Hi all, I’m wanting to make some knives using high carbon steel. I need a forge to heat treat the blades and wondered if a forge would be of use to other people also…
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From me 200% yes, having a way to anneal metals would push one of my projects off the ground again. I own a really nice Durston rolling mill with an extender bit and a bangle forming kit but when I moved from Kent I lost access to the naked flame forge space I was using… so that left me in mid air and the rolling mill decorating my hallway…
That said the maker space lease I believe states no naked flame inside the space.
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Great to hear it would be of use to someone else!
With the lease complications is there a possibility that we could use it outside if it was a gas forge? Richard Maynard also said he would be happy to donate an anvil too!
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When I ask about it, I was directed to doing it outside as an option…
I’d also be up for loaning the rolling mill to the makerspace as a year loan.
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If naked flames are a problem is an induction forge an option?
Funny you should say that…
I have an induction forge at work and I absolutely love it. Clean, efficient, smoke free, environmentally friendly…
The only issue comes when the things you’re forging no longer fit in the coils. It’s a bit less flexible than a gas or coke forge for that reason.
I think it would be great for knife makers and also annealing if whatever @Dorine wants to anneal will fit in a coil - it is possible to make coils of course.
They can be a bit temperamental, maybe not ideal for a shared space but with care could be a good solution.
There was a brief time when you could get a ‘15kW’ on eBay for £300. No longer… You need a cooler too; either an off the shelf tig cooler or some kind of homebrew setup.
I bought mine through Fransham Forge and paid over the odds for a bit of extra support. Which was handy when the main coil packed up and needed replacing.
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And yes, I have an anvil I could donate
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I’d love for there to be a forge at the MS. An induction forge sounds like it could work. How much area and volume would a worthwhile forging space require? Any thoughts on where would it all go?
Presumably fire and heat present the top risks, but would the sound from working metal require additional control measures to what we have in place? Same question for possible off-gassing; dust or aerosolised particles; and liquids (cooling oil) disposal?
Hopefully there’s a way to make it all work.
I 
forging.
It’s strips of metal to make cuff bangles 1-4 inch wide. I hammer them into the shape so they need to be annealed.
Mainly Copper, but also aluminium and silver.
On behalf of the @metaltechs, we would love to have an ability to work with heat, however fire safe way of doing this in unclear at the moment. Until we invent the way of dealing with it, I would say outside, and may be have caster wheels on equipment.
In terms what we currently have, not much. There’s a blacksmith vice that needs restoring and a bbq-style stand for brazing metal.
I’ve not seen the @CeramicsTechs pottery kiln, but might it be able to anneal/temper small sections of metal as well as fuse glass/enameling? Depending on how controllable it is and its min/max heating range?
It certainly works in terms of temperature, it’s usually ~1300°C, but they’re quite skeptical about the cleanliness, they need their kiln to stay food safe.
Interesting point. Most of the literature is saying Lead as being the biggest culprit to making any ceramic unsafe that you might drink or eat from.
I was thinking of Silver, Copper and Stainless Steel so none of that is toxic in itself nor does lead play a part in its creation, jewelry grade metals really. Not sure if glass fusing releases any toxic but I’m sure there are lead free glass made just to fuse.
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Glass fusing in detail: