My first bodkins (pics)

[Kviljo]

You could just put some bolts into the holes, or place a metal plate inside the brake drum.


I bet a regular cheap grill won't be able to withstand the heat, but a ceramic pot would perhaps. Though I bet there's a reason nobody uses them

[SimonUK]

Thanks Kviljo. I'm off to the scrap yard at the weekend to see what I can find. Hows that number 16 going?

[Kviljo]

Good

I haven't tried since that last one, just need to regenerate my hand first.

[duffontap]

I'm racking my brain trying to think of a forge material to use.  Could you just make one out of brick and mortar?  Would a 1' x 1'  box 6" deep be a good size?  I might try that if none of you can think of a reason why it wouldn't work. 

            J. D.

[Pat B]

Oh yea! I remember. The borax acts as a flux to remove scale so you get molten metal to molten metal.  Dang. I have to try this. I've been interested for 30 years but never pursued it.     Pat

[SimonUK]

I'm racking my brain trying to think of a forge material to use.  Could you just make one out of brick and mortar?  Would a 1' x 1'  box 6" deep be a good size?  I might try that if none of you can think of a reason why it wouldn't work. 

            J. D.

I've read that fire bricks are OK - not sure about the mortar. I don't see why we couldn't use anything that's been in a kiln - temperatures there rise to about 1200 celcius I believe. Maybe standard bricks won't last as long as fire bricks though.

[D. Tiller]

I believe bricks are ok for the structure but you may want to line it with some kind of clay with a high fire temperature to act as a refractory material. Also plug in a bunch of grog ta act as a binder a stop to shrinkage. I think the clay also helps to keep the heat from being drawn away from the fire.

[DBernier]

If you want to make a "pot" to hold the coal, try finding an old deep cast iron frying pan and drill a hole in the center for the blow pipe. I've seen some pretty big ones at the flea markets. You can make a steel frame to hold it and utilize it to add pipe legs etc.

Dick

[SimonUK]

Avoid flower pots guys. Mine cracked after a few minutes and flames started coming through the cracks. But it was very effective while it lasted - the metal got red hot in a minute or two.

I used the hoover in a bag as an air supply. Initially it produced far too much pressure and the flower pot resembled a small rocket. I solved that by cutting a few holes in the bag to reduce the pressure.

[possum]

galvanized wash tub with an adobe mixture of clay (kitty litter), ash and sand around the inside  sloping down to form a trough around the tuyere (a black pipe with holes drilled in it. ).  Run the pipe out the ends so you can attach your air source.  I have made two of them.  Easy to make and functional.

possum

[SimonUK]

I was told to avoid anything galvanised as it gives off toxic fumes when heated. But you're obviously still alive 

Despite the difficulty finding a suitable container for the fire, I'm encouraged that it's easy to get the metal hot enough to forge. Charcoal worked a treat.

[SimonUK]

I made a forge out of eleven normal house bricks today - no mortar, I just packed them close together and left a gap between two for the air pipe. It worked ok and I managed to flatten the end of a 1/2 inch iron rod.

My makeshift anvil got big dents though. I need something better.

[Kviljo]

Nice!!

Great fun playing with a red-hot "don't want to touch"-thing, aint it?

[SimonUK]

  yes it's great fun. I could hardly believe it when I first took that glowing thing out of the fire.

I'm wondering if I'm not getting it quite hot enough. It's red, but not orange or white hot and it takes about 6 bouts of hammering to get it flat (could be my bad anvil). How long do you leave your rod in the fire? I leave mine about a minute between hammerings.

[Kviljo]

When you heat it too much, sparks start flying of the steel. I try to get it as hot as possible, without starting the sparks, if I have a clear plan of how I'm going to hammer it.

A small piece heats quicker than a large, so I cut of the part I'm going to use firstly, and hold it with a plier. It saves some time during reheating I think.