Forging Ahead
On 1/31/16 me and my dad cleaned out our aframe, to make into a workshop. We started by going to Tractor Supply to get materials. I got one hammer, two wielding gloves, one wire wheel, one block of steel for a anivl, one steel bar, and one alumimum bar. Then we went into the aframe to it clean out. We moved the pool table in the corner and put the snowmachine in the middle. Then we therw of one cabinets in the fire pit. Then we screwed the steel block into the table top so it could not move and got the grinder to work.
On 2/6/16 I woke up at 6:45 and got ready to go outside. When I got down to the shop, I started a fire and started chopping wood to put in the fire. After the fire got roaring I put the aluminum in the forge and wait about five minutes to check if it was ready to forge. I was forging for about two hours then the aluminum shattered into three pieces. To make sure that shop didn't light up in flames so I chucked them outside into the snow so they could cooldown. I had no idea why the aluminum shattered? So then I started to to heat up the steel it took about thirty minutes to get up to temperture then the fire died. I didn't have enough space to put the steel after I took it out, so the fire died.
On 2/22/16 and 2/23/16 I went down to the shop to try something new to keep the forge hot but enough space so the fire can breath. I went down and started up the forge. I got the forge really hot and put the aluminum in the forge. and started to bend the aluminum to shape and on the first day I get it to look like a tear drop. On the second day was lot harder then the day before I was getting to the shape of a bracelet I was bending the aluminum, but the aluminum started to bend the wrong way then everything went straght to hell. The forge has to been getting hot enough to make steel glow. But after a couple of day of starting the wood stove for my house I tried many ways to get the fire to start faster and get hotter faster.
On 3/12/16 I went down to my shop and gathered all the stuff I need to start my fire. It took a long time to get the fire started because it was really windy. When the fire got going it took even longer to get them to hot coals when I got the coals red hot. The peice of steel I choose to use had a flat peice on it so I cut it off so it could fit in the forge after that I put the steel in the forge left it in there for 20 minutes so it could heat up and get to temperture. I didn't hit the rod of steel very hard because I didn't want to dent the steel.
On 3/2016 I got all my materials to start the forge up, before I started my forge I move it off the deck so the deck didn't go up in flames. That wood stove is about 125 pounds and to move it about 20 feet is lot of work in 10 minutes. After I got the forge going I started to look for materials for a quench tank looking for materials for it. There is a slight leak in the tank but it is fully functional and works fine. After about four hours I didn't get a lot of work done. I need to make a new coal forge so I can make new steel tools and cool stuff.
Problem:Heating the forge takes to longIt took 4 -5 hours to make an inch to make it a couple of centimeters.
WHY: Takes a long time for wood to burn into hot coals. Takes too much effort to get to the hot coals. I need a forge that allows for more air flow
Solution:Get a folding chair, cut a hole in the chair and put a steel or cast iron pan punch a few hole in the pan. some how attach the pan to the chair. I have to get a metal T pipe so there could be air flow like the picture to the right.
On 3/26/16 Me and my mom went to buy materials for my DIY coal forge. I change the from a folding chair to an old gas grill. All I have to do is set it up so it can work.like a forge. I couldn't work on the 26th and the 27th because I had to go to brithday party and had easter party thta I had to go to. I'm going to try to work on it during the week so I can forge something on Saturday. My dad might help me but he is going to have knee surgery next week so he might not to be do anything before to surgery and after the surgery.
On 4/1/16 I went out to my dad's garage to work on my coal forge. When I got out to the garage, I gutted the grill that was going to be my forge. After I got all of the metal out of the grill I brushed the grease and flakes out of the grill into a bucket that had a garbage bag in it so it was easy to clean. After it was all clean out I tried to use an anlge grinder but it didn't work it only chiped the metal so I took a hammer and a chisel and punch a very big hole in the metal so the two inched pipe could fit. When the pipe fit in the hole I put he fire bricks down. I put them under the pipe so it has a place it can rest on. After i put all of fire brick down I started to mix the fire cement and used plastic bags for gloves. Then I just let the cement dry for a day.
On 4/3/16, I brought my new forge down to my shop. After I got the forge there I had to go above my garage to get the coal there were two bag above the garage so I took both. I took an extension cord from my house so I could use air source. To get the fire going I put paper and wood down to get the fire going after the fire got going I put the charcoal on top and turned on the hair dryer so it could get up to temperture faster. Then I put the steel chisel into the froge. I took about an hour to make the chisel longer and flater. After I put into the water went stirght to the grinder to get all of the scale off so it could look nice.
On 4/8/16 I went down to my shop to get started on my work. When I go down there I cleaned out all the ash from the last time, when I got that done I started the forge right up so could finsh my work. It took about five minutes to get roaring. After that I put the piece of steel in the forge so I could heat it up so I could make it rounder and bend it like a hook. After a put the steel in the water to cool it down brought right to the grinder so a could get all of the scale off the metal it took a long time because of the bend it had but I got it done.
On 4/10/16 I went down to my shop to get it ready to start my forge, but the hair dryer was not working so I went in to Barre with my brother to get a new one after we got the new one we went to Mister Z's to eat lunch that was my brithday treat to my brother. When we got back my brother went down and after a couple of tries we got the forge going then I put a new peice of steel in the forge to heat it up. The steel is a low carbon steel the way I know that is beacuse there are less sparks when I am grinder.
On 4/16/16 and 4/17/16 I went down to the shop to start finishing the knife I am making. I put the paper I had into a ball, that is what Lucain told me to do. It kepts the fire gonig longer so the coal can keep a flame. The coal produced so much smoke. After a five minutes the forge got up to the right temperature so I put the piece of steel in the forge it took a couple of minutes to heat up so. After it got red hot I started making it into a bar so I make thiner so it could become a knife blade. I could only work for a coulpe of hours because my cousin came over to help my brother make a turkey blind.