Metal forging is not a very expensive, but rather profitable business idea. This project can be implemented in any city and region, in the village and the regional center.
What it is?
Art forging products have recently become quite widespread. These are textured gates and fences made of metal, balcony frames and grilles. These beautiful products are also used for front gardens and as fences in cemeteries.
In the old days, art forging was used to make all of these items. At the same time, special equipment and tools were required. A workshop was also needed where the forging process itself took place. However, over time, everything has changed.
The old technology has been replaced by a new, more advanced one. It is called cold. At the same time, products are produced whose appearance resembles old ones, but forging is not used in their forging.
The first steps
In order for the planned project to be successful, it will be necessary to have at least the minimum necessary equipment, to be smart and have good physical strength. An idea can become a reality and will only make money if a competent business plan is drawn up.
Art forging will bring the desired profit with strict adherence to all points of this document. The business plan should consider all the details of the future project, including the place where the workshop will be located and the selection of the necessary equipment.
Stages of business development
Of great importance is the choice of the place where the workshop will be located. Currently, a large number of elite-class villages are being built. The houses in them will belong to successful entrepreneurs, officials, the Russian elite. The location of the workshop is on the way to these places and should include a business plan being prepared. Art forging in this case will quickly become in demand.
However, the plan does not always succeed. Therefore, you will need to provide for the costs of running an advertising company on the Internet. They should also be taken into account when the business plan is being drawn up. Art forging can be advertised through ads on street billboards, on television, and in local media. Only in this case, the business idea will begin to take on a real shape.
Choice of premises
The next step in the development of the business will be the search for a place for the future workshop. In this case, the premises should have an area of not less than one hundred square meters and be equipped with sewage, water supply, and have electricity supply. If the scale of the future project is small, then a garage space will be sufficient.
Equipment
The point at which the purchase of a small universal machine will be provided should also contain a business plan being prepared. Art forging does not require the purchase of expensive equipment manufactured by a foreign manufacturer. A domestic machine designed for the manufacture of “crow's feet”, “peak” and “baskets” can be purchased. Received blanks, then brought to the presentation, will help to get the first money.
The domestic art forging machine can perform spirals, curling, as well as longitudinal twisting. This versatile equipment will need to be supplemented with the following:
- a drilling machine;
- welding machine;
- mountain;
- grinder;
- other small improvised tool.
The acquisition of good equipment will allow you to raise the profitability of your business to an impressive height. Ideally, it is advisable to equip the workshop with machines designed for twisting, bending, and drawing on a strip of pattern. It is also desirable to have equipment for molding, calibration, pressing, stamping and dressing.
Products for the creation of which art forging was used will be high-quality if you use specialized equipment such as a semi-automatic vertical press with a force of up to one hundred tons, saws designed for metal cutting, a lathe and a milling machine. Spray guns will be required for painting finished products, and racks for storing tools and workpieces. All this equipment can be purchased for 3-4 million rubles.
Material needed
After equipping the workshop with equipment, you will need to invest money in the purchase of consumables and hardware. First of all, it should be metal rods having a diameter of eight to twenty millimeters. Such a consumable is required for the manufacture of spiral curling and longitudinal twisting, to obtain a "basket".
Do-it-yourself art forging will require the presence of squares and corners, sheets and pipes. As a rule, the range of procured raw materials directly depends on the type of order. As for the characteristics of the metal, experienced blacksmiths recommend purchasing low-carbon steel marked "St0", "St1", as well as "St2". This material is best suited for artistic forging.
The list of consumables contains paint intended for corrosion protection. You can even purchase a car. Two or three layers of such paint with a high degree of reliability will protect products from the effects of adverse factors.
As consumables, cleanup and cutting wheels, a primer and electrodes, as well as solvents, should be purchased.
Assortment list of products
In the event that you organize a workshop where art forging will be done with your own hands, samples must be exhibited in the room to demonstrate products to customers. For clarity, an advertising colorful booklet with finished products or a photo album can be issued. It is desirable to place high-quality photos of products on your own website on the Internet.
Finished products will also look beneficial in front of the entrance to the workshop itself. There you can place garden benches and window grills.
A workshop for the production of art forged products can provide the output of gates and gates, fences and fences, iron furniture and fireplace accessories, exclusive lamps and benches, awnings and window grills, and much more.
Technology features
The production process in which art forging is performed has its own characteristics. First of all, it is distinguished by minimal costs for the purchase of equipment, which makes it possible to make affordable the price of finished products.
In addition, art forging, equipment for which in the form of a press, a hammer and a hydraulic apparatus is made independently, will pay off within a short period - from one week to a month. Such machines can be transported to another room if necessary.
Art forging, made by one’s own hands, does not require special skills and knowledge, because the development of a hammer, press and other necessary apparatuses cannot be called a complex process.
In essence, cold forging is a process in which a sufficiently thin sheet of metal undergoes bending. The material does not require preheating. The purchased rod is cleaned of rust with a metal brush, which is worn on the grinder. Next, the frame of the future product is assembled on any flat surface (table, workbench, etc.).
Corners are welded. Then, a future drawing is applied to asphalt or chipboard, its elements are measured, and a rod is cut by their size. In order to deform the workpieces, a special device is created, which consists of two studs welded to a flat surface at a distance of two to three centimeters from each other.
After that, the rods are bent with a hammer. In the process of manufacturing the product, the workpiece must be constantly compared with a stencil. The next step is the assembly, and after it - welding. Elements are laid out on a stencil so as to assemble the necessary pattern. Excess pieces of rods should be cut off. The product is welded first on one side and then on the other side.
Shutdown
The next step is to clean and weld the finished forging elements to the product, which are purchased in advance. Then the metal is covered with white soil and painted. To make the product more attractive, it can be aged and gilded, while it will practically not differ from that forged in the forge.
