In today's technological world, we have access to so many options. The tools might not be immediately obvious, but we're entirely surrounded by potential. Just takes a little bit of thinking to recognize!
Too right mate, innovation. Teaching the young lad gets him thinking aswell. He actually is the inspiration for my chipping hammer. Cut the tip off* an old picaxe.
Not just that a black smith back in the day had that fire burning constantly to be hotter and hotter if they had to do it this way a couple days worth of coals she will be rolling heat
Thinking and experience. Someone who knows little about smithing or tools would never reach this conclusion, but someone who knows a thing or two stands a fair shake at striking genius every now and again.
I started out with a similar setup about 4 years ago spurred on by your videos. I had £20 im my account and had just moved back to the UK. I used plaster of Paris and a baking tray with charcoal and a sledge as an anvil. Today I have a forge and am slowly starting to make it pay the bills. Thank you so much for continuing to make this craft accessible.
When I started blacksmithing 18 years ago, my first forge was a rusty old charcoal grill connected to a hair dryer. A piece of railroad track was my first anvil. It worked fine and allowed me to try enough blacksmithing before deciding if I wanted to get more invested. Also, looking back at my first setup today really makes me appreciate having a proper forge and anvil.
I made my forge out of a break drum i got from the salvage yard and an old bathroom fan i frankensteined together (with a dimmer switch!) And i got a 100 anvil from the hardware store that was about the sixe of a football. It was fun, but ATE through the charcoal....
Damn. How common is using a piece of railroads for an anvil? Haha. I've been thinking of doing it myself if I ever start blacksmithing. Had this small piece for years sitting at home.
John is going from the most advanced blacksmithing shop with presses and powerhammers to a forge on the ground, becoming more primitive. At the same time, John Plant of Primitive Technology is working on his smelting and working his way into the iron age. At this rate they are going to meet right in the middle.
Many years ago I asked my grandfather if i could buy an anvil from him because I was interested in smithing. Instead He gave me a piece of RR track. I went to our abandoned RR tracks and found some hard coal. A brake rotor, some pipe, a hairdryer was my forge. Made some of my most beautiful wall hooks on that rig. Thank you John.
@lil.dogbyte It was 10 years ago+. There's still some around the tracks here in upstate NY (Adirondacks). The coal was trucked up to the Tahawus mine and was used to fire a blast furnace.
Ah yes...the good ol hair dryer days... I burned up a couple Goodwill hair dryers as they're apparently not made for a 3-4hr 100% duty cycle. What I didn't like was that the hair dryer was way too much air for the small stock I was playing with so I upgraded to a bathroom exhaust fan from the hardware store and a makeshift damper... but that was 8-9yrs ago....I've come a long way since 😂 great video sir!
My first forge was a hole in the ground, i used pine wood for fuel and a hair dryer with a pipe for a blower and an i beam for an anvil all over 25 years ago. God has blessed me with a few forges and a real anvil over the years.
I found rusty rebar near a sewer grate but don't have any heat privilages because I am still a young teen but am also dying to make it into something, this has helped me to come up with a few methods to manipulate my mum into letting me heat up my rebar with other forms of heat, but before I do that, I need heat resistant gloves
Anyone complaining about anything you’ve done in this video just wants to complain. Well, except for my one complaint: in a short video you proved any excuse I could dream up about not being able to start learning at home is just a silly excuse. Thank you for posting this inspirational video and backhanding the hell out of me.
Good lord, that is exactly how I started. And with a few more bricks and proper charcoal, you can actually forge weld in such a set up. Don't ask me how I know... I am a bit beyond that now, but it brings back a lot of good memories.
I'm pretty much broke, but have always wanted to try out blacksmithing. It looks like an excellent hobby that I could spend the rest of my life learning and enjoying. Between this video and this comment here I now have some hope that I'll get to try it out some day
Takes me back to when I started. Didn’t quite have a hole in the ground, but I did have a junk brake drum with a hair dryer +pipe. Wasted a lot of hardwood charcoal that was given to me. Had a harbor freight anvil though. That anvil is still a useful piece of equipment, I prop the shop door open with it when it’s hot. A tip for people wanting to use bricks or stones* if you use bricks, make sure they’ve been fired, not poured cement bricks. With stone, make sure your stones haven’t been sourced from near a source of water. Both stone and concrete can absorb moisture that can make the material burst in a forge. Don’t use cinder blocks. Wear your safety glasses for sure. Another excellent video sir.
I've seen a lot of takes on a makeshift anvil around on the internet, and honestly none of them seem as simple, cheap, and effective as a sledge hammer. That's genius.
John, great video idea, and very slick of you not to do the obvious little improvements in the video that you mentioned right at the end. Its an effective way to increase engagement.😉
The notion that anyone would consider using such a setup makes me realize 2 things, 1st that some people are that interested in learning blacksmithing, and 2nd that I am lucky to have such a nice anvil and a good assortment of hammers. It certainly encourages me to use what I’ve got.
The notion that anyone would consider making such a comment makes me realize that there are people out there who should refrain from commenting lest they appear to look like they're bragadocious.
Could be worse I tried anthracite melted a hair dryer have a anvil and hammers and metals then tried propane and that didn't work now I just paid for 100 pound furnace I tried bricks I didn't have anything soil wise and working on these got me kicked out now I live in a flat what a world
This is almost identical to how I started years ago except I used a leaf blower and the forge was built on an old yard wagon/ trailer that I could move around and many of my anvils were actually tree stumps from my recently logged property, I just shaped the stump with a chainsaw close to what I wanted and then could hammer out hot sheet steel from the forge to the desired shape for a welding project
Been there done that. My #1 tip is getting your "anvil" up at a good working height makes a huge difference. It really sucks forging off your knees and hunched over.
I actually started like this except I was holding the hairdryer in my hand too, and made 5 or 6 knives before I graduated to a metal box off the ground with a pipe for the hairdryer and an actual anvil on a stump. Still use vicegrips for tongs though 😂
For my coal forge I run a bouncy house blower, a 30gal drum, an old lawn mower deck, a brake drum. I have made many knives using this setup and done a TON of forge welding and such. Been a lot of fun just recently bought a propane forge for the first time in my 7 years of smithing.
This video brought to mind a couple of your previous videos about historical Viking anvils. They certainly weren't using 150-pound anvils at their forges, and they managed to make everything they could ever need. An excellent video. Thank you!
I'm glad to say, I haven't been at that level of need in a few years. I recommend a cheap shop vac ($20) instead of a hair dryer. If a sledge is all you have, I would still mount it on a stump. Watching you kneel, hurt my knees😅. Love the content!
This legitimately gives every standard household blacksmithing capabilities. You have literally increased productive potential of humanity a percentage point and I'm favoriting and downloading this video.
I started in the same way with a $10 grill from Dollar General and some old fire wood and a large rock so basically I truly appreciate this video and I appreciate that you showed how to get started extremely cheap
I built something like this about 6 years ago. I made mine about 3 feet long, and used split firewood. I built a fireplace great out of 1inch round stock. Made 45 and 90 degree bends by hand
I've made a few knives with this sort of setup in the past... definitely functional. One thing I did end up doing is chisel out a hole in an old wooden log and set the sledgehammer in that, as you suggested. Worked far better...
@@Sue_Me_Too maybe in the States... In some other countries, anvils run far more expensive than that... but yes, buying an anvil would be nicer and more versatile. 👍🏻
My first forge was an old brake rotor in a box of dirt, anvil was a salvaged piece of I-beam with a chunk of old heavy truck leaf spring welded to the top. It wasn't glamorous, but it worked, and it got me started. There's all kinds of videos out there about how to get started for cheap, but I love going back a few years and being nostalgic about where I came from. Just proves, where there's a will, there's a way.
Iam currently building my 3rd forge started with the old BBQ bottom an old tube from a satellite dish and my wife's hair dryer ( she had to get a new one) lol!! Then built a propane forge from scratch ,gave that one to a new smithy i ran into. Now im building my final one I think? Lol!! My anvil still is a120 lb block of aneald 4140 and an old railroad spike hammer for a horn i have ground down and mounted on a shaft and mounted in my stump next to my anvil. Once I moved some hot steel under my hammer I was hooked...
I started with a hair dryer, a box with clay and the end cap of an air tank for a forge. Dropped a 20lb piece of tool steel in a stump. Definitely suitable for a beginner to make hooks and small edc knives.
I love this video as it shows just how easy it is to start forging. I wanted to for years, and even though I had a number of tools to do the work, I struggled to find a forge. Of course, once I found one, several others just seemed to fall into my lap. There must be some sort of weird inverse proportion rule about how badly you want or need something and its availability to you.
I used a propane grill some fire brick a weed burner . I also did the grill charcoal & hair dryer . It's a way to start & helps justify the money spent to get better stuff . Wife's can be encouraging or hindering in getting into something different
I've tried blacksmithing first time (to understand am I like it) with piece of concrete curb. It brokes completely after few weeks, but everyone can forge a chisel or construction stapple, wrench bar or so this way.
Nice video - good to be reminded of what you can achieve with the most rudimentary of setups. At the end you talk about elevating the forge with something that isn't combustible - I have actually forged most of a day using a wooden forge - basically a heavy wooden tray on detachable legs. The firebox was well lined (a couple of inches between the fire and and the wood) with clayey soil dug up nearby which we also used to fix in place a simple metal tue iron (much like your pipe but narrower and thicker walled). We were burning primarily charcoal using old fashioned bellows but also experimented with coke and a small blower. It worked remarkably well - after several hours forging the bottom of the wooden firebox was warm but not near burning by any means. I believe there is some evidence that this kinda of setup might have been used in the field by smiths travelling with armies in medieval times and earlier and having used it and also seen how easy it was to pack away and relatively light to carry I can well believe it.
That's a pretty cool example of how a simple improvised set of tools can still create useful things! Thanks for bringing us along and taking the time to break it down to Ye Olden School!
One of my early woodworking shops was heated with a small cast iron (farm store brand) stove and pallet wood. And like your simple forge, I spent more time stoking the stove than woodworking. Pallet wood burns pretty fast, hot, but fast.
Here in Brazil there are very few blacksmiths but several bladesmiths and many of them started forging blades exactly like this, adapting forges and anvils with scrap and available material. Great video!👍
Thank you for proving that this type of setup will work for simple purposes for those that can't afford the best blacksmithing tools but still want to get into it!
I started out with a charcoal forge but built it from two cultivator disks connected by 2” pipe. I plugged bottom of the pipe, welded a pipe tee in the 2” pipe for an air connection, and welded a piece of plate drilled with air holes over the pipe connection in the top disk. I used this setup until I build my first gas forge and it works well. It does use a lot of fuel. Darlington, South Carolina
I play guitar and I remember someone once saying "The great guitarists don't get amazing tone from their equipment, they get it from their fingers" - it's so true. If you know what you're doing you can do anything, with almost anything. Great video thank you
Y’all the “tone is in the fingers” thing isn’t Fully Literal. It means a guitarist’s Technique & specific approach to the instrument is just as integral a part of Their Sound as everything else. If I plugged into WelshHomestead’s rig, I’d still sound like Me
A cheap $10-15 heat gun from Harbor Freight works wonders as a blower. Using the heat mode especially helps with first starting the fire (as does some old cooking oil). Covering the top of the coals will make the fuel last way longer. That large cinder block, or even wood that's been soaking in water for a few days will work for that. I learned a bit of glass blowing years back and most of the tools for shaping the hot glass are waterlogged wood and waterlogged pads of newspaper.
John, I love this video for the fact it removes the barrier of entry for many people. $500 is still a tidy sum of money for many, and flea markets/garage sales/Craigslist, you can find most of this cheap, if not free on the latter. Thanks a million, -John
I love the improvise, adapt, overcome methods. I like having a nice anvil now - my forge is a paint can lined with refractory cement - still have my railroad track from a state sale - and I love seeing people make something from nothing like this. Our hobby is like that, makes the brain stay flexible.
So nice to see the different ideas of how to get started. The bouncy house blowers may be a bit much for air supply but before building my gas forge I built a coal forge and used an old air mattress blower for my air. I ordered a simple rheostat on Amazon for about $7 to control the speed. It actually worked great. Blacksmithing is such a satisfying activity even if you don’t want to make a living at it and we need more people who have these timeless skills. John thanks for teaching such a valuable skill. I hope you never stop!
My first forge was a Box-O-Dirt forge. A frame salvaged 2x4s, filled with dirt, a fence post for the pipe, and "Goodwill" hair dryer which lasted 2 years. I already had a ball peen hammer.
Its nice to see you showing this, I used to do this when i first started blacksmithing! Tho i used a small 5kg anvil, a cast iron pot as a forge and a fireplace bellows for air. Used to go out into the woods to do forging with everything fitting inside my backpack, except the charcoal i used! Dont have a youtube channel for my blacksmithing, Winter Heart Forge here by the way! Keep up the good work!
Hay there first time commenting on your video's. I started out useing a grill that i got for free and some fire wood that i had sitting around and made my first forge. A guy that lives next door seen it and gave me a pice of railroad connector and some spikes to work and as your ground forge it only got the metal to a orange tint but it waa workable.
Another great video! Learn to use the tools that are in front of you, right? Busting the wood with your "anvil " was good, but my favorite was using you "forging hammer" to dig the hole.
Great video, my forge is like a combination of this and the $500 set up. I have the 66lb anvil and a charcoal forge made from an old tin firepit, a hairdryer, small trailer wheel, break rotor and some other junk welded together. I love using charcoal.
This reminds me of something similar I did years ago on a camping weekend on a sheep farm. (The farmer had moved the sheep to a different field). There were different things you could try, one was forging a nail. The blacksmith used a hair drier and metal tube as you did, but used anthracite and a pit forge (hole dug in the ground) about the same size as your fire. It was really exciting, I was very pleased with my nail and showed it to lots of people there. I still have it. This reads like I was a child at the time, actually I was in my 40s.
This is a good idea! I remember when I was getting interested in blacksmithing, I did something similar to this... I made a forge out of an old brake rotor and set that into a 30gal 80/90 drum... I used exhaust pipe for the pipe. And, an old hair drier for the blower. I made my first S hooks doing this! Good info! Great video!
I've been doing exactly this for 2 or 3 years now. It's pretty cool. I got a book that says most of Europe moved on to smithing upright in the 1300s, but I'm just fine being behind the times! They still do it this way in Southeast Asia.
my first forge was similar. I have clay soil. Built a mound of dirt up 4 feet tall and 3 feet in dialmeter. Used a very large hammer strapped to a tree stump. Burned charcoal. Worked great.
I enjoyed this video so much, not that I feel it's the dream set up, but that it can be done. It's amazing! And when it comes down to it, that's what it's all about, making something from nothing, to be able to make what we need from what we have. I love it!! Thank you so much.
Been on a binge of your channel lately. I have always thought smithing was incredible and way outside the boundaries of my skill. But your videos I caught within the last 2 months that I finally bought material to make my own forge, however I opted for the gas burner for my forge, shout out to the @KyleRoyerKnives channel for that idea. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge the way you do.
Great video! I made a forge from an old kiln that was missing the electrical parts, so I have not needed coal and I can't confirm, butI believe that Tractor Supply stores may sell coal for farriers. I'm thinking that would produce a much hotter fire and shorter heat times.
If you need more airflow, moving the hair dryer back so there is an air gap around it allows more air to be pulled into and forced through the tubing. I think I used nuts off 5/16th(8mm) bolts on mine. But that is dependent on the size of the hair dryer and tubing. Love this video, it very well demonstrates that we aren't limited only by our imagination but also the motivation to actually get down to doing. And burn bans. Like me right now. In Louisiana, outdoor forge and statewide burn ban. But I'm good with that until the temperatures drop below 90. In fact I'd prefer they were below 60, or even 50. Lol
Simple, low-cost and functional ideas. Thanks BBF. 👍🏻😎 🏠🔥🚒 Well Chief.. there's was this blacksmithing guy I watched on UA-cam.. Well yes Chief.. admittedly I didn't take time to watch the rest of the video until AFTER I became "that guy" which he mentions towards the end of the video... 😄😄
Thank you for making this, I've always wanted to get into blacksmithing, and this shows that if you are willing to make the effort you are able to do it. Thank you for making this sir .
That was an absolutely beautiful frankenforge setup. I've seen other people do these sort of videos but most of them made S hooks or something small with them. I can't remember seeing anyone make a functional tool with one of these setups. My first forge was a wok that I sat in a brake rotor on top of a tube type diner table leg with a piece of copper tubing ran up the inside of it attached to a shop vac with a dimmer switch attached to it so I could control the air. It was an ugly setup but it worked as well as the shop forge I have now, just not as efficient.
A number of years back my Son made a trench forge. He used lump charcoal for the fuel and the empty bag the charcoal came in for the bellows. Not the most efficient way to do it but it did work. I've often wondered if a person could drive a splitting wedge into a stump and use that as an anvil of sorts.
This. Absolutely this. I have low level followed you for a while now but never paid that much attention because I thought I could never afford an anvil, let alone anything else. This is just brilliant. Thank you so much
Thanks John. I have had the desire to forge metal as home on the farm in Northern Alberta dad had a forge set up on a stand that he used charcoal in. I remember the hand crank blower and how we go to crank it. I have purchased a cheaper anvil from Princess auto and you have rekindle my desire to beat on hot metal. Thanks.
Did this exact thing in my parents backyard when I was 16 with a big chunk of 1/2 inch angle iron as my anvil and a small short handled sledge as my hammer. Warmed up my steel in a Walmart fire pit and used a leave blower with some maple to just barely get enough heat to make some rings out of an old chuck of steel pipe. It was brutal, but I had a lot of fun doing it with my mate
My very first forge was similar. I used an old cheap standing fire pit, drilled a hole in it for a pipe. Built a "trench" out of bricks and used a mattress pump. Put some steel or more brick under the pipe so the cast iron dont melt and bottom out the fire pit. Worked great for a year.
Hello there. Just want to say that I’ve been watching your videos for 4 or 5 years and have been anxiously waiting to move someplace where I can set up a small forge in my back yard. I’m there now, and I look forward to practicing what I’ve learned from you and others in UA-cam. I’ll do this simple method to practice. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us all.
In today's technological world, we have access to so many options. The tools might not be immediately obvious, but we're entirely surrounded by potential. Just takes a little bit of thinking to recognize!
Just visit local scrap yard! ❤
Too right mate, innovation. Teaching the young lad gets him thinking aswell. He actually is the inspiration for my chipping hammer. Cut the tip off* an old picaxe.
Not just that a black smith back in the day had that fire burning constantly to be hotter and hotter if they had to do it this way a couple days worth of coals she will be rolling heat
Thinking and experience. Someone who knows little about smithing or tools would never reach this conclusion, but someone who knows a thing or two stands a fair shake at striking genius every now and again.
Too many options lead to selection paralysis
I started out with a similar setup about 4 years ago spurred on by your videos. I had £20 im my account and had just moved back to the UK. I used plaster of Paris and a baking tray with charcoal and a sledge as an anvil. Today I have a forge and am slowly starting to make it pay the bills. Thank you so much for continuing to make this craft accessible.
That is awesome!
Love your help for beginners
❤😮
When I started blacksmithing 18 years ago, my first forge was a rusty old charcoal grill connected to a hair dryer. A piece of railroad track was my first anvil. It worked fine and allowed me to try enough blacksmithing before deciding if I wanted to get more invested. Also, looking back at my first setup today really makes me appreciate having a proper forge and anvil.
Same, I've been forging for 2 years and I've still got a railroad anvil cause I am not spending £900 on an anvil
I'm also a railroad anvil guy. I've got a leafblower and blackpipe for my air
I made my forge out of a break drum i got from the salvage yard and an old bathroom fan i frankensteined together (with a dimmer switch!) And i got a 100 anvil from the hardware store that was about the sixe of a football.
It was fun, but ATE through the charcoal....
Just startest forging this year, with poor quality steel, a piece of traintrack and a Hammer. Even without fire it can Work.
Damn. How common is using a piece of railroads for an anvil? Haha. I've been thinking of doing it myself if I ever start blacksmithing. Had this small piece for years sitting at home.
John is going from the most advanced blacksmithing shop with presses and powerhammers to a forge on the ground, becoming more primitive. At the same time, John Plant of Primitive Technology is working on his smelting and working his way into the iron age. At this rate they are going to meet right in the middle.
😂😂😂
👌
This would be an amazing crossover.
I gues they will eventually join their homemade rails and drive a homemade vapor locomotive to visit.
🏆 winning comment ha ha ha
Many years ago I asked my grandfather if i could buy an anvil from him because I was interested in smithing. Instead He gave me a piece of RR track. I went to our abandoned RR tracks and found some hard coal. A brake rotor, some pipe, a hairdryer was my forge. Made some of my most beautiful wall hooks on that rig. Thank you John.
@lil.dogbyte It was 10 years ago+. There's still some around the tracks here in upstate NY (Adirondacks). The coal was trucked up to the Tahawus mine and was used to fire a blast furnace.
Kind of comforting to know how to do an improvised forge in case you end up in a jam!
Ah yes...the good ol hair dryer days... I burned up a couple Goodwill hair dryers as they're apparently not made for a 3-4hr 100% duty cycle. What I didn't like was that the hair dryer was way too much air for the small stock I was playing with so I upgraded to a bathroom exhaust fan from the hardware store and a makeshift damper... but that was 8-9yrs ago....I've come a long way since 😂 great video sir!
My first forge was a hole in the ground, i used pine wood for fuel and a hair dryer with a pipe for a blower and an i beam for an anvil all over 25 years ago. God has blessed me with a few forges and a real anvil over the years.
Haha, this is more or less how I started years ago. My son asked daddy can we do some forging. I don't know let's try. I`m hooked ever since.
Man I wish my dad would do that with me😢😭
Man I wish my dad would do that with me😢😭
absolutely proud of that little fella 🫡
I found rusty rebar near a sewer grate but don't have any heat privilages because I am still a young teen but am also dying to make it into something, this has helped me to come up with a few methods to manipulate my mum into letting me heat up my rebar with other forms of heat, but before I do that, I need heat resistant gloves
Anyone complaining about anything you’ve done in this video just wants to complain. Well, except for my one complaint: in a short video you proved any excuse I could dream up about not being able to start learning at home is just a silly excuse. Thank you for posting this inspirational video and backhanding the hell out of me.
There are those that just love to complain. Glad you enjoyed it.
Good lord, that is exactly how I started. And with a few more bricks and proper charcoal, you can actually forge weld in such a set up. Don't ask me how I know... I am a bit beyond that now, but it brings back a lot of good memories.
I'm pretty much broke, but have always wanted to try out blacksmithing. It looks like an excellent hobby that I could spend the rest of my life learning and enjoying. Between this video and this comment here I now have some hope that I'll get to try it out some day
This is fantastic. I hope it inspires those wanting to try but don't have a few grand to get started.
This video says "you can do it!"
Well done John. My back hurts just watching this video. Wishing you health and happiness.
Its not something I would do often, my knees start to complain
Takes me back to when I started. Didn’t quite have a hole in the ground, but I did have a junk brake drum with a hair dryer +pipe. Wasted a lot of hardwood charcoal that was given to me. Had a harbor freight anvil though. That anvil is still a useful piece of equipment, I prop the shop door open with it when it’s hot.
A tip for people wanting to use bricks or stones* if you use bricks, make sure they’ve been fired, not poured cement bricks. With stone, make sure your stones haven’t been sourced from near a source of water. Both stone and concrete can absorb moisture that can make the material burst in a forge. Don’t use cinder blocks. Wear your safety glasses for sure.
Another excellent video sir.
This is exactly how i got started forging! On a campfire actually… and it took a lot of wood and great coals for the heat.
This video is why Black Bear is the cornerstone of the community. No judgement, all practicality. Good stuff.
Thank you. I appreciate that
I've seen a lot of takes on a makeshift anvil around on the internet, and honestly none of them seem as simple, cheap, and effective as a sledge hammer. That's genius.
Not making light of your video, but as simple as it is , it is a brilliant idea ! 👏
That's absolutely brilliant, and in my garbage clay soil I bet the sledge would stay even more nicely.
John, great video idea, and very slick of you not to do the obvious little improvements in the video that you mentioned right at the end. Its an effective way to increase engagement.😉
The notion that anyone would consider using such a setup makes me realize 2 things, 1st that some people are that interested in learning blacksmithing, and 2nd that I am lucky to have such a nice anvil and a good assortment of hammers. It certainly encourages me to use what I’ve got.
The notion that anyone would consider making such a comment makes me realize that there are people out there who should refrain from commenting lest they appear to look like they're bragadocious.
@@WYO_Cowboy_Joe sorry, my intent was not to be thoughtless, please feel free to delete my comment.
Welcome to the unnecessary comment section.
Could be worse I tried anthracite melted a hair dryer have a anvil and hammers and metals then tried propane and that didn't work now I just paid for 100 pound furnace
I tried bricks I didn't have anything soil wise and working on these got me kicked out now I live in a flat what a world
It's not melding very fast you need a higher heat but it works at least
This is almost identical to how I started years ago except I used a leaf blower and the forge was built on an old yard wagon/ trailer that I could move around and many of my anvils were actually tree stumps from my recently logged property, I just shaped the stump with a chainsaw close to what I wanted and then could hammer out hot sheet steel from the forge to the desired shape for a welding project
Been there done that. My #1 tip is getting your "anvil" up at a good working height makes a huge difference. It really sucks forging off your knees and hunched over.
I accidently made the table my anvil is on _just a little_ too tall... Now I have to use a step stool lmao
I actually started like this except I was holding the hairdryer in my hand too, and made 5 or 6 knives before I graduated to a metal box off the ground with a pipe for the hairdryer and an actual anvil on a stump. Still use vicegrips for tongs though 😂
John, thank you for this video! I was also using a heir dryer but then switched to leaf blower as the air source. 🙂
Did it work well?
Whatever works works, now to find an easy way to get up off the ground 😀. Thanks John for making videos for us. Enjoy your day.
For my coal forge I run a bouncy house blower, a 30gal drum, an old lawn mower deck, a brake drum. I have made many knives using this setup and done a TON of forge welding and such. Been a lot of fun just recently bought a propane forge for the first time in my 7 years of smithing.
I think the success of this setup is due more to the skill of the man wielding the hammer than any other factor.
This video brought to mind a couple of your previous videos about historical Viking anvils. They certainly weren't using 150-pound anvils at their forges, and they managed to make everything they could ever need. An excellent video. Thank you!
John, had to sell all my good and heavy forge and anvil due to military move but this keeps my boys and I in the game. Thank you!
I'm glad to say, I haven't been at that level of need in a few years. I recommend a cheap shop vac ($20) instead of a hair dryer. If a sledge is all you have, I would still mount it on a stump. Watching you kneel, hurt my knees😅. Love the content!
This legitimately gives every standard household blacksmithing capabilities. You have literally increased productive potential of humanity a percentage point and I'm favoriting and downloading this video.
C'mon man, show some enthusiasm
it saddens me to think that some people wont even use this absolutely world changing technique
@@thecoolbyzantine24 be that *one* who entices a neighbor 🤘⚒️
Every standard household has an area to do this? Doubtful
@@karara5532 apartments you need to use a blowtorch and ideally when everyone's at a festival or something.
I started in the same way with a $10 grill from Dollar General and some old fire wood and a large rock so basically I truly appreciate this video and I appreciate that you showed how to get started extremely cheap
Exactly how i started, now i have built several forges and purchased a 100# anvil. Great way to get started though thanks for sharing John!
I learned this morning, while trying to assemble a cabinet carcass to floppy for my assembly tables, my days of working on my knees are behind me.
I built something like this about 6 years ago. I made mine about 3 feet long, and used split firewood. I built a fireplace great out of 1inch round stock. Made 45 and 90 degree bends by hand
You are the courageous blacksmith. Thanks John
I've made a few knives with this sort of setup in the past... definitely functional. One thing I did end up doing is chisel out a hole in an old wooden log and set the sledgehammer in that, as you suggested. Worked far better...
That's about the level of effort where I'd just spend $100 on a real anvil.
@@Sue_Me_Too maybe in the States... In some other countries, anvils run far more expensive than that... but yes, buying an anvil would be nicer and more versatile. 👍🏻
@@Sue_Me_Too if you're too lazy to put a handle into some wood then you're too lazy to use a $100 anvil...
@@zack-lk8if no, I can just afford an anvil...
I do blacksmithing _for fun_ so calling me lazy for doing it doesn't really make sense...
Works, tested it. Nearly started a major fire because I’m an idiot atm with it but it’s effective.
My first forge was an old brake rotor in a box of dirt, anvil was a salvaged piece of I-beam with a chunk of old heavy truck leaf spring welded to the top. It wasn't glamorous, but it worked, and it got me started. There's all kinds of videos out there about how to get started for cheap, but I love going back a few years and being nostalgic about where I came from. Just proves, where there's a will, there's a way.
Iam currently building my 3rd forge started with the old BBQ bottom an old tube from a satellite dish and my wife's hair dryer ( she had to get a new one) lol!! Then built a propane forge from scratch ,gave that one to a new smithy i ran into. Now im building my final one I think? Lol!! My anvil still is a120 lb block of aneald 4140 and an old railroad spike hammer for a horn i have ground down and mounted on a shaft and mounted in my stump next to my anvil.
Once I moved some hot steel under my hammer I was hooked...
I started with a hair dryer, a box with clay and the end cap of an air tank for a forge. Dropped a 20lb piece of tool steel in a stump.
Definitely suitable for a beginner to make hooks and small edc knives.
I love this video as it shows just how easy it is to start forging. I wanted to for years, and even though I had a number of tools to do the work, I struggled to find a forge. Of course, once I found one, several others just seemed to fall into my lap. There must be some sort of weird inverse proportion rule about how badly you want or need something and its availability to you.
" Once I found one, several others just seemed to fall into my lap",
Is true for girlfriends too.
@@honthirty_I must be missing something then...😂
Pretty much a bushcraft forge, little unwieldy but completely doable. Morning John.
Thanks for sharing such a simple way to get started in forging.
I used a propane grill some fire brick a weed burner . I also did the grill charcoal & hair dryer . It's a way to start & helps justify the money spent to get better stuff . Wife's can be encouraging or hindering in getting into something different
Goes to show a true craftsman can use anything and create something. Thank you for sharing this!
I know someone who got started blacksmithing using a rail road car knuckle. They are huge and you can't dent them. I don't care how hard you hit it.
A great video to encourage people to get started.
I've tried blacksmithing first time (to understand am I like it) with piece of concrete curb. It brokes completely after few weeks, but everyone can forge a chisel or construction stapple, wrench bar or so this way.
Nice video - good to be reminded of what you can achieve with the most rudimentary of setups. At the end you talk about elevating the forge with something that isn't combustible - I have actually forged most of a day using a wooden forge - basically a heavy wooden tray on detachable legs. The firebox was well lined (a couple of inches between the fire and and the wood) with clayey soil dug up nearby which we also used to fix in place a simple metal tue iron (much like your pipe but narrower and thicker walled). We were burning primarily charcoal using old fashioned bellows but also experimented with coke and a small blower. It worked remarkably well - after several hours forging the bottom of the wooden firebox was warm but not near burning by any means. I believe there is some evidence that this kinda of setup might have been used in the field by smiths travelling with armies in medieval times and earlier and having used it and also seen how easy it was to pack away and relatively light to carry I can well believe it.
That's a pretty cool example of how a simple improvised set of tools can still create useful things!
Thanks for bringing us along and taking the time to break it down to Ye Olden School!
Glad you liked it!
One of my early woodworking shops was heated with a small cast iron (farm store brand) stove and pallet wood. And like your simple forge, I spent more time stoking the stove than woodworking. Pallet wood burns pretty fast, hot, but fast.
This is pretty much how I started out and have come a long way since then ❤
That was an awesome demonstration of the absolute basics. Thanks!
Glad you enjoyed it!
2.5 inch galvanized fence post fits a standard Walmart hairdryer perfectly. I used that for a blower on my coal forge. cool
Tape the cool button with duct tape to save electricity
I’ve heard many people rip the heat coil out, good solution as long as you don’t need it to be a hairdryer again.
Here in Brazil there are very few blacksmiths but several bladesmiths and many of them started forging blades exactly like this, adapting forges and anvils with scrap and available material. Great video!👍
😊
sempre tem um brasileiro
@@anonimoqualquer5503 Ou dois...
Três, até
Thank you for proving that this type of setup will work for simple purposes for those that can't afford the best blacksmithing tools but still want to get into it!
Awesome showing what one can do with very little. Thinking outside the box is a great thing. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
I started out with a charcoal forge but built it from two cultivator disks connected by 2” pipe. I plugged bottom of the pipe, welded a pipe tee in the 2” pipe for an air connection, and welded a piece of plate drilled with air holes over the pipe connection in the top disk. I used this setup until I build my first gas forge and it works well. It does use a lot of fuel. Darlington, South Carolina
I play guitar and I remember someone once saying "The great guitarists don't get amazing tone from their equipment, they get it from their fingers" - it's so true. If you know what you're doing you can do anything, with almost anything. Great video thank you
It's mostly from the equipment though
90% of tone comes from the speaker in the cabinet and the microphone you record it with.
Y’all the “tone is in the fingers” thing isn’t Fully Literal. It means a guitarist’s Technique & specific approach to the instrument is just as integral a part of Their Sound as everything else. If I plugged into WelshHomestead’s rig, I’d still sound like Me
@@Typical.Anomaly 90% of your critical thinking skills are missing
@@JohnnyAllan-vj7sj and that's not the point
A cheap $10-15 heat gun from Harbor Freight works wonders as a blower. Using the heat mode especially helps with first starting the fire (as does some old cooking oil).
Covering the top of the coals will make the fuel last way longer. That large cinder block, or even wood that's been soaking in water for a few days will work for that. I learned a bit of glass blowing years back and most of the tools for shaping the hot glass are waterlogged wood and waterlogged pads of newspaper.
John,
I love this video for the fact it removes the barrier of entry for many people. $500 is still a tidy sum of money for many, and flea markets/garage sales/Craigslist, you can find most of this cheap, if not free on the latter.
Thanks a million,
-John
I love the improvise, adapt, overcome methods. I like having a nice anvil now - my forge is a paint can lined with refractory cement - still have my railroad track from a state sale - and I love seeing people make something from nothing like this. Our hobby is like that, makes the brain stay flexible.
Great job thinking outside of the box. I'm shocked how hot you could get it with just wood. Thanks!
So nice to see the different ideas of how to get started. The bouncy house blowers may be a bit much for air supply but before building my gas forge I built a coal forge and used an old air mattress blower for my air. I ordered a simple rheostat on Amazon for about $7 to control the speed. It actually worked great. Blacksmithing is such a satisfying activity even if you don’t want to make a living at it and we need more people who have these timeless skills. John thanks for teaching such a valuable skill. I hope you never stop!
Actually, an old sewing machine foot pedal can be an ideal set up for controling the flow of air and it frees up a hand.
My first forge was a Box-O-Dirt forge. A frame salvaged 2x4s, filled with dirt, a fence post for the pipe, and "Goodwill" hair dryer which lasted 2 years. I already had a ball peen hammer.
Thanks for bringing back fond memories. It's almost exactly the same setup I came up with in my parents' garden when I was 11.
Where there's a will there's a way. Thanks for sharing with us John. That was show that it can be done.Stay safe around there. Fred.
Wonderful video, John.
Its nice to see you showing this, I used to do this when i first started blacksmithing! Tho i used a small 5kg anvil, a cast iron pot as a forge and a fireplace bellows for air. Used to go out into the woods to do forging with everything fitting inside my backpack, except the charcoal i used! Dont have a youtube channel for my blacksmithing, Winter Heart Forge here by the way! Keep up the good work!
Hay there first time commenting on your video's. I started out useing a grill that i got for free and some fire wood that i had sitting around and made my first forge. A guy that lives next door seen it and gave me a pice of railroad connector and some spikes to work and as your ground forge it only got the metal to a orange tint but it waa workable.
Another great video!
Learn to use the tools that are in front of you, right? Busting the wood with your "anvil " was good, but my favorite was using you "forging hammer" to dig the hole.
Great video, my forge is like a combination of this and the $500 set up. I have the 66lb anvil and a charcoal forge made from an old tin firepit, a hairdryer, small trailer wheel, break rotor and some other junk welded together. I love using charcoal.
Brilliant , should be very valuable for starting off or someone doing a particular project needing some bending . Thanks👍
I’m a 17 year old looking to get into blacksmithing for myself, and may god bless you, honestly !!
This reminds me of something similar I did years ago on a camping weekend on a sheep farm. (The farmer had moved the sheep to a different field). There were different things you could try, one was forging a nail. The blacksmith used a hair drier and metal tube as you did, but used anthracite and a pit forge (hole dug in the ground) about the same size as your fire. It was really exciting, I was very pleased with my nail and showed it to lots of people there. I still have it.
This reads like I was a child at the time, actually I was in my 40s.
This is a good idea! I remember when I was getting interested in blacksmithing, I did something similar to this... I made a forge out of an old brake rotor and set that into a 30gal 80/90 drum... I used exhaust pipe for the pipe. And, an old hair drier for the blower. I made my first S hooks doing this! Good info! Great video!
I love this! Doing without and making it happen anyways is a real positive message for folks to see !
I've been doing exactly this for 2 or 3 years now. It's pretty cool. I got a book that says most of Europe moved on to smithing upright in the 1300s, but I'm just fine being behind the times! They still do it this way in Southeast Asia.
my first forge was similar. I have clay soil. Built a mound of dirt up 4 feet tall and 3 feet in dialmeter. Used a very large hammer strapped to a tree stump. Burned charcoal. Worked great.
I enjoyed this video so much, not that I feel it's the dream set up, but that it can be done. It's amazing! And when it comes down to it, that's what it's all about, making something from nothing, to be able to make what we need from what we have. I love it!! Thank you so much.
Been on a binge of your channel lately. I have always thought smithing was incredible and way outside the boundaries of my skill. But your videos I caught within the last 2 months that I finally bought material to make my own forge, however I opted for the gas burner for my forge, shout out to the @KyleRoyerKnives channel for that idea. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge the way you do.
Glad you enjoy it!
Just sent this video to my best friend that wants to get into blacksmithing on a budget. Thanks man!!
Great video! I made a forge from an old kiln that was missing the electrical parts, so I have not needed coal and I can't confirm, butI believe that Tractor Supply stores may sell coal for farriers. I'm thinking that would produce a much hotter fire and shorter heat times.
My first forge was made out of a diy sheet steel barbecue and a hair dryer. It could get so hot it was able to melt steel.
Fascinating how much can be achieved with a simple set-up. The skill of the craftsman shines brightly even when the tools are as crude as it gets.
If you need more airflow, moving the hair dryer back so there is an air gap around it allows more air to be pulled into and forced through the tubing. I think I used nuts off 5/16th(8mm) bolts on mine. But that is dependent on the size of the hair dryer and tubing. Love this video, it very well demonstrates that we aren't limited only by our imagination but also the motivation to actually get down to doing. And burn bans. Like me right now. In Louisiana, outdoor forge and statewide burn ban. But I'm good with that until the temperatures drop below 90. In fact I'd prefer they were below 60, or even 50. Lol
Simple, low-cost and functional ideas.
Thanks BBF. 👍🏻😎
🏠🔥🚒 Well Chief.. there's was this blacksmithing guy I watched on UA-cam..
Well yes Chief.. admittedly I didn't take time to watch the rest of the video until AFTER I became "that guy" which he mentions towards the end of the video...
😄😄
Thank you for making this, I've always wanted to get into blacksmithing, and this shows that if you are willing to make the effort you are able to do it. Thank you for making this sir .
I have forge welded in a setup like that one. If you put some thought into the brick configuration you can achieve some surprisingly hot flames
Great video! Definitely an easy way to get into the Hobby. That is how I started as well with a little dugout hole in my backyard!
That was an absolutely beautiful frankenforge setup. I've seen other people do these sort of videos but most of them made S hooks or something small with them. I can't remember seeing anyone make a functional tool with one of these setups.
My first forge was a wok that I sat in a brake rotor on top of a tube type diner table leg with a piece of copper tubing ran up the inside of it attached to a shop vac with a dimmer switch attached to it so I could control the air. It was an ugly setup but it worked as well as the shop forge I have now, just not as efficient.
A number of years back my Son made a trench forge. He used lump charcoal for the fuel and the empty bag the charcoal came in for the bellows. Not the most efficient way to do it but it did work. I've often wondered if a person could drive a splitting wedge into a stump and use that as an anvil of sorts.
This. Absolutely this. I have low level followed you for a while now but never paid that much attention because I thought I could never afford an anvil, let alone anything else. This is just brilliant. Thank you so much
Thanks John. I have had the desire to forge metal as home on the farm in Northern Alberta dad had a forge set up on a stand that he used charcoal in. I remember the hand crank blower and how we go to crank it. I have purchased a cheaper anvil from Princess auto and you have rekindle my desire to beat on hot metal. Thanks.
Did this exact thing in my parents backyard when I was 16 with a big chunk of 1/2 inch angle iron as my anvil and a small short handled sledge as my hammer. Warmed up my steel in a Walmart fire pit and used a leave blower with some maple to just barely get enough heat to make some rings out of an old chuck of steel pipe. It was brutal, but I had a lot of fun doing it with my mate
Keep It Simple!
Brilliant!!!
👍👍❤️
My very first forge was similar. I used an old cheap standing fire pit, drilled a hole in it for a pipe. Built a "trench" out of bricks and used a mattress pump. Put some steel or more brick under the pipe so the cast iron dont melt and bottom out the fire pit. Worked great for a year.
Hello there. Just want to say that I’ve been watching your videos for 4 or 5 years and have been anxiously waiting to move someplace where I can set up a small forge in my back yard. I’m there now, and I look forward to practicing what I’ve learned from you and others in UA-cam. I’ll do this simple method to practice. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us all.