Making a DIY Metal Smith's Forge that Fits in The Palm of Your Hand

In this entry to my ScrapCraeft video series, I show how to build a surprisingly useful little forge by combining elements from my previous projects.
My first Scrapcraeft video on the Egyptian forge: • Building An Ancient Te...
The mural of craftsmen in the tomb of Nebamun and Ipuky: www.metmuseum.org/art/collect...
My video on the renaissance blow torch: • Bringing Back The Firs...
My video on refining clay: • Enhancing clay with al...
My video on Michael Faraday's Furnace: • I made Michael Faraday...

[@radaraacf]

Important thing when casting the metal, pre heat the sand mould so it flows throughout instead of setting too fast and not filling out the shape

[@cmbaz1140]

How

[@clothar23]

​​@@cmbaz1140 It's more about heating the sand so you get some micro crystalline silca aka glass throughout the medium. This increases surface smoothness so any liquid introduced flows faster and thus fills out the impressed shape before cooling. And the simplest way to do so in this example is to create a thin walled terracotta container. Fill it with said sand and heat it over the forge itself. Wait until the sand is too hot to comfortably handle . Than pour it back into the mold frame . Impress your desired shape and than cast. IIRC of course. It has been a while since I bothered with sand casting.

[@kayakMike1000]

Yeah was thinking about this a lot, that in the lost PLA casting process, you first melt the PLA under low heat in a kiln. Then blast it with high heat to burn out the residue. If you do this right before you pour metal in the mold the sand will be quite hot and you're much more likely to get proper fill out because the sand retains heat well. I think you could also temporarily get your melt really really hot, but that might increase shrinkage as it cools

[@kayakMike1000]

Had you shown that aluminum flashing to Faraday, he would've been bewildered. Aluminum was a precious metal beyond gold and platinum in his day. Faraday was late 18th century, but it took until mid 19th century to find a reasonable industrial process to refine aluminum

[@rharris22222]

Yeah, in those days, the ultra-wealthy showed their extravagance by eating with aluminum utensils!

[@nazaxprime]

Which is why aluminum was chosen for the capstone for the Washington monument, ofc.

[@kayakMike1000]

@@nazaxprime yeah, no kidding! I googled that, our national obelisk is tipped with an aluminum point. Learn something everyday. Now any shmuck can cast his own aluminum obelisk in his backyard, as long as he drinks enough cans of Pepsi.

[@letabouret1487]

@@kayakMike1000 someone could probably gather the same amount of aluminium thats on the obelisk just by driving around town looking for broken ladders sticking out of trashcans and other heavy aluminium trash that they can pick up for free and melt until they can replicate the tip of the obelisk full size in thier yard

[@ed6705]

​@@letabouret1487easily. It's only 100oz, so a hair over 2.8kg

[@bow-tiedengineer4453]

describing a casing box as a sandbox for molten metal to play in is just so adorable!

[@sidjoosin6549]

take a walnut, eat a nut, take one half of shell and put what you smelting inside, close it by other half and bake it

[@PhoenicopterusR]

What if I'm allergic to walnuts?

[@russellg1473]

@@PhoenicopterusR then probably dont do that

[@mindset8247]

​@@PhoenicopterusRjust forget that you are allergic to nuts.

[@SolTheIdiot]

​@@PhoenicopterusRdon't eat the walnut

[@AtlasReburdened]

​@@PhoenicopterusRThen film it.

[@sasssquatch1467]

I'm sure you already know this, but if you boil black walnut hulls with a handful of rusty steel, you'll get a beautiful dark antique style stain. I use it on almost everything wood or leather and have done so for 13 of the 18 years I've been a blacksmith. Also, if you collect the green nuts before theyre ripe and extract the juices from the hulls (a fruit press or even just a hammer anr a bucket will suffice), then allow those juices to dry, you'll get green crystals. You can then store those crystals for later dye/stain making use. When you add water to them, the crystals will dissolve into a brown stain. The advantage being that the crystals don't rot or mold and stink up your shop lol.

[@user-kw2rl8df2s]

Leave the rusty nails out, food grade walnut oil is EXPENSIVE.

[@sasssquatch1467]

@@user-kw2rl8df2s yeah, for the oil, no nails, but the oil comes from the meat. The hulls on the other hand aren't used for extracting walnut oil. Black walnut is a great resource. Food or oil from the meat, dye/iodine/antiparasitic tincture from the hulls, high caloric value charcoal from the shells, black walnut syrup if you tap the trees like a maple, tannins for tanning hides from the bark, and of course, the beautiful wood.

[@crohkorthreetoes3821]

A fun and valuable side quest for the blowpipe line might be to get a platinum wire and learn to do blowpipe analysis of mineral specimens. It was sort of the forerunner of spectroscopy.

[@fraserbuilds]

thats an awesome idea! I'll definitely have to give that a shot

[@torg2126]

Fire assaying. Cody'sLab does it on occasion. Honestly you have similar vibes, which is one of the things that I love about this channel. He's more of a mad scientist though, whichakes the contrast better 😅

[@justanotherfreakinchannel9069]

I can't lie, that is one awesome little furge!! 🤣🔥🤘

[@rayrous8229]

It was cool to watch the steel turn urange in the furge with his trrch.

[@StocksPlayGround]

I came to the comments section just to see if anyone noticed the pronunciation. You didn't disappoint! Lol

[@DSteinman]

What planet is this dude from

[@user-hw5dd3bf9g]

You all judge others becomes you can’t stop judging yourself

[@KillTheFace55]

Feurge

[@RandomGuy0987]

I'm not a doomsday prepper but a tiny, low tech and efficient forge like this would be super useful post apocalypse.

[@platibyte]

All preppers will be in trouble if they don't have superior repair skills. They are only extending their end. I doubt that a few bullets, tools and cans of food can stop the apocalypse for them. When they come out of their bunker, they have no muscles left and still don't know how to hunt or build something. Better to find a group and try to make yourself valuable with your abilities.

[@maxmccullough8548]

​@@platibyteyou think prepping isn't about learning skills, ok then....

[@theabhorrentchef7226]

Yes that was a pretty funny and revealing statement. Maybe there is a species of human that could be called ‘preppers’ who are really just walmart people that hoard low quality supplies and canned food. But there are a bunch of us that are preparing by studying the past. We’ve survived hundreds of thousands of years, but now a large portion of humans have been lulled into complacency, I don’t know all the details of the how and why - but I can surmise it’s not for the benefit of the human race. Be prepared, healthy, ungovernable.

[@rickwilliams967]

For what?

[@rickwilliams967]

​@@maxmccullough8548 so most preppers just stockpile a bunch of crap and learn how to shoot guns. Not well or properly, but they think they learn it. What this comes down to is that most of them have absolutely zero skills, besides shooting at non-moving targets.

[@rachelmap100]

The story I heard about paulownia wood in Korea is that in the olden days a family would plant a paulownia tree when a daughter was born. The tree would be big enough to cut down and make into a chest for her trousseau by the time she was old enough to get married.

[@fraserbuilds]

what a beautiful tradition!

[@sidjoosin6549]

channel is underrated, keep going 👍 historically charcoal used for smelting (ore to metal), carbon was must for reduction reaction; blowtorch used for melting - glass or metals (yet sometimes a hole drilled in a big coal peace was used as crucible , burning carbon protects from oxidation)

[@NoSuchStrings]

This is the channel my soul was looking for

[@zacharywolter]

The power of the sun in the palm of my hand. - Otto Octavious

[@martian8987]

Was looking for this comment, thank you for existing!

[@carlwheezerofsouls3273]

Looks like i was a bit over a week to the joke, still commented it, still felt good.

[@LordFrito]

For annealing copper you actually want to quench it when it gets hot enough. Whereas steel you want to cool down as slow as possible to reset the grain structure and relieve stress

[@BM-yy8db]

This is brilliant, the exact sort of diamond in the rough video I love coming across on KZbin. Subbed!

[@jsat5609]

Totally agree. Just finished watching this one. I watched a different on yesterday, and subscribed then.

[@oliverg6864]

Wow, black walnuts have so many gifts to share with the world! Yummy nuts, amazing dye, and powerful fuel! I've used the hulls to dye wool but I never imagined using the shells for anything. Very cool.

[@fraserbuilds]

Theyre incredible arent they! a real gift :)

[@carlitomk]

Seriously awesome … and the side knowledge like the walnut shells is invaluable. Thank you so much .. looking forward to all your future projects .

[@fraserbuilds]

Thank you!

[@old_timey_prospector]

"Anything is possible with a long enough anvil horn." I love it.

[@EpicMonkeyFries]

I literally never understood annealing until now. Your videos are fascinating!

[@Caberbalschnit]

Neat, never seen a ferge that small.

[@Tsnafu]

Can also be used as a "one sausage barbeque" for days when you're not that hungry 😄

[@7thsluglord363]

I was thinking about a camping stove when I started watching. Just something small to boil my cup of water over

[@MaineMotman]

You got the iron on the tip to an orange vs a red. That is a feat! My god, that is very very nice!

[@courier11sec]

Hi there. Your video about the blowtorch you made popped up in my recommendations yesterday and i enjoyed it. Today this one arrived and I'll be subscribing. Excellent premise for a channel and group of projects. Thanks for sharing your projects. 🙂

[@recursr1892]

Awesome level of knowledge and precision! Impressed. And you take the extra challenge making a furnace smaller while all say make it bigger for critical mass! Love it! The benefit of this mini furnace: comparably, you can blow more air in than in a bigger furnace, really interesting benefit. Keep experimenting, great to learn from you!

[@kbilsky]

Almost all materials have the same glowing colour in corresponding temperature (unless it is in solid, not melted state - melted metal can be tricky to guess temperature). Charcoal furnaces can easily reach 1500 C and more, you just need to add more charcoal on top and blow from the side or bottom to the center of pile of coals. Ofcourse, such small forge will not be able to heat up larger chunks of iron to high temperatures, but I am pretty sure that this size forge is able to melt 1/8" nail for example. Love your vids about blowtorch, I was not aware that this kind of torch was used :) I made myself one today. Thank you!

[@cobre7717]

Nice improvised stake anvil. That is a great horn anvil 🦉

[@jonathanspangenberg1563]

Thank you for sharing your passionate journey with the world. Your videos are educational and encouraging.

[@fraserbuilds]

Thank you! Im glad you enjoyed them!

[@LilYamy]

I swear I'm obsessed with your content right now man it's awesome and very well thought out. I hope you gain more traction because you are an artist in your craft and not afraid to admit your mistakes or to be daring enough to make them.

[@MarkOfArgyll]

Super cool set up! Cherry red is the perfect temp for forging, good to see it can get that hot so easily.

[@altaris6593]

Your knowledge gonna save my budget- thanks!

[@PeglegNav]

This is super cool! I wonder if there is a way to incorporate forge insulation inside, and to make a top to really trap your heat in. You might be able to start small iron scrap recovery or mix’s. Either way I’m invested to see more

[@fraserbuilds]

Thank you! those are great ideas!

[@matthewmarting3623]

Awesome project, and really fantastic outcomes (the fit and finish is great as well). This is like ancient equivalent of the “one brick forge” (a soft firebrick with a 1” hole drilled lengthwise and a blowtorch hole in the side). I’ve done surprising amounts of work with one and its spiritual predecessor appears to be no different in that regard.

[@user-qf9mk6rc7n]

Appreciate the ingenuity! Keep up the good work!

[@sadarax4405]

Great little DIY item and I love seeing ancient craft (but not necessarily primitive craft).

[@averyanderson8402]

I love that little forge another cool build. I noticed your metal press and and other jewlry tools im looking to get a set of these too. Very usefull i cant wait to get these tools. Im also intetested in making a small to medium alembic. Just for extracting some oils from a few herbs and maybe some orange peels 😊 thank you for your videos im now more enthusiactic about my plans. Than you

[@spoon_bomb]

How can a channel of this quality stagnate at ~400 subs ?... C'mon guys ! Share more !

[@edwardphillips8460]

You have to ask?

[@markirish7599]

32k subs now

[@spoon_bomb]

​@@markirish7599 That is much better, thanks for sharing :)

[@snubig1698]

I love how the tiny forge looks. I also can't wait for the chemistry related video. Also congrats on already reaching 400 subs, you and your great videoes definately deserve it. I am very glad that i saw your reddit post about the alchemists clay (at least I think that that was the one,) and by extension your channel.

[@fraserbuilds]

this is the kind of comment that keeps the channel going! thanks for your on going support, it means alot to me!

[@jacobopstad5483]

I just made a really simple setup like this blow torch but using hypodermic needle as the nozzle. I was able to get a paper clip glowing hot. I look forward to experimenting more with this!

[@IanMott]

Breaking the shells down into a powder and then compressing to make a pellet would increase burntime and temperature. You could do this and then turn the pellets into biochar or charcoal. Charcloth would allow you to wrap the ingot in the charcoal and thus increase contact and minimize distance from the heat source.

[@mihacurk]

I've tried using charcoal pellets for forging, but they are not very suitable because they tend to fall apart. When just letting them burn in the BBQ they seem great, but when constantly poking at them inside the forge I didn't find them to be very practical.

[@j.r7872]

AMAZING. Your mother and I are very proud of you!

[@shedactivist]

Another fantastic video.

[@THYZOID]

Looks like your channel is finally getting some more traction! nice video and cool project

[@fraserbuilds]

thanks! I really appreciate that! loved your white phosphorus video btw

[@DarrenMalin]

bloody marvelous mate ! :)

[@HrafnirKrumr]

Nice! Thanks for sharing! Your channel is great, lots of information packed in quite short videos.

[@Andrew-li6ie]

The power of the sun in the palm of my hand 😊

[@jammerzz]

i love the way you say forge. good video sir

[@anatexis_the_first]

Very cool project! I had no Idea it was possibly to build a tiny forge, let alone that the design is ancient. Very Impressive!

[@kirikawanaota2539]

Damn!!! This is what I'm looking for a long time thanks for sharing

[@ghostlybat]

It's really damn cute too, even aside from it's usefulness it's also just nifty to look at.

[@fraserbuilds]

Thanks! I think so too :)

[@valsalas666]

i would love to see more forge content!

[@lre10]

This dude is a modern alchemist

[@chemically_literate]

Super interesting. Keep up the good work!

[@fraserbuilds]

Thanks!

[@Adriaanthecrafter]

I am 14 years old at the moment. Recently discovered your channel and my blowtorch got stolen recently so I thought I would give this a try. I just need to fire the forge

[@fraserbuilds]

Awesome! Best of luck!

[@geezermcgadgy]

Great attention to hysterical accuracy fer this ferge,

[@shopdog831]

If you used a water trompe in a creek and piped it into this forge you could make this a blast furnace

[@TheHuntermj]

A Hysterical Ferge?

[@AustinThomasPhD]

It is a very exaggerated 'northern city vowel shift' 'accent.' Notice that when he says 'milk' in the previous video, he pronounces it as 'melk'.

[@Billsbob]

He could boil cern with that ferge, and many mer things.

[@stefanospapavasileiou9676]

​@@Billsbob I cackled

[@TheZombieSaints]

Oh is that what it is, I knew it was an accent, just had no idea where from (Australian here) 😂 Awesome video either way

[@valasdarkholme6255]

I was trying to figure out what his accent was for the whole video. 😂😅

[@mina_chiba]

I love your design! I love primitive pottery!

[@beans1557]

The care and artistry you put into every detail of this, even keeping it as green friendly as you can, taking inspiration from an ancient gay prism furnace- it’s a wonderful way to go about a craft

[@FatChanceTheCouchDog]

@Fraiser builds: I think your carpentry projects would greatly benefit from learning Japanese Joinery methods. Mainly it eliminates the need for nails and screws and allows your finished works to be taken apart later for repairs as needed. It would compliment your Maker style and further decrease your costs for projects down the road while increasing the value of your work. Your skill level is already where it's needed to successfully employ the method and you already seem to have most of the required equiment to make it work for you. I would most like to see you make a new saw blade from scratch. Preferably one that can be used in your jeweler's saw.

[@R-Tex.]

Some goldsmiths here use a similar technique for melting/soldering gold or silver jewellery, but instead of a terracotta forge, they just use a thick wooden block with a cavity in one of the faces and burn it untill it smolders.

[@malignantgoldfish7224]

It's so cute!

[@tetraquark2402]

Actually works very well

[@davidpatriot1082]

youre making spectacular videos sir

[@EdLillywhiteNorton]

Very interesting stuff. thanks

[@user-jx8qe4cu8q]

you should try to make an alcohol blowtorch, like the ancient copper Japanese one

[@JamesFraser-pu8du]

Hey! I'm also a Fraser who likes making things like this! Your stuff is really cool!

[@fraserbuilds]

Thanks! I guess it must run in the family 😂

[@krismagnus341]

You'll probably never see it, but you may want to try adding some rice husks to your clay to make it more heat resistant. When fired, husks get carbonized, leaving empty spaces in clay, giving it room to expand during heating.

[@JJW410]

The power of walnuts, baby. Very cool.

[@TheMixmastamike1000]

The way you pronounce forge and other words that don't come to mind right now make me crazy. You are awesome and your videos are great. I stumble across them from time to time and every time I hear you pronounce simple words so unusually It leaves me deeply conflicted. Has anyone ever mentioned this before or am I the only one? ( edit: it's words with an ( or ) in them and you pronounce the or like er )

[@fraserbuilds]

Thanks! I have a speech impediment on those hard R sounds, have had it all my life so sometimes I forget its there 😂

[@XwaYdesu]

​@@fraserbuildsIn Oregon, there is an accent marker for the word "for". In certain contexts, we pronounce it "fer". Im imagining that you have an Oregon accent from the future. 😊

[@Atownforevilones]

Pretty interesting, and impressive with how hot you can get it. It would be interesting to see what it'd do with a little set of billows blown from the bottom. I'd bet that with a little more fuel could get you some higher temps.

[@gearhead8989]

I just mentally picture him as a pirate every time he says ferrge

[@SharkLaserz]

Between “ferge” and “shert lengths” I’m beginning to think he was the first to coin the term “sherd” for shard of pottery

[@ChrisSmith-vc7xs]

Bro. cool. Keep up the work. Love the home made. Won me over as a subscriber. Now to find one of those wire draw out tools for myself.

[@dicedoomkid]

Thinking about making something like this using a billows made out of some old bicycle bits.

[@IanMott]

Add some constant airflow from the sides to increase the heat in the center. You could desicate the air source to reduce steam production and thermal losses.

[@Felenari]

This could make for a neat little arrow head forge.

[@fraserbuilds]

Thats a great idea!

[@Simlatio]

All these Queensland bush nut shells I have can finally be put to use.

[@johannageisel5390]

Can you please tell us more about the little forge? How did you come up with the exact shape of the upper part? Is it after a historical example? You also wrote further down that you made a ceramic crucible. How well did that work? Is there anything I need to be careful of if I also want to make a crucible? Thickness of the walls, for example? Is there an easy way to handle it when I don't have suitable tongs? Do you have an idea how to add a handle? Can you show us your crucible, please? You have inspired me to try and copy some of your stuff to try myself and I would love to learn from your experiences in more detail. Thank you in advance! :)

[@fraserbuilds]

This furnace wasnt really based directly off any artifacts, but there are similar furnaces that pop up here and there throughout history (sometimes called charcoal braziers). The main design considerations were just that I wanted it to be bowl shaped, and that I wanted it to have good airflow(hence the holes in the sides and bottom) as for my clay crucibles, they work great! Ive used them a bunch, they'll definitely be in future videos. I made them by just adding extra temper to my regular clay, maybe around 30% or higher temper to clay ratio(I used a mix of sand and charcoal dust as temper) with that much more temper the clay will be difficult to form into complex shapes, but it can still pretty easily be pressed into a little bowl or cup shape. The more temper you add to your clay the more able to withstand thermal shock it will be. as for tongs, for small crucibles, a chemist's crucible tongs will work great and shouldnt be too expensive, however I sometimes use surgeons hemostats for similar purposes :)

[@johannageisel5390]

@@fraserbuilds That sounds great, thank you. I will have to see how well my clay works. I just strained it through a fine metal sieve, that means that a lot of the sand went through with it. If I am lucky, it will happen to be the right amount of temper. If not, I will have to go the additional step and use a cloth to strain the next batch of clay and then add sand in a more controlled way.

[@anikac8380]

Thanks!

[@fraserbuilds]

Thanks so much! I really appreciate the support!

[@mrfender5001]

I'd Love to hear him say "That there is one firm formed forge"

[@SodiumInteresting]

Nice work

[@fraserbuilds]

Thanks! I appreciate it :)

[@guifercon]

Just discovered your channel, it's pure gold... I think it may be already discussed, but have you tried using powdered fired clay instead of sand as addicted non-expandable material? Saw this tech used on some other videos.

[@elongated_muskrat_is_my_name]

i'd say to use a tuyere, but idk what you'd make it from without it melting. unless you could make it double-walled and water-cool it from the inside. Also trying some kind of hot-blast setup preheating the air would be interesting.

[@raisnaix]

great channel.

[@Wavy_Gravy]

Quality content

[@user-qp5dy7vk9m]

❤ The way he says forge...

[@briennaasher26]

I love his videos. The accent is constantly jarring to me 😂

[@anchopanchorancho]

And torch, and form. Really any 'o' sound.

[@op.par_3035]

Sometimes he says it normally it’s a joke to him

[@op.par_3035]

Maybe it’s so people comment about it

[@colonel__klink7548]

Interesting fact: Anthracite, the best coal there is (far better than your charcoal) has a density of 700KG per square meter. Olive oil which burns cleanly and completely has a density of 916kg per square meter. Meaning a forge intended to use olive oil like your lamp is FAR more energy efficient and therefore "hot" than the charcoal forge you made. It's a better option technology wise to explore when looking at period materials. Your youtube channel has me wanting to make a oil lamp forge myself. I couldn't believe in that video how you were melting glass! Combine that with a micro lathe (powered by a bow) and you'd be amazed at what I could do!

[@ShinobiAlphaOG]

Ferge. Cool vid

[@griffin5226]

Forgive me if I missed this in the video but is this design based off of a specific original example?

[@fraserbuilds]

its not based on any particular artifact, just an idea

[@SimonSozzi7258]

What if you put a small ceramic lid to keep the heat in for the Iron?

[@squigglesmcjr199]

Coolest dude on youtube

[@snuffying]

you pronounce "forge" and "torch" like "ferge" and "terch". is this a dialect/accent from where you are?

[@op.par_3035]

No dude because sometimes he says it normally, it’s a joke to him.

[@ghstm3745]

Don't forget nermal and ferm

[@gregghull1518]

My Lurd! I love these videos, they're so straightfurward and infurmative, especially this one on the histurical furge; it's made even mur absurbing that he includes the histurical lur from days of yur on the urigin of the small, purtable purcelain furge. He even purtrays annealing the ladle to make the copper mur unifurm. I'm glad he's on this platfurm!

[@DeLaMangaShoes]

Are you aware that in many parts of Africa a blow pipe forge is still being used? I have seen some videos demonstrating the work, and it is amazing what they accomplished! Great video!

[@BrokenSoul79x]

sweet shert erange ferge ;D

[@mailleweaver]

It's an accent I've not heard befer, either. "ferge" and "nermal"

[@anthonyfigueroa2395]

I got aan idea that could make that blowing torch way easier to use.

[@bappyplays]

Just discovered your channel. Wife just described you as HTME but good :D

[@CrimeVid]

Never heard of a furge before

[@jinchoung]

i've noticed that you pronounce some words unusually like "forge". any insight into where that comes from? a regional accent? just curious. great channel!

[@fraserbuilds]

thanks! thats just my speech impediment😅

[@user-so2fp8tz9o]

How'd you get the copper off the zinc? Could you just melt it all into one alloy?

[@geoffgeoff143]

Would your forge work better adding air from below?

[@imakrewitatl]

Ever made a ferge beferr bud?!