right angle, half the length of the box wide. The plate can be moved from one extreme position to another by means of a wire rod. As far as the hole for supplying air to the horn is blocked, the discharge hole will open just as much.

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

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

We make an umbrella from sheet iron two millimeters thick. Firstly, such an umbrella will last longer, and secondly, to cook thinner iron by hand arc welding more difficult.

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

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

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

That's all. Your horn is ready. Forge for health, forge like us, forge better than us!

If you are one of those people who melt metal in their hands, and you dream of your forge, then you need a blacksmith's 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 the forging of metal. What do you need to do forging? The first is the blacksmith's forge.

You may be surprised, but the forge is the easiest forge to organize.

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 horn is, of course, fire. You can burn gas, liquid fuel, fuel oil or crude oil, coal and firewood. Only now firewood gives little heat until it turns into coal. Firewood can only be considered as a raw material for producing charcoal, but already charcoal is an excellent fuel for a furnace. Perhaps the best, but also the most expensive, although the most affordable. Charcoal for barbecues and barbecues is sold in any supermarket. So let's stop at the coal version.

If we talk about a forge that runs on coal, then there are two options: with a side blast and with a lower one. Side blowing is the best suited for charcoal, and also the easiest to implement. The simplest option is a hole in the ground where air is supplied through a pipe. You can also lay out a hearth of bricks and roll it with earth.

With the help of such a forge, novice blacksmiths try their hand. A hose is inserted into the pipe, 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 convenient. However, you can put together a box of the required height, fill it with earth and make a forge in it. But if you go this way, then you should do something more capital. There is one more point. A side blast hearth is not very suitable for hard coal, while a bottom blast hearth through a grate is more versatile in this regard. That is, a forge with a lower 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 ShB-8;
  • angle grinder, popularly called "Bulgarian";
  • sweep circle;
  • cutting wheels for cutting steel and stone;
  • welding machine and electrodes;
  • two wing screws (eye nut).

The horn consists of a table with a horn nest. Below, under the forge nest, there is an ash chamber where air is supplied. The table is made of steel sheet with a thickness of five millimeters. The size of the table is arbitrary, but it is more convenient when you can freely place work pliers, a poker and a scoop on it so that they are at hand. We cut off a strip 125 mm wide from a five-millimeter sheet, it will still be useful to us, and we make a table from the remaining piece.

Diagram of a horn with a horn nest

In the middle we cut a square hole for the future mountain nest. Here 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 the plan.

To prevent the metal from burning out, it must be lined (overlaid) with fireclay bricks. We use brick ShB-8. 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. Given 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 a square hole with a side of 12 cm. We also need four plates in the form of an isosceles trapezoid with base lengths of 38 and 25 cm, a height of 12.5 cm. So the strip cut off earlier came in handy . Now we need to weld it all.

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

The bottom of the ash receptacle is closed with a lid. We do it on the screws with the lamb.

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

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

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

You can connect a vacuum cleaner and try to kindle a forge.

First, we lay the chips and finely chopped firewood. We set fire to them with a weak blast, and when the firewood flares up well, we fill it with coal. Now you can increase the blow.

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 adjust the amount of air supplied to the hearth, that is, to reduce or increase the blast.

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

Inside is a plate bent at a right angle, half the length of the box wide. The plate can be moved from one extreme position to another by means of a wire rod. As far as the hole for supplying air to the horn is blocked, the discharge hole will open just as much.

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

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

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

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

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

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

That's all. Your horn is ready. Forge for health, forge like us, forge better than us!