[TheForge] Frustratin first attempt

[Bob Rackers]

Sometimes the problem is the coal itself.
I've found that every type of coal takes a little different technique.
If it cokes together really well into a solid mass, then usually less water is
required. If it doesn't coke together on its own, water seems to help.
Not too much, but enough to kill the yellow smoke and create steam.
Larger coal chunks, say 1" diameter or larger, has a hard time coking together
as well as dime-sized chunks.
Coal that cokes together really well, like Pocahontas #3, is the opposite
problem.
If you let it coke together too solidly, you'll sometimes nearly destroy the
fire trying to break off chunks to feed the center of the fire.

You want to feed coal on the outside of the coke wall, and as the fire grows
hollow, use a combination of breaking coke off the sides to feed the center and
pushing both walls in toward the center of the fire. You then add coal on the
outside of the coke walls to fill in the space where the wall was originally.

If this doesn't make sense, let me know and I'll try explaining it better.

Don't get too frustrated.
Every time I try a new type of coal it takes a good day before I really get a
handle on the best way to manage it.

The first question to ask is are you using good blacksmithing coal, or some
other type of coal, such as stoker coal.

All the best,

Bob

-----Original Message-----
From: theforge-admin@mailman.qth.net
[mailto:theforge-admin@mailman.qth.net]On Behalf Of WinnonaD
Sent: Saturday, July 26, 2003 5:52 PM
To: Blacksmith's I-Forge
Subject: [TheForge] Frustratin first attempt


I hate ta break up this fist fight over $%&$%#%@
swearin with smithin talk, but I'z gonna anyway.....

Whal, I guess I gotta find me a local smith who knows
what he's doin �n' learn how ta build �n' manage a
coal fire!

Had a chance taday ta try out me new/old rivet forge
�n' it didn't go so good :-(

I posted up here awhile back that I knew how to LIGHT
a coal fire but didn't know how to BUILD a smithin
fire - hell, I been runnin steam engines since I waz a
wee slip of a girl �n' kin light up a steamer with one
paper match, a bit of kindlin, �n' have a 4x8 foot
fire 6" deep in an hour!

Anyway, I waz hopin some folks'd give me some pointers
on how to start with an empty rivet forge, a pail full
of 3/4" to 2" hard coal �n' end up with a useable
smithin fire. (In all fairness, I did get one PM where
the feller understood the difference between "lighting
a fire" and "building a fire".) On the Mailing List,
there waz a gadzillion posts about how to START a fire
�n' not a single one on how to "lay-up" or construct a
fire when you're startin with a empty pan.

Anyhow, since it cooled off a bit taday �n' the lathe
waz doin 45 minute passes on the cannon barrel, I
figgered it waz time Calamity Jane tried �er hand at
blacksmithin. I dug out me last washtub full o'
"Pennsylvania Hard"'n' laid in about 4" in the pan,
made a little hole over the tuyere �n' lit �er up
(paper �n' a couppla sticks).

It started out not too bad - nice little round fire
�round the tuyere. Kind o' dug a trench inta the fire
�cause the first task waz ta put a little spiral on
the end of a piece of 1/2" square. Didn't take long ta
get ta dull red but there weren't much coke yet, so it
didn't get much hotter. Wazn't much I could do to pack
(or tighten up) the fire �cause all I got is larger
chunks.

Then I notice the fire's tryin ta spread out along the
bottom of the pan. Don't need a whole pan full o'
fire, burnin up me nice coal to make waste heat, so I
take me little squirt bottle (like fer waterin plants)
�n' rein it in.

Now every time I try movin coal toward the tuyere ta
keep me fire tight, the whole blessed thang falls
apart! Chunks of green coal fall in �n' the good stuff
at the bottom gets buried - GRRRRRR!

Guess maybe I gonna haffta get meself some fire bricks
�n' make a fire pot with �em ta stop the fire from
spreading out under the coal bed - watering seemed to
cool the whole fire too much. Maybe I waz tryin ta run
too small a fire (about 8" diameter).

Figger I probably also need ta break up me coal into
smaller chunks - gotta find a way ta do that without
makin a holy mess!

What else am I doin wrong (other than using coal
instead of gas) ????

OK, ya kin go back ta talkin 'bout "BS" agin....

Calamity (who's too damned stubborn ta give up) Jane