Makeshift Portable Forge

Michael Kemp

Michael Kemp

Well-Known Member
Our local knifemakers club (5160 Club) is having a hammer-in tomorrow. I could not resist cobbling together a makeshift forge to take out there. Yes. This is a loose pile of bricks with an internal temperature approaching 2000°F. What could possibly go wrong? (I promise to strap it up with bailing wire tomorrow - don't think the bubble gum would hold up to the heat).

I've been wanting to try this since I spent $40 on a weed burner to warm up the anvil & press dies.

PortableForge.jpg
 
Report:

Yes! It was a fun day - there were half a dozen forges going (only one was coal). Several knives made. Cable Damascus welded up...

On my "makeshift forge": The white inner bricks are 2800f insulating fire brick - which work great but crack & break at the drop of a hat. The inside can be glowing orange while the outside is barely hot. A Kaowool/refractory cement lined forge heats up faster - but once this one got up to orange inside it tootled right along. A little small for my liking but larger than the famous 1 brick forge. And the weed burner performed fine. Burned the paint off the gas-mixing can but held up no problem. A fun experiment but I doubt if I'll repeat it (the bricks are back in their respective piles). If you didn't have the time/equipment to put together a fancier forge - this could let you give forging a try!

~ Michael Kemp
 
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