forge blower

[thebushcrafter99]

chearse so much for all the help i found a security screw screwdriver set here but during the family shop yesterday i bought a air bed foot pump so will let you know how i get on with that also i bought a pair of 1mX1m diy style tarps for a quid to put over my foge and anvil set up as the tarp that covers them currently leaks like a sieve! also un-blacksmithing related but i bought a bottle of malt vinegar to put a patina on my mora clipper i have heard you just leave the blade soaked in the vinegar over night wake up the next morning and you have a patina any tips guys also i have heard you can dab mustard on the blade and leave it over night and you get a patina, any one with experience???
chearse guys

 

[thebushcrafter99]

chearse so much for all the help i found a security screw screwdriver set here but during the family shop yesterday i bought a air bed foot pump so will let you know how i get on with that also i bought a pair of 1mX1m diy style tarps for a quid to put over my foge and anvil set up as the tarp that covers them currently leaks like a sieve! also un-blacksmithing related but i bought a bottle of malt vinegar to put a patina on my mora clipper i have heard you just leave the blade soaked in the vinegar over night wake up the next morning and you have a patina any tips guys also i have heard you can dab mustard on the blade and leave it over night and you get a patina, any one with experience???
chearse guys

tried the foot pump this morning and is awfull just no power what so ever also its partly because of the pressure difference when you try connecting the tiny diameter hose from the foot pump in to the 50mm air pipe on my forge!

 

[Stew]

Air bed foot pump? What;s it look like? Is it single action or double?

Does your air pipe have to be 50mm? Why not go narrower?

 

[Dave Budd]

50mm is way too big! If you could get enough air in to the forge to actually work, then your fire would be huge and you would burn an awful lot of fuel! Reduce it to between 1" and 1 1/2" (I use 1 1/4" for my pit forge/pot bellows combo).

With all of the suggested methods of getting air in that have been listed above, why prat about with a foot pump?!

 

[thebushcrafter99]

Air bed foot pump? What;s it look like? Is it single action or double?

Does your air pipe have to be 50mm? Why not go narrower?

woops didnt realise that 50mm is well to big am not all to sore if i want to/can be bothered to change it currently as i welded it on and changing it would mean emptying the coal out of the forge turning it upside down grinding the current 50mm pipe off and then welding on another smaller air pipe! alot of work in my world!
this is the foot pump bellows thing that i bought also what do you mean when you say single and double action???

 

[mountainm]

Can't you reduce the bore of the pipe with clay with a small diameter pipe up the middle?

 

[thebushcrafter99]

50mm is way too big! If you could get enough air in to the forge to actually work, then your fire would be huge and you would burn an awful lot of fuel! Reduce it to between 1" and 1 1/2" (I use 1 1/4" for my pit forge/pot bellows combo).

With all of the suggested methods of getting air in that have been listed above, why prat about with a foot pump?!

as i said above woops didnt realise 50mm is well to big! i gues the foot pump just seemed cheap and easy! but i guess i should have saved my money shall consider changing the air pipe or at least will when i properly sort out my forging set up
i guess for me its all trial and error

 

[thebushcrafter99]

Can't you reduce the bore of the pipe with clay with a small diameter pipe up the middle?

hmm well not really as the air pipe runs horizontal and then has to go through 90 degrees to get into the bottom of my forge if any one is confused i can post pics in a few days as i am departing for a 3 day hike tomorrow with outdoordude

 

[Stew]

woops didnt realise that 50mm is well to big am not all to sore if i want to/can be bothered to change it currently as i welded it on and changing it would mean emptying the coal out of the forge turning it upside down grinding the current 50mm pipe off and then welding on another smaller air pipe! alot of work in my world!
this is the foot pump bellows thing that i bought also what do you mean when you say single and double action???

First off, those foot pumps are rubbish. They're not even good for air beds. They're also single action so press foot down and air goes out, foot up, no air pumped. It means an interrupted air supply rather than a constant flow.
A better manual pump is one of this style: http://www.amazon.co.uk/OUTWELL-DOUBLE-ACTION-AIRBED-CAMPING/dp/B0052Y1FQM
Pull up, air pumps out. Push down, air pumps out. double action - constant air flow.

Secondly, grinding off the old pipe might seem like a lot of work but compare that to how much work you're going to have to put into getting a decent air flow out of a pipe that wide....

 

[v8mule]

How about a bilge blower they come in sizes from 2" to 6" and start around £25 I think there's 1 or 2 on eBay.

Ian

 

[mountainm]

Drill a hole in the elbow of the big pipe and pass the short one up through the hole into a clay stopper

 

[Dave Budd]

the hole only needs to be smaller where it enters the fire, so reduce it there with a short length of pipe. My static teaching forges are always fitted (built in situ from clay) with tuyeres that look like flattened funnels; normally 3x5" where the bellows will be placed and reducing down to 1 1/4" for the couple of inches that it is in or approaching the fire.

Most pumps and bellows work on the single action, so you have a lull in air flow while you refill the pump. Single action works well enough as long as the pump/bellows has a large enough capacity (at least 1 cubic foot, preferably double that), which is why single action bellows are normally placed in pairs to provide a more constant stream. Double action bellows accomplish the same air flow with a more compact and easier to operate design, but they are more tricky to make and fit (when thinking proper bellows).

I was watching one of those plastic pumps shown (the last amazon link) and thinking that it has potential. It is basically the same as the Jap box bellows (ie a piston) but made from plastic and much smaller. I think you would need to mount it on a frame that lets you use one hand to operate and not stand on it at the same time. You could double up with two of them to get around the lack of volume not really enough IMO in one). Could be worth a go, but it could be yet another waste of money short cut.

 

[thebushcrafter99]

hmmmmm... all useful and valid info guys chearse have got an idea and may well attempt to reduce the pipe size with the clay and pipe trick, has any one tried the clay and pipe trick to reduce the diameter of pipe if so any chance any body could post pics of it? i have a hair dryer that has 2 settings and a 60mm out let would this be ok to just fit to the 50mm pipe as it is fairly powerful???

 

[Dave Budd]

why don't you post a pic of what you have already and maybe we can find an easy fix for you. Gotta be better than suggetsing lots of ideas that won't be applicable

 

[thebushcrafter99]

why don't you post a pic of what you have already and maybe we can find an easy fix for you. Gotta be better than suggesting lots of ideas that won't be applicable

will do shall get several pics of whole forge and anvil set up tomorrow if you dont mind seeing JB-weld to join the two halves of my air pipe for 90 degrees elbow and also a lot of horrible welds which i shouldn't of happened as i have been welding since i was 12 (i am now 13)!