historical hand operated forge(pic heavy)

morlan578 · historical hand operated forge(pic heavy)

I have always had a yearning to make my own custom knives and been looking at how to build a cheap forge
Well today on a trip into swansea by chance i spotted a small antique shop up a side street in one of the quiter areas on the outskirts ,we decided to have a mooch in the window and when we strolled up we noticed that they mostly did renevated cast iron fire places ,but then we spotteg the gates opening into the yard next door we looked in and saw this !!!!!!!!

Hand operated antique forge i was flying we went in and then an elderley chap appeared from no where and greeted us and starting chatting he showed us around lots of old cast iron ware and fire places and old country machinery that he was renovating and selling on he seemed delighted that we had recognised it as a forge and said it had been his possesion for about thirty years and had only just decided to put it on display the yard was a mish mash of fire grates and cast kitchen ranges chimney pots, tiles and old paraphernalia
Jen spotted an old wooden horse yoke with the metal work still attached she wants to buy it and renovate ,well to be honest we were like two kids in a sweetshop ,he showed us around and produced an antique ransomes hand operated lawn edger with the original paint still on it we were gob smacked and like I said our eyes were every where
When we mentioned we were looking for a forge to actually use he was very interested and told us that he thinks it was exmilitary and still inperfect working order Then came the big question "How much for the forge" after showing me it still worked perfectly and saying he had put a new plate in the bottom of the fire box ,he looked at me pushed his flat cap back scratched his head and said "hows about £60 " I was expecting it to be a lot more and unaffordable
So it seems me and jen are the proud owners of an antique leather bellows operated forge I was so excited I forgot to ask if he had any other related equipment tongs hammers etc It seems he has a large storage area elsewhere so we will be picking it up the weekend and I,m looking forward to cleaning it up and renovating it as much as using it

Rhodie

60 squid!!!

You lucky...lucky bleedah!

by the way you have described this yard I would be like a demented Ferret mooching in there!

let us know what else you come across in there?

morlan578

We want to go see his real storage area all we saw today was the tip of the iceberg I think !!!!!
The way he was talking he has lots more goodies stashed like I said he reckons that he has had the forge tucked away for about 30 years

confused

Hi, 55 years ago i used to watch the blacksmith hot shoe the two horses that were left on the farm we lived on, he always used the forge that was on the farm ,it looked much the same except that it had a handle on the back conected to a fan , i always wanted to be allowed to turn the handle for the smith but each time i got the same answer - "when your older !" by the time i was old enough ---- we had no horses on the farm ! just my luck.

morlan578

God I,m so excited cant wait to pick this up and start workimg to bring it back to its former glory jens all revvved up to polish the nails in the bellows and We saw a cast irom plate with a deer on it that we think we,ll buy to add as a weight to the top of the bellows after i,v e polished the wood

mr=punch

I have seen just the bellows from these forges fetch over £80 you lucky sod.

Have fun and be safe.

morlan578

thats what we thought when he gave us the price ,but i think he was swayed when i started saying i wanted it to use it for what it was intended for he seemed quite excited at the prospect of it being resurected and once more doing the job it was designed for

tyke

Brilliant find and an absolute steal at £60,what do you intend to make/forge on it?

fish

yep swayed by it going to be used rather than as a plant stand or bbq! when i come down next i need to see that shop!

morlan578

tyke

Sounds good,im just getting into metal work myself,ive built a "flowerpot furnace" that should double as a forge but that one youve bought looks the business.

As fish said thats one place i would like to visit,especially as he's giving stuff away,lol good luck with it and make sure you buy a full face visor before using it.

morlan578

morlan578

Well i,ve picked it up and also purchased 2x20 pound weights which I hope to use as anvils they cost me a fiver each

pics to come really soon
this guy is really interesting he is a bee keeper and builds bee hives

we must have spent 2 hours talking to him when we went to pick the forge up

tyke

Hi Morlan,

Try this site for some info and theres some good links as well,

http://www.backyardmetalcasting.com/

the farrier

Excelllent buy buddy,make sure that you give the bellows a real good soak in some neatsfoot oil before you use it,nothing worst than cracking the leather on them if they have got dry and you will struggle to get a hide big and good enough for them these days.if you need any advice then feel free to ask,im a second generation of metal thumpers.

morlan578

Ratman2

You are a lucky man Morlan

I've made a small forge out of a car wheel, some large bore exhaust pipe and a small blower from a central heating boiler, it works a treat but oh!! how I would love one like you've found.
Good luck with it and I hope we soon see some photos of it fired up.
Rob

mr=punch

Wotcha Richie

Have you had this on the go yet? as I was looking forward to your comments on how well it works when you get it fired up I will post a pic of mine, its not as nice as yours as it was once in a school as part of a row of them.

Mine is gas and driven air but will also do coal and charcoal and also has firebricks and clinker so I can build a little furnace in it too.

Oh and it weighs about 1/2 a ton so is not very portable the airpump was 3 phase so I took it apart and it is now driven by a drill but it works ok.

I would love one like yours as if you make your own charcoal it is free to run, anyway charcoal is cheap this time of year as b&q etc. all have it in a sale.

ATB
punch

statikpunk

if you can find an old railroad iron, they works great as an anvil...thats what i used with my forge untillI found a 120 pound anvil in front of an apartment door. i offered the guy 20 bucks for it and got it.

smallholder1

nice buy good luck with the knife making

morlan578

still lookin for a bit of space to get set up .
Not much workshop space available for rent in this area but still looking and can,t wait to start forgeing

constantly looking for more equipment in my price range(on my arse at the mo so as cheap as poss) I,ve found a good anvil mounting log but still looking for the anvil
It,ll turn up I,m convinced of it
A question for the blacksmiths/farriers on here "whats the best fuel for my forge coal or charcoal ?

fish

ime trying to get an anvil down to £20 at the moment for you.

the farrier

I have never used charcoal so i cannot comment on it,we always use coke,i think they call it breeze

morlan578

I live very near to the largest steelworks in South wales so I know what coke is but didnt think of it as forge fuel
I can see I need to come to you for advice on my venture I really want to do this but sadly my knowledge is limited on all aspects
I would really appreciate your help and guidance

morlan578

statikpunk

I use regular lump charcoal for my forge, not the briquette stuff but natural charcoal that you would use for a bar-b-q and it works good and gets plenty hot..i think the advantage of using real coal is that it last much longer in the pot..but i usually only do one little project at a time so the short burn time of lump is not a problem for me. and its easily accessible at most big grocery stores.