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| (Photo: Copyright www.veraseridesigns.com ) |
One of my sons is a degreed sculptor. He remains badly injured from the lightning strike he sustained, now two years ago. When he is physically able, he builds or repairs things that are often simply labor saving devices for himself, or sometimes for me.
I would like to share with you, the mini forge he built recently.
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| (Photo: Copyright veraseri designs.com ) |
We start this build with a 4.5" i.d. Stainless pipe from a scrap pile. This was from a refit/replacement job at a nuclear plant.
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| (Photo: Copyright veraseri designs.com ) |
All of the pieces are cut to length, and the edges de-burred as well as conditioned.
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| This is the picture from the top of the page. (Copyright: www.veraseridesigns.com ) |
The
forge is then welded and other pieces such as the tabs for feet, and
the hinge for the door are added. The piece is then sandblasted and
coated with a paint that can resist up to 1200 deg. F
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| (Photo: Copyright www.veraseridesigns.com ) |
Here
we are cutting sections of Fiberfrax Duraboard for the inside
insulation of the forge. This product cuts very nicely, is exceedingly
durable, and is very easy to replace in the future.
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| (Photo: Copyright www.veraseridesigns.com ) |
The Fiberfrax Duraboard has been installed and a hole has been cut for the burner entry. It is ready for its first test.
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| (Photo: Copyright www.veraseridesigns.com ) |
The door (in the rear) is as well insulated and can be opened to heat much longer pieces.
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| (Photo: Copyright www.veraseridesigns.com ) |
In this picture, the rear door is closed.
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| (Photo: Copyright www.veraseridesigns.com ) |
The first test fire went perfectly, and came to heat very quickly. Here I am using a BernzOmatic TS4000 for its ease of starting and its MAPP and Propane cross-ability.
The mini forge is up, running and operational. The survival uses of such a device would include knife and instrument making, bracket construction, repair of metal car or tractor parts, or farm implements. This forge makes some excellent hoof picks. It can be a resource for metal casting. If your distant enough, you could cook a hot dog or toast marshmallows !
For those who can't weld or want a more disposable unit, there is a video on Youtube which was posted by someone other than my son, which I have embedded below.
Please be sure when doing anything of this variety to wear eye protection, work in the outdoors in order to prevent inhalation of carbon monoxide and other substances, and take reasonable precautions to avoid the ignition of your surroundings.
The Soup Can Forge
******On another topic, please read:
http://gorges-smythe.blogspot.com/2013/10/t-r-e-s-o-n.html
Gorges has a great blog and some important common sense views.
