[TheForge] Lighting your forge on purpose.

[Tod Estes]

I use a half sheet of newspaper with a hand full of wood turnings in it A shovel
of green coal and light with a zippo. Small amount of air as it catches advance
as tolerated add other coal or coke.
Quoting dan at irontreeworks.com:

> I start some charcoal in the middle with kerosene or lighter fluid using a
> lighter. Kerosene doesn't go boom like gasoline.   Once it is lit, I crank
> the
> blower a bit and then push the coal toward the center. viola
>
> Dan
>
>  and Quoting Jerry Frost <frosty at customcpu.com>:
>
> > It's been quite a while since a thread about lighting
> > your coal forge ran on the list. I'll kick it off with
> > my favorite method.
> >
> > I cut or tear a strip of cardboard about 1 1/2-2" wide
> > a foot or so long and roll it tightly. Then I place it
> > over the center of my air grate and allow it to spring
> > open a little. Ideally the gaps and cardboard are about
> > the same. I make a crater shaped mound of coal around
> > the coil to hold it in place then pile smallish chunks
> > on the coil. These need to be coarse enough air can
> > pass through them but I pile fines on the outside of
> > the mound to contain the air.
> >
> > Once I have it laid I drop 2-3 lit wooden matches into
> > the coil while giving it a real gentle blast, just
> > enough to keep the matches going but not blow them out.
> > This is, believe it or not, the trickiest part of the
> > whole process and a few drops of lighter fluid (scout
> > water <grin>) are an easy cure. As the cardboard coil
> > starts to burn I cover it completely in coarse 3/4" +/-
> > coal and increase the blast. Once the coal starts to
> > take I cover it with fines and give it the air.
> >
> > It takes longer to describe the technique than it takes
> > to start the fire.
> >
> > To get the fire ready for forging is a different matter
> > of course and depends entirely on personal preference
> > and what you're going to be doing.
> >
> > My like to coke up the day's coal in the morning rather
> > than have the smoke and flame with me all day.
> >
> > Frosty
> > -------------------------------
> > If it ain't forged
> > it ain't real.
> > Wrought iron is.
> > The FrostWorks
> >
> > Meadow Lakes, AK.
> >
> > http://www.artmetalradio.com/
> >
> > From: <dann at wctatel.net>
> >
> >
> >
> > >
> > > Bob,
> > >
> > > Sounds fishy to me.  Wet coal, or dry coal, it is
> > > takes both heat and air
> > > to get it to burn.  That is the most frustrating part
> > > of working a coal
> > > forge.   My hats off to those who usually get the
> > > forge fire started with
> > > a single sheet of crumpled newspaper.  More than
> > > once, I resorted to a
> > > handful of match light brick-ets nested in forge
> > > when I needed the coal
> > > forge working without a big loss of time or
> > > embarassment.
> > >
> > > Wet hay can spontaneously combust because it gets a
> > > mold kind of reaction
> > > going that eventually heats the and dries the core
> > > enough to ignite.  I
> > > wouldn't be surprised to learn that the mold decomp
> > > process might even
> > > produce some combustable gasses.
> > >
> > > With coal,  the cellulose -  to - carbon change
> > > occured millions of years
> > > ago.
> > >
> > > Dann
> > >
> >
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Tod Estes

People do not care about how much you know
until they know about how much you care.