[TheForge] question regarding depth of charcoal forge

[Saint Phlip]

Umm, my charcoal isn't made from mesquite plants. Generally it's from
northern hardwoods.

On 7/11/07, Grant Marcoux <gblacksmith at alamedanet.net> wrote:
> 4" deep is good....you need to be able to maintain a proper neutral layer
> for good welding.  I have found that a 4" deep firepot is fine for charcoal
> fires in this regard as the air blast, properly managed, is far enough from
> the work piece to prevent oxidation.  Tis a great fuel for welding...I have
> gotten good results in shallow pots with it.
>
> I have also been told that charcoal is not an eco-friendly fuel; not because
> of the way it burns, but that the Mexican mesquite/chaparral plant community
> it is made from is basically forcibly uprooted in the desert environments it
> grows in by vehicles towing big plows/rakes of a sort.  It is said that many
> animals are displaced and killed by this harvest method.  I have not seen
> this first hand, but have been told of it by folks in a position to know.
>
> Maybe someone out there knows more about this than I do.  I would like to
> know the truth of the issue, as I have minimized my purchases of charcoal
> for this reason.
>
> Grant
>

-- 
Saint Phlip

Heat it up
Hit it hard
Repent as necessary.

Priorities:

It's the smith who makes the tools, not the tools which make the smith.

Blessed be the self-righteous, for they shall inherit themselves.