How to make a Forge out of a Ammo Can
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- Опубліковано 2 жов 2024
- Today we are building a Forge out of an Ammo Can. I had to re-think my design half way through this build and I will both show and tell you why in this video. Hopefully y'all can learn from my experiences and get some good take away's from watching this. As always don't forget to leave a comment if you learned something or if you had some idea on how I could improve my design.
Instagram: the_rivers_experience
Camera: Sony a5100
Music By:
Joakim Karud- / joakimkarud
Great idea! I’ll be grabbing a pew pew can next trip to Harbor freight.
LOL so random. I literally just used a thick cardboard tube I had laying around from some sort of printer, and foil… then I watched this ahahaha
Love it - I will do this!! I have the fire bricks to use based on another design I had seem. But your design with the ammo can to house the brick is brilliant - protects the brick, has a handle to easily move around and looks great - should last a very long time and the brick is easily accessible for maintenance if required. I might cut a hole on the back have a looser fire brick to slide in/out in case I want need more length. I have some large horseshoeing files I want to anneal to use for knives. Thank you for your videos - really enjoying your channel - one of the better ones!!!
Cool I 'll give it a try.. Thanks for the build idea...
Yeahhh just did a paint can plaster of Paris. What I saw said 15-20min work time. Not even close ahahah. I think I might have, maybe, possibly got it all in without air bubbles… apart from a bit near the torch port… we will see. I have a .50 ammo can though. I’ll keep watching but rubber gasket? In or out
I like the idea of using an ammo box for a forge body. It looks relatively simple and it shouldn't break the bank either. I'm just starting out forging so I'm going to be making small stuff to start out with (IE, nails, hooks, things like that) so a forge of this size I believe will be perfect for these kinds of small projects. I plan later on with trying out making knife blades and things like that. Many thanks for a very informative video!
This is great design, I'm really glad I found your video!
Thanks this was great you have saved me the trouble of a learning curve. I have all the tools and torch I need, picking few firebricks is no big deal. I still can’t find the Ammo box. I will find something else. Thanks a million. Salah.
Salah, try looking at military surplus stores and I've even seen some truck stops that will sometimes carry ammo cans to use for tool boxes and such. If you ever shop on E-bay then you can get some great deals there on ammo cans. I just checked on E-bay and you can get a .50 cal ammo can for $20.00. Hope this helps!
Thanks Brian, i found one on ebay and it’s being shipped as I write this soon I’ll be on my way making my own. Cheers.
@@salahaljuma5607 Good deal. That's great to hear. Yep, I'll be doing much of the same myself in the near future.
For future reference if you ever need another ammo box Harbor Freight has .30 and .50 caliber ammo boxes and they're fairly cheap.
i thought your video had, when i saw it last month or more ago, a back vent. seems it was a completely different video, but yeah, closed end is the best, one opening, no need to cut the latch, just like my build, except mines a round chamber. if one has a table saw, it will help tons. drilling the corners for the opening, pre-cut, will help, and yeah... can't wait to build one in a 40mikemike can. so portable.
The art work on the door is the best!!!
Very nice! I have a suggestion for you for a future video. Lookup "Frosty T-burner" and do a video on how to build a venturi burner. This particular model is fairly easy to build and gets SUPER hot in a hurry! You would reach welding temp in this little forge in no time!
Man I was watching a video today and someone made one of those. I was thinking "well guess thats the next thing I'm making" lol. I'm gonna do it as a top feed burner like normal forges.
This is a ammo box forge that has a homemade burner on it.
ua-cam.com/video/lbayp7Aorl8/v-deo.html
How is your mini forge holding up? My 9yr old has me gathering everything needed to build one. He is desparate to make a forge and knives.
It's still doing great. One of my friends uses it now in his shop.
Waste of a nice ammo can 🤣
Fantastic job.
Hi there,
another great video 👍 I'm currently using a two brick forge with a torch for annealing and hardening and it works fine. But the forge needs to be handled with care because the bricks are so fragile and i don't have enough space that the forge can be build up permanently. So i really like your idea using an ammo can to protect the fire brick. I can't weld so building my own casing is no option. Did you ever thought about using electrical heating with PID control? I'm lazy and it sucks running out of gas if there is time for knifemaking, so i thought about changing to an electric heating. Forging is not an option for me, so only stock removal knifes will be made. As a bonus that would open up the opportunities to work with stainless steel.
Can you give some details on the hose and torch what should I be looking for at the store? Me and my uncle are going to build this my old ammo can has a latch on the side so I'll shoot the flame in the other end rather than the side
R. G t.
Grate video mate, am making one of them definitely 👍. Thanks for sharing and thanks for showing your mistake that's the best way to teach. Thanks again for your video
I am a firm believer in that you learn as much if not more from your mistakes.
Can't you buy a small ammo for the cost of the materials and save yourself the headache?
Where do you get the fire brick.
From Hightemptools.com
Great video. I got my setup running a few days ago to harden a blade for my little bro. It worked great. I did a similar setup with the ammo can, fire brick, bernzomatic ts8000 torch head and propane tank. I ended up coming in from the center of the back so the flame is blowing straight toward the opening. I filled the gaps with kwool. I might shrink the chamber size a little bit for more efficient heating.
ナイフ作りの参考にさせて頂きます。
COFFEE CAN FORGEも観てみたいです。
I do have a couple questions. 1) Is there any concern about the seams (cracks) where the bricks join each other? Will the heat leach between and get to the sheet metal? Could you use bricks end to end to deepen the forge all the way to the back of the ammo can? 2) How thick must the bricks be to be effective and not affect the sheet metal? Is 1” enough or do you need 2” all around?
There really isn't a concern about the heat between the bricks. My main forge is just bricks sitting on each other and heats up to 2400 degrees on the inside and is only 190 degrees on the outside (measured with a laser thermometer). 1" thick is plenty for a forge this small, I would probably go with a minimum of 1.5" though.
first time knife maker ,,, Thank you ill give it a try, cool idea
Awesome I been thinking about trying to build one of these i bought 10 pizza oven bricks do you get any heat escape threw the top of the can because ive got limited space and it would have to go on floor under all my benches?
I made one like the coffee can/paint tin style today. My tip is to get the mix as sloppy as possible to reduce the air bubbles. Having said that the finished product was a bit of a disappointment so i am now going to try the ammo box style. One thing i will do is reduce the height of the chamber to be maybe an inch high and see how that works. Thanks for the great video ;)
I wonder if your initial idea (the tube) would have worked if you used actual refractory cement, since it's got more of a set up time.
Are you using propane? Full size tank or little one?
I've been looking for a house like you have on the torch head. Where did you get that hose? I made one once out of a coffee can and plaster of paris and it only lasted for one railroad spike knife.
I got it from Home Depot.
@@theriversexperience9383 thanks.
What was the dimensions of the ammo crate?
Actually, I cannot cut a hole in the other end due to the latch - rats!! Oh well! I'm building it very very soon!!!
Cool design, which I will likely try. But good God, wear a freaking respirator! Breathing that dust is bad news! I also wonder why you didn't make the chamber the size of the cutout?
It would have left the walls of the forge to thin to contain the heat. they needed to be a little bit thicker than I originally expected. I agree about the respirator, hind sight is 20/20.
@@theriversexperience9383 I forgot to ask, what are the dimensions of the cutout in the can?
I'm really glad I found this channel. Thank you and keep up the good work!
How many heat treats can you get from one can? I could really use an entire video on different torches their performance and gas consumption rates.
1st like and comment what!?
Nice! What did you think of the forge? pretty cool huh?
Simple is best your forge is Da Bomb!
Have you tried MAPP gas ?
I switched to that soon after this. It's way better.
This is awesome, I have an ammo can ion the way.
I am Curious if you are running map gas or if you are connected to a 20lb propane tank?
On this set up I was running MAP gas.
@@theriversexperience9383 Thanks! I assume you moved on to something bigger and better. Great channel, amazing content, incredibly informative. Been wanting to make knives forever and am finally getting my feet wet.
I have a similar type of setup but never thought to use an ammo can. The only fire bricks I’ve been able to find are online. Any thoughts as to where to go without having to order the brick?
Menards sells them
There isn’t Menards in the Philly area...I’ve since then bought myself a mini-forge. Between material cost and labor, it was better for me just to order one. I’m really happy with what I got.
I ended up making this, but even with the hole angled back and down a bit, it doesn't get hot enough. I have to hand hold the torch at the front opening to get the metal up to temp.
I will have to play with hole placement a bit.
Are you using MAP gas or propane?
@@theriversexperience9383 map but possibly the tank sits too angled without an extension hose?
@@thomps6s if you get a chance send me a picture or two of the forge. theriversexperience@yahoo.com
@@theriversexperience9383 Emailed, but please don't rush to respond. I am in no hurry.
How many bricks did you use and what size were they?
9x4x2.5 and I used 3 bricks.
Thanks for sharing. This is the kind of info I need. Interesting following you from when you first started out. 5 star channel for sure.
I am gonna try this, but I am going to use fire bricks all the way around if I can. Thinking I could adhere them to the sides of the can with the high temp adhesive for fire bricks maybe? Will have a rectangular interior of the forge, but it could work.
I say this after only watching 5 minutes of the video so far. I guess I spoke too soon lol
Great video. I am definitely going to test this 👍