[TheForge] Forge Design.

Peter Fels & Phoebe Palmer artgawk at thegrid.net
Sat Apr 11 12:41:31 EDT 2015 

Jim; fire bricks are rated by temperature and vary re how much heat they will take.

On Apr 11, 2015, at 6:54 AM, James R. Davis <jimbob785 at hotmail.com> wrote:

you guys talking about using fire bricks ...this time of the year at Tractor supply they sell the stove fire bricks that are only 1 inch thick ...I picked up 1/2 dozen or so of the as they good to stack around the fire when you don't need the full two inch or so ...

Jim Davis


> Date: Fri, 10 Apr 2015 20:56:10 -0400
> From: blcksmth at wcnet.org
> To: theforge at mailman.qth.net
> Subject: Re: [TheForge] Forge Design.
> 
>     My forge has a fire brick surface above a S.O.F.A fire pot. The 
> fire bricks are aligned with the smith facing the narrow ends.
> One row of fire bricks directly in front of and in back of the fire pot 
> were left out. This provide for a deeper fire but you can still
> lay the iron on the top of the fire pot but below the top of the fire 
> brick thus well into the middle of the fire.
> 
> Bob Willman
> The Eagle’s Anvil
> Bowling Green, Ohio
> WB8NQW
> 
> And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when
> we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the
> minds of the people that these liberties are of the gift of God?
> That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed I
> tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His
> justice cannot sleep forever.
> 
> Thomas Jefferson
> 
> On 4/10/2015 8:40 PM, CGRAF wrote:
>> I agree the charcoal is plenty hot. Like I said it just might require 
>> a re acquaintance with part of the learning curve. My tuyere is about 
>> 8 inches across and five deep. Piled over the top I get a nice dome of 
>> very intense heat great for spot heating the middle of things and just 
>> the area that I am working.  To get the same intensity I needed to add 
>> the 2.5 inches provided by the firebrick corral around the tuyere. 
>> This of course made it harder to stick things through the fire  rather 
>> that on top of it.
>> 
>> How deep is the fire on the brake drum forge? I am probably the only 
>> one here who has never owned one <G>
>> 
>> Mike Graf
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> On 4/10/2015 5:52 PM, Saint Phlip wrote:
>>> Not sure what modification you'd need to your coal forge to get the heat
>>> you want. My charcoal forge started as a coal brake drum forge, and, 
>>> when I
>>> realized I was using charcoal to get the coal/coke lit, decided to 
>>> switch
>>> to entirely charcoal. I've never looked back- smells nicer, is more 
>>> period
>>> appropriate, and my coffee tastes better ;-) However, if you're using
>>> briquets, they don't seem to produce as much heat as lump charcoal does,
>>> AND they have additional chemicals to form the trash wood into 
>>> briquets. I
>>> have taught forge welding quite easily on my forge, not to mention I 
>>> burn
>>> up the little useless bits of leftover steel in it, rather than have 
>>> them
>>> lying around, so the heat is definitely there. Maybe you need more air?
>>> 
>>> On Fri, Apr 10, 2015 at 12:08 PM, CGRAF <adveniam at att.net> wrote:
>>> 
>>>> I have tried the charcoal , to switch would involve a pretty big
>>>> modification to my coal forge in order to get enough depth and still 
>>>> keep
>>>> the fire at the right working height.
>>>> Charcoal worked just fine when I built a firebrick rim around me 
>>>> tuyere.
>>>> There was just not enough Btu's available from the charcoal with the
>>>> shallower coal fire setup. At least not for my tastes. Perhaps I 
>>>> would just
>>>> need to revisit part of the learning curve.
>>>> 
>>>> You are right about the coke. When I am up and running the coal fire is
>>>> primarily coke and the coal at the edges isn't all that bad as it 
>>>> converts.
>>>> 
>>>> I am sitting on a fair stockpile of coal at the moment , but am
>>>> contemplating  a change over as I run out.
>>>> 
>>>> Mike Graf
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> On 4/10/2015 10:38 AM, Ron Childers wrote:
>>>> 
>>>>> Charcoal or coke takes care of the odor problem
>>>>> 
>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>> From: TheForge [mailto:theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of
>>>>> CGRAF
>>>>> Sent: Friday, April 10, 2015 11:01 AM
>>>>> To: Blacksmithing List Sponsored by ABANA
>>>>> Subject: [TheForge] Forge Design.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Most of us have used , or are using, Coal and gas fired forges.
>>>>> I am frustrated by the limitations of each.
>>>>> 
>>>>> The coal has the whole irritating the neighbors with the odor issue.
>>>>> 
>>>>> The gas forges have problems putting the heat exactly where I want it
>>>>> heating up to large an area or limiting the forms I can make and still
>>>>> insert the piece into the forge.
>>>>> 
>>>>> I have been playing with forges built to purpose out of just a 
>>>>> loose pile
>>>>> of firebrick. This allows me to modify fire shape and area pretty 
>>>>> much on
>>>>> the fly. It is a bit more trouble than changing the shape, size and
>>>>> intensity of a coal fire but not much more.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Anybody else out there have any thing that you have tried to address
>>>>> these or other issues with differing fuels and forge designs?
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> Mike Graf
>>>>> 
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