[TheForge] Forge Design.

Sat Apr 11 13:35:11 EDT 2015

Dave Thompson (here in Oregon) show me two beauties he built, both
forced-air IIRC,
with the burner underneath built into brick table on a heavy cart;
the roof of the forge is counterweighted on cables so it is VERY easy to
raise and lower it and bricks can easily be stacked around, or a broad
piece can be put across the whole hole :)  One is round and the other is
long for pickets.  I'm always impressed with Dave's creations!!

I have some pictures...

Ben

On Sat, Apr 11, 2015 at 9:41 AM, Peter Fels & Phoebe Palmer <
artgawk at thegrid.net> wrote:

> 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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