Using A Charcoal Grill As A Forge

C

claybuster5

Joined
Nov 18, 2012
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Do you guys think I could use my charcoal grill as a forge to heat treat? I can get air onto the charcoal to make sure it's hot. I don't know if it work though. Has anyone tried this?

& Marry Christmas hope you guys have a good one. You have all helped me so much!
 
I used my charcoal grill and a shop vac (as a blower) to heat treat my first blade. It has to be a very simple carbon steel, preferably 1084. Someone not typing on a phone will probably be along soon to point you to the stickies or the search function.

You will need to know the type of steel to get a definite answer.
 
There's a whole school of makers, neo-tribal, who use open charcoal/coal forges , Some are very bad, some astonishingly good. Tai-goo is probably the best known, but there's lot's of others. Open forges seem simple, but getting a good result takes serious talent. I've used coal forging for a long time, and it's addictive. There's a ton of info and Google's your best friend.
 
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What is your grill body made of(cast aluminum or steel)? If you have an aluminum grill that is not properly insulated it may sag on you. A blown coal forge gets much hotter than what a BBQ is rated for. Be sure to insulate the inside with refractory.

Do you know much about forges and how they work? Your wording/questions(especially with regard to tempering) lead me to believe you are very new to this.... am I right?

What are you using as a blower?
 
Yeah, it's a steel weber grill. Never thought about it sagging on me :/ And yes I have no idea what I am doing with the forge part. I think I'm trying to do too much as I am new to the knife scene. Just trying to do somewhat of a heat treat myself since I just put over $600 in to this and don't have any money left over for heat treating and I know that it's critical, I really don't have one penny left literally.
 
I weld up coal forges using an old pickup truck brakedrum, a floor flange, and black iron pipe. They work with charcoal too but that gets expensive quickly unless you make your own

-Page
 
Look into coal forge builds. particularily the "wash tub forge"(Page beat me to it). Your steel BBQ should be strong enough. You might want to look into having your blades heat treated for you. You are going to spend a lot of time and money on developing your own heat treat equipment and technique. The forge is the cheap part.
 
That's cool thanks for the share. I think I might make the washtub one if its cheap enough. I have a $75 gift card to Home Depot. If that's not enough then I can't cause I don't have any money left!
 
Rick Marchand said:
Look into coal forge builds. particularily the "wash tub forge"(Page beat me to it). Your steel BBQ should be strong enough. You might want to look into having your blades heat treated for you. You are going to spend a lot of time and money on developing your own heat treat equipment and technique. The forge is the cheap part.
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Allright, I think I'm going to have to think this over. Only if money wasn't a problem, right? :rolleyes:
 
money is always a problem. Deal with it and move on. It is all about priorities. You can skip the washtub if you dig a hole in the ground and line it with dry sand. Ingenuity can always overcome lack of funds

-Page
 
+1 on what page said about ingenuity.

You might ask around to see if you can find anyone with a oxyaxetelyn torch, i treated my first blades with one a long time ago.

Ive never worked with charcoal, but i think $75 at homedepot would be more than enough to get you going with a charcoal forge like tim lively's.
 
I heat treated a 5160 blade in a $15 dollar charcoal grill, with a fan, and oil quench (old synthetic motorcycle race oil). The bottom grate did sag! But that is just fine!

I read a few tutorials on here first, and it turned out great (that was likely pure dumb luck). It holds a great edge, and is tough as I could ask for. I did it to do it, not to sell it, so I was fine with a mystery heat treat.

I can guarantee that the steel could be brought to a higher performance level by a controlled heat treat and temper, but the knife is mine, and I can say it is 100% done by me (nearly all by hand tools).
 
I needed a forge once when I was camping so I dug a hole in the ground removed the rocks from the dirt I was going to line it with, trenched a piece of half inch pipe to the bottom of the hole with the other end above the surface, lined the sides of the hole with 2 inches of packed rock free dirt and used a Coleman mattress pump as a blower. Cost me nothing but the battery power I burned through. If you are not rich you need to be smart.

-Page
 
ib2v4u said:
I would love to hear the story about needing a forge while camping and what you needed to make.
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one of my campmates needed something straightened at a medieval society event, then I went ahead and made a skewer support for cooking a roast over the fire

-Page
 
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