air in the fire

[IronPuppet]

I spent today, so far, building a new fire pot. So lets see what you think of this. I am still going to cut out the back of the rim for long stock.

I still have to replace the clay that chipped out while hammering things.

Thanks for the tip on the side draft units, guys. I have an idea of how I can make an insert to change it to a side draft.

Christopher

[irnsrgn]

little fire pot looks to be about 2 inches deep, and 4 or 5 inches by about 6 inches, another 3 inches above the edge is where the clay should be filled to, and the fire pot should be orientated with the long way running from front to back not side to side. Remember a large inside the wheel bonfire is gonna use a lot of air and not give off the heat in the center needed for smithing. A bright orange is a good working temp for most things, when it gets just red it's time to reheat, if it only gets to red to start with, its not worth the effort to try, after all it has to be at a plastic state to make it move well and efficiently. Unless you want to spend all day pounding cold iron and chance having it crack from working it to cold.

[IronPuppet]

Thank you so much for having patience with me. Here I thought I was going to build the perfect forge the first time, and now I understand that it's a learning device. I will take your advice and build up the edge and add to the fire pot to get it to the right height. You said the fire pot is small. Is it too small, I'm wondering. Well, I'm going to rebuild it again.

Maybe third time lucky.

Christopher

[JerryCarroll]

Where else can you find help like the above posting?? Thanks to irn and others this site is priceless.

[irnsrgn]

Christopher you don't need to rebuild again, just reorientate what you have a quarter turn, its about the right size for the bottom of a fire pot, and build the sides up with clay 3 inches at about a 20 degree angle and the ends or front and back at about a 30 to 35 degree angle to make it longer at the top. I imagine what you used for the sides is not very thick so will burn out if you don't cover the bottom and sides with at least a half inch of clay.

It's not so much a learning experience as understanding the subject before starting the project. Experience is a cruel teacher, it gives you the test first, then the lesson. once you get it right you gonna have to throttle your air down with a rheostat or you will blow the fire up outa the firepot, try a router speed control. from a woodworking supplier or sears etc.

[Glenn]

In order to speak from working knowledge rather than present an armchair argument, I got up out of the armchair and went outside and built a wheel forge.


Blueprint BP0462 Wheel Forge is the result.

The wheel forge took 45 minutes to build. After 25 minutes of burning only wood I had metal up to red heat. That is 1 hour and 10 minutes of investment. I can report that the forge does work, but my version needs improvements. See BP0462 for details and a solution for using wood as a fuel.


Blueprint BP0463 Wheel Forge 2 is an improved version based on coal as a fuel.

After construction and before the first fire was built the forge underwent modifications. I will need to build a fire in this forge to see how it heats but already there are a couple of additional modifications planned. No one ever said it had to be right the first time. You just have to have something to base the improvements on.

That is 2 forges built from automobile parts at little or no cost. From nothing, nada, zip, to red hot metal is just over an hour including the construction time for the forge. It can be done.

There is already a spin-off idea for yet another forge of a different design in the works. The search is now in progress for the parts.

[Daryl]

In Saskatchewan, we have an unusual method of obtaining coal. Find a Home Hardware store and ask them to order blacksmith coal... you WILL get that 'deer in the headlights' look. Have them phone the Head Office in Ontario and they will find out yes, you can get coal. It is somewhat pricey to buy, though.

[RegionalChaos]

Fig. 28 looks just like the forge I've just started using. Its fun

[Glenn]

Blueprint BP0463 has been updated. The fire pot was too small and had no volume in the fire ball. This is a learning experience and takes some time to arrive at a working design.



More details are posted on the Blueprint.

[IronPuppet]

That's super, Glen! Very informative. Thanks for taking the time to work that out.

Rain for three days now and it looks like more today. I need it to be dry outside before I resume experimentation.

Thanks, Daryl, for the tip on where to find coal in these parts. I'll do that.

I'm always learning.

Christopher