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Blacksmithing Basics: How to Forge Steel
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Jan 25, 2024
Learn blacksmithing basics and how to forge steel with an anvil small propane burning forge. READ MY POPULAR ARTICLES ABOUT: Polyurethane Finish - https://bit.ly/powerbuffing DIY Hoop House Plans - https://bit.ly/hoophouseplans Submersible Pump Installation - https://bit.ly/pumpinstallation Air-Drying Wood Tips - https://bit.ly/wooddrying How to Build a Table - https://bit.ly/tablebuilding How to Stain a Deck - https://bit.ly/deckstain Choosing Waterproof Outdoor Glue - https://bit.ly/exterioradhesives How To Build A Wheelchair Ramp - https://bit.ly/wheelchairrampplans SUBSCRIBE: http://bit.ly/BLRchannel WATCH MY POPULAR VIDEO: How to Cut Perfect Miter Joints https://youtu.be/0wnjJ-Xi5FU WATCH MORE BAILEY LINE ROAD: Winter Tips - https://bit.ly/2rpnUcm
View Video Transcript
0:00
In this video I want to go over my setup for forging
0:04
It's not exactly MIG welding, but it kind of goes together. So I wanted to give you at least an introduction to this
0:11
Forging is all about heating metal red hot so that it's soft so that you can shape it and
0:19
This is my forge. It's a propane forge. There are really two kinds. There's coal fired and propane fired. Propane is a lot handier
0:28
This is made by a Canadian company called mighty forge and propane tank six under there and and
0:37
Powers two burners that shoot flame into the actual forge and I'm going to show you how that works. We're gonna put metal in there. We're gonna heat it. We're gonna do some shaping
0:49
I should say I've built This cart to modify this cart in order to accommodate the forge so it's not a DeWalt forge
0:58
It just happens to be a DeWalt cart that I had I've put a rolling base on it and
1:04
some Things here this these are tongs. This is for holding the red hot metal and
1:11
there's a place for those and Hammers as well fit over here on the other side it rolls
1:19
And it locks as well. So It's a great setup for Casual forging that you might be doing in a space that you don't normally do forging in. So
1:30
I'll light this up. We'll heat some metal and then I'll show you what it's like to hammer that metal on an anvil
1:42
So I've just lit this burner this one's gonna light this one
1:47
So we've got some good heat here I've adjusted the regulator to give me the amount of heat I want more or less
1:55
This forge happens to be open on the ends. You see there's an opening here. There's another opening on the other side
2:02
That's so you can heat longer pieces of metal But it also means that there's flames licking out of here, too
2:08
You can't really see it in this light, but you have to be careful of the sides I've got safety glasses on
2:15
Definitely a necessity I've got these leather forging chaps To protect me. I first used a forge
2:23
When I was taking my training as a farrier, so horseshoer, that's where I started using the forge
2:28
we had propane and coal in the shop and Really? I guess what I'm going to show you here is just the basics of what I learned back then
2:37
So tongs are the tool that holds the metal that's going to be forged. I'm going to be turning this into a wedge
2:45
Steel wedge I use it for splitting stone and things like that But notice these these are similar
2:51
but they have different opening sizes and that's because you want the tongs to
3:00
Have their handles positioned so that you can grip the handle while holding a certain thickness of metal and
3:07
And that's what's going on here. See if I was trying to hold
3:12
this thickness of metal With a tong that's smaller It doesn't really grip properly
3:19
because the jaws aren't parallel and Look at how far apart the handle is so you kind of have to match the tongs
3:27
For the thickness of metal you're handling That's why we have different ones
3:36
Okay, the forge has only been running for a little while now, but it's already red-hot inside
3:43
I'm going to put a few pieces in here Close the lid
3:54
let that cook for a few minutes and when the steel is
3:58
Nice and red. I'm going to grab one take it over here and we'll do a little bit of forging
4:04
There's a saying in English and strike while the iron is hot it means
4:09
When the opportunity presents itself take action and that saying Comes from what you're going to see here because once that thing is hot
4:17
You don't have very long to bring it over to the anvil and to start hammering away and shaping it maybe
4:27
15 20 seconds 30 seconds on the anvil maybe and then it's back to the forge for reheating again
4:33
So that's why I have multiple pieces in there because as I'm working on one Others can either be getting hot or staying hot
4:41
While this is heating up I want to explain a little bit about the anvil too. Anvils are very important for forging work
4:48
It's not that unusual to see used anvils around and they're all usually kind of rusted and
4:55
Dished on the top and everything. I bought this one new and It's a hundred and twenty five pounds. It's a great size. There are bigger ones. There are smaller ones, but this works great
5:06
and It's an anvil on its own isn't a whole lot of use
5:11
You need to put it on something so that it's at the right height. This is an oak log here. I've also
5:17
bolted in this semicircular piece of wood here and on the other side to just hold it in place, but
5:24
An anvil has so many shapes so that you can shape metal on it
5:28
So this surface here would be the usual one for just the kind of forging I'm going to do here for you today
5:35
Sometimes you want to bend things and that's what this horn is That's what this is called. It's called the horn of the anvil and you can bend different radiuses
5:43
the different positions on the horn there are places in here if you want to
5:49
Punch a hole through metal when it's red-hot all kinds of different shapes for bending and things
5:54
so this shape typical anvil shape has been refined over the over the centuries really to to work quite well and
6:02
A good anvil has a kind of a bounce to it, too So a very important part of the process right here the anvil so let's see how we're doing see if we're hot enough
6:20
We're getting there Now I'm going to be repositioning this one Because it's really the end that I want red-hot in this case because as I said, I'm making some wedges here
6:33
We'll just let that cook a little longer But it's got to get quite a bit brighter than that before the metal is soft enough to do anything with
6:41
So I think yeah, we're in good shape We got some red-hot metal here
6:48
So we'll take this out I
7:22
Struck while the iron was hot and now it's not hot anymore So
7:30
But I can continue working on one I've already started So I'm almost finished making my wedges now just have another few sessions to do with them
7:41
I consider that to be a practical project because like I said I use those for for splitting stone limestone that I quarry
7:49
for building But there are also decorative Applications for forge this the head of this carriage bolt for instance when you don't want a
8:00
Modern look on something piece of furniture or some indoor Features of your home or something like that
8:07
You can take a an ordinary carriage bolt like this and put it in the forge and heat it up and make it look quite
8:14
Authentically old so let's take a look. I'll heat this up I'll do some work on a bolt now while we're waiting for those wedges to finish up because of the side openings on this forge
8:23
You don't necessarily need to open the door To take things in and out. So here's our this is a lag bolt in this case
8:33
And you just use a small ball peen hammer and just kind of
8:40
Decorate it a bit In this case because it's a lag bolt
8:48
I'm not gonna hit it too hard because I don't want to destroy the flats in the end
8:54
I May have to clean them up with a little file, but see how that looks
9:00
much more authentic Kind of a primitive look Primitive authentic hardware look for when you want that kind of stuff
9:10
so This one I think is ready to go now that's going red-hot it always surprises me how fast really hot metal cools down
9:24
So What was that 10 15 seconds maybe 20 seconds
9:43
It's not even warm anymore Water sure sucks heat out of things fast. I'm gonna clean this up a bit and
9:49
And There's a stone wedge ready to go So I've got my batch of three wedges ready to go because it's something that will be struck with a hammer
10:01
I've Ground this here so that it doesn't Mushroom over and break off. It's not very fine work
10:08
It doesn't have to be it just has to go into a saw kerf and some stone to split it open
10:13
But and I don't actually forge very often, but it is very nice to have this when the occasion arises
10:21
as I said before here's a little antiqued bolt head and This is what we started with for the wedges so a little bit of extra metalworking know-how
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