Fast Build, Simple Design Box Bellows for Basic Blacksmithing
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 17 сен 2024
- For a long time I wanted a homestead blacksmithing shop, and finally have located an anvil and have a shed to house all the equipment. The shed is off-grid with very little hope of ever having electrical service, so I need a manual method to supply air to the forge. Traditional leather double action bellows are beautiful, but very complex to construct. Fortunately RUclips has a wealth of blacksmiths who have explored a whole range of forge blower options. Many bladesmiths and knife makers have excellent videos showing the construction of Japanese Fuigo style box bellows. These are large units usually that supply large amounts of air to long forges for swordsmithing.
I do not aspire to bladesmithing, but a bellows constructed of wood was a very attractive concept as I have most of the necessary tools and skills for woodworking. In the process of researching designs, I came across the design for a Chinese/Korean style box bellows. In principle it is very similar to a fuigo, with the primary difference being that the plenum chamber is located inside the piston chamber where the Japanese Fuigo has a separate external chamber for the plenum. Without the ability to test either design and not having any real understanding of the pros and cons of each one, I decided to use a version of the Chinese/Korean style. My main reason was simply ease of construction. With the internal plenum I could construct the plenum with three small boards and have a compact unit with all parts having easy to fabricate 90 degree angles, with the possible downside of having to reduce the size of the piston. I was also unable to figure out how the plenum valves are arranged in a traditional box bellows of this style, so I added two valves in a similar position to the way a fuigo plenum valve system is set up.
The dimensions of my bellows were mostly dictated by the available materials I already had and a piston travel that seemed comfortable (24 inches). The box is 30 inches long, 12 inches tall, and 9 inches wide. The piston is approximately 8 inches square, and the plenum chamber is 3 inches by 8 inches by 24 inches. I used a single piston rod made from scrap copper pipe with an outside diameter of 5/8ths inch ( I believe it is 1/2 inch pipe but I'm not very familiar with plumbing sizes and terms).
After completing the bellows I successfully hooked it up to my forge and heated up some scrap rebar to a bright orange heat which was very exciting.
Here's the video with Mors Kochanski where I first saw this style box bellows. You can see that the plenum valve is different from what I've built, but I could not figure out how their arrangement was set up, and I couldn't find a good image of one of these valve setups online.
• Blacksmithing Piston B...
I also found Dave Foote's channel to be incredibly helpful as he worked through the process of building a very nice bladesmithing bellows. I highly recommend his series of videos about his fuigo build.
• Japanese box bellows
• Japanese Box Bellows 3
• Japanese Box Bellows P...
• Fixing the box bellows
All in all it was a really satisfying project, very rarely do I build something that I am 100% happy with, but this one made that cut.
Absolutely outstanding.
This is the best video I've seen on box bellows, I've been looking all day and this is definitely the best and clearest video, thank you!
Hey thanks Kenneth. I am really happy with this bellows.
K M Valhalla ironworks has a good box bellows build video also
Thanks a lot man this video helped me a lot when making my own box bellow
Victory! I always wanted to build one of those since Mors told me about them ages ago and drew a diagram of how they work. Looks more pleasant than cranking a blower too. funny, I've been thinking about trying to build a little smithy in the next month or two. We'll see.
Well, after having built this one, if I could do it over again I think I might use a slightly larger diameter pipe. I think a pipe works great for a quick and dirty solution for the piston, but the 5/8ths OD copper I used is a little flexy. I bet 3/4 in OD conduit would be an improvement.
Do it. Im doing the same. But i got no money and very little amount of tools. But it should be okey.
This is a fantastic wood working project in itself. I build mine according to the Japanese box bellows design simply because most of the plans available are to do with the Japanese design. It works fantastically with a good airflow, and has allowed me to bypass noisy electric blowers. It is good to see a tube on the Chinese/Korean version. The main thing with box bellows is that it is sealed properly and the main box in which the piston slides is squared up correctly.
Branok Erdene, you should do a video on your bellows, I would be interested to see it. I like the fuigo, I mainly chose this design because it was basically a box inside a box, so it was simple to seal up fairly tight.
I have been thinking about doing a video on the heat treating of some of my blades, with a cursory explanation of the box bellows included, but have not gone about it so far. Having said that, I have some pics of my box bellows, including the inside main chamber and can email them to you, along with some explanation of how I went about making it.
That's OK, I'll wait for the video. I don't need plans since I already have a bellows that I'm happy with. I am always interested in seeing other ones in operation.
Same with me, I always like seeing the tools and techniques used by others who create work in wood and steel. The bellows that you are using is excellent, well done. Works well with charcoal as the fuel.
Sweet. Looks like you already had all the physics education that you needed. It seems to work great. Nice video.
thank you for sharing this. i needed a bellow, and i want to build it myself, but i did not want to do the leather work, and this is simple leather work.
No problem Malachi. I am still using this bellows, and its working great, I think you'll be really happy with this style bellows.
A very helpful video. Thanks for taking the time and trouble to share.
Excellent video! I am really happy found this channel! Thanks a lot! Good luck for your channel!
If you use glass inside, the glass is a dielectric material, depending on what you piston use for a seal l, you can build up a static charge in the glass do to it being dielectric( it’s basically a capacitor. Inside the capacitor there are two metal conductive plates and a dielectric that insulates them from each other. When dc current, as applied the dielectric will polarize, retaining the charge for a given time, AC reaction on a capacitor is very different!) any how the point is be careful it could possibly effect sensitive life saving devices implanted within the body or attached to the body l!
Awesome accomplishment and looks cool in your shop. I hadn’t heard of the box bellow before.
There are actually quite a few YT vids on them, but most of them are on the Japanese style, often called a fuigo. Probably due to the general fascination in the West with Japanese swords and swordsmithing. For someone who is only interested in building a fairly accessible bellows, I think the Chinese style like this one has some benefits in simplicity of construction. I've been doing lots of blacksmithing using this bellows, and its more than adequate for charcoal forge work. Probably wouldn't be able to keep a coal forge rolling without a helper on the bellows to maintain continuous airflow.
you done good with that mate, you should be proud of yourself
Nice job it moves some serious air
Thanks Dave! Its not nearly as nice as yours, but it does pretty much exactly what I was hoping for. I couldn't be happier with how this project turned out.
when i comes to fuigo, fuigo's biggest advatage is it's simplicity and the best of all it's for master blacksmiths and beginners alike because it's affordable.
You made the cake, and that whoosh is definately a present. Nice job!.
Thanks drason69. Still going strong 9 mos later.
Oxbow Farm hoping to finish up my birtbox forge today, and post another short video later
I made one and it's definitely not as good as yours. It works but it's not perfect. Good job!
I'll probably be making one of these too.
I love that your handle kind of looks like a potato. lol
Even more so now that its all sooty.
Ah, dirt, the hallmark of the craftsman~!
I am so gonna build this thing thanks for the inspiration.
That's so dope. Can't wait to see what comes out of it.
Probably some lumpy stuff only I will like for quite a while, but I've been yearning for a working forge for so long man.
Haha. Just don't catch yourself on fire.
A 2 inch black pipe works great that's what I have on my box bellows
Thanks, very interesting
Very cool.
Hi, I just discovered your channel a couple of days ago. I'm not up to the cordwood challenge myself but I saw that you'd stepped up to the plate , so I came over here to see....you've got some awesome videos & I've subscribed. Thanks for sharing your work on RUclips.
Thanks ProfoundConfusion. I'm really interested in RUclips as a means of collaboration and information exchange. I'm doing a lot of axe stuff right now, but when the growing season kicks back in it will be a lot of farmy stuff. I've also got some experiments with DIY homestead geopolymers that I want to put up here. The trick for me is figuring out the camera part. It is much harder to get the footage you want than I realized.
well if its any consolation it also rocked MY world... im gonna try to make one of these but use a treadle mechanism so I have two hands free in case.. well just in case really... who cares... its fun to build and experiment
I think that would be a pretty awesome thing to do. If I were to hook it up to a treadle I think I would mount it vertically and have some kind of a rope and pulley system with a weight that would pull the piston UP, and then the treadle would pull the piston down so you would get a double action for every push on the treadle just like an old fashioned colonial bellows. You could probably have the shaft run all the way through the bellows to keep everything straight and avoid uneven wear on the piston too. Please make a video if you build that, I think it would be really cool.
@@oxbowfarm5803 now that's some good advice... I can picture it from your description alone and it seems way easier than what I was thinking..... trying to rack my brain on ways to transfer the force …. thanks you sir I will try to make the video...no promises though
@@oxbowfarm5803ruclips.net/video/fsXpaPSVasQ/видео.html like this but vertical... fuck yeah
Nice! That is not out of the grasp of any of my Scouts to build for themselves! Thank you!
Easy to make was the main idea. This seemed easier to make all the joints airtight than the Japanese design with the separate plenum.
I had never looked at any of the Asian blacksmithing accoutrements, event though I've been smithing for 40 years... so this was totally new for me!
Is powerwul 💪
great video, I'm considering this type over a Japanese bellows...any thoughts on the pros or cons of each? This seems more compact and potentially simpler to make/store (square box with no side portion to take up space or complicate construction)
I have not used a Japanese-style box bellows, so I can't really give a solid answer. I chose this style mainly because it seemed intuitively simpler of a design, with fewer seams to seal. The piston is smaller since the plenum is internal, so maybe the same size "box" will push less air than a Japanese type? I have never felt that it was underpowered for the type of blacksmithing I do. I don't desire to forge katanas or zombie weapons etc either. I've been very happy with this bellows.
12:00 is that an old galvanized water trough? Or is it tin? I am curious what kind of metal you used and the kind of refractory clay i see it lined with. Thank you
Отлично
That is a very efficient box bellows. I have almost finished making one myself, but one with the side chamber design common with the Japanese style. If I can ask, what is the diameter size for the valve holes that you used in your bellows ?
Hi Strahd Zarovic. The holes are 1.75 inches diameter, which is 44.4 mm I believe. It was the largest size Forstner bit that I own.
Nice addition of the hardware cloth. No one should have to deal with a bellows that in any way resembles the port authority, 😆
could I suggest using a small engine or a electric motor with a cam and follower, you would probably have to bolt it all down to a bench, and I know you did mention you wanted to keep it light, I just thought that if you could use other means of pumping the piston , faster means, you may be able to get it up to a temperature well in the range for forge welding, possibly even smelting and cast low melting point metals such as copper brass and aluminium
Thanks for that Alex, I actually don't have electricity anywhere near the shed this is set up in right now. I could definitely hook up a gas engine, but I don't think it would be a good idea to motorize this particular unit. I didn't really build it heavy enough to stand up to high speed motorized pumping. If I were to use an engine or an electric motor it would most likely make sense just to use an existing cage fan to go with, something with bearings etc. There are people who motorize Japanese fuigo box bellows, but I'm not really sure why they do that, except for the ambiance while forging their katana maybe?
That said, I'm quite certain this is enough air to heat a charcoal fired furnace to aluminum melting temps just pumping by hand. That is in the works in the next couple of months. This forge is a stepping stone. I've had the Gingery Metal shop books burning a hole in my bookshelf for 6-7 years now.
Oxbow Farm yes , I agree to be fair, I did have similar concerns when I was thinking about it myself , and you are right in saying that it would make much more sense to just use one motorised unit if any at all , but yeah good work
Some of the Chinese designs also use a flapper butterfly valve located at the hole where the air goes directly into the forge fire, but from what I have seen online, it appears to have been incorporated into the ones that did not have a valve covering over the holes where the air went to the air channel bow. I have not seen the butterfly valve feature on any of the traditional Japanese box bellows, and your plans did not incorporate it since all your air intake valves have a covering over them that closes and opens as the piston is pushed back and forth to generate the volumes of air for the forge fire
Yes, I couldn't find a good image of the flapper/butterfly arrangement, so I did it this way. I'd love to see the butterfly type if you know of any good links.
I have noticed that many of the Chinese style designs have a two rod piston system, whereas the Japanese variation has the one push piston.
I'm trying this and it is not working out. Definitely harder than it looks. The wood has to fit together perfectly and I'm trying to use as much cock as possible to seal it. I tried to just set the roof on and there's no air at all coming out the hole. I might need to remake my flaps too to make them seal better.
I think the critical thing is to get a good fit and seal around your piston, so that the air isn't leaking backwards and is mostly getting pushed. What did you use for flaps?
@@oxbowfarm5803 Yea I'm struggling a bit with the piston fit. I used canvas panels I found at walmart for the flaps and secured it with wire. They seem to work ok but I'm not sure if they seal well enough.
спасибо! хорошая идея модернизации азиатских кузнечных мехов!!!!!!!! Можно и на заметку взять!
спасибо
Haha, nice ending.
Thanks.
How did you build your forge furnace
What about plastic instead of glass, it would be more durable and light weight, or would plastic not be smooth enough
Probably something like plexiglass would work great. Frankly, this bellows works so well with just sanded/waxed sides that I doubt I'd ever bother messing with it, not that its been in service for over a year. It would be a fussy process of adding the glass/plexiglass and changing the piston, with lots of places to mess up something that's already working great.
Maybe line the inside with wax?
Awesome video. I learned something new and useful. What kind of coal are you using? Did you make it or buy it?
I was using store-bought lump charcoal in the video, but I've switched to homemade charcoal at this point, since the store charcoal is $7/bag. My homemade char is not as nice, but its free.
That is well done my friend. It's been two years since you posted. How's it standing up? I'll bet it's doing fine.
I still use it all the time. It turns out I could have made the box and piston travel much shorter and still gotten the same functionality, I actually rarely ever use the full length of the piston since you get the same airflow just pushing it back and forth a few inches at a time.
It looks like that you made your forge fire pot out of a galvinied metal bin . Thats a no no , why? Because when galiviesed metal is heated it give off a toxic fume . I would replace that part of you forge , the bellow look like it works great though....
I am aware of the danger of zinc fumes. The design for this forge is not my own invention, I followed a series of plans from a blacksmithing website. This design is for a charcoal fueled knife-making forge. I no longer use this forge because it isn't well shaped for the type of work that I like to do. BUT, there is basically ZERO danger of burning/vaporizing any of the zinc galvanization because there is approximately 2-3 inches of clay insulating the metal tub sides from the fire.
Why didn’t you put sizes and measurements
Hi quick questionshould the plenum have the same hole size with the front and rear valve?
Hey Eugene, the hole sizes on this bellows are identical on the plenum and the exterior valves. So having them the same size definitely works, that's not to say a different arrangement might not work as well or better, but this does work.
ok thank you :) because I am planning to start to build my own forge soon and when I saw your video I thought that, thats the bellow I'm going to go with also another question the exit valve (( wher the air exits )) has a smaller hole right?
All the holes are 1.75 inches because that was the size of Forstner bit that I own, but there is only a single hole at the exit/outflow vs three holes on all the valves on the plenum and exterior.
ok :) thank you for the help ^^
The box bellows is an efficient hand operated mechanism to supply air to the forge. Making one is a great project in itself.
What is the diameter of the steel pipe inside your washtub forge, and the size and spacing of the drilled air holes that run down the pipe.
I have had success with holes drilled down the length of a 1.5 inch steel pipe, about 5/16th's sized holes spaced every 1 to 2 inches, with some holes plugged up with dropped bolts to reduce hot spots. It worked well, but I might experiment with a hole arrangement similar to this one.
www.backwoodshome.com/build-your-own-portable-forge/
Hi Zed. I can't remember the exact dimensions of the black iron I used for the forge. The design is called a "Tim Lively" washtub forge, I found the plans at some blacksmithing forum or other online. I honestly don't care for it much. The forge is actually a specialized knife-makers forge, and produces a very long narrow fire, which is great if you want to forge knives, but its not very versatile for more complex 3D shapes. It wastes a lot of fuel in areas you don't need if you aren't forging a long straight shape. I still have this forge, but I've put it in storage against the need for it. I'm using a much larger forge with a 2" side blast, and its working better for the kind of forging I'm doing right now. I'll probably do a vid on it fairly soon.
The design is popular with many people who smith and heat treat knives/swords in a charcoal forge, but I agree with you in that it is specialized for long narrow pieces, but not so good for general forging of various items. I suppose you could keep your old forge for knife related projects. Look forward to seeing your new vid with the new forge.
Is that a galvanized bucket you're using for a forge when the zinc burns off there going to be very sick that stuff is poison us when he did up
It doesn't get hot Dave, Its lined with clay and perlite about 3 inches thick.
Don’t think I’d risk it, but hey you do you man. Zinc gas sounds like some nasty stuff.