Show me your forge (solid fuel)

[Glenn]

Show me your solid fuel forge. Doesn't matter whether it is home made or store bought, coal, coke, charcoal or other solid fuels. Please give us a little information on the construction.

[Glenn]

This forge was constructed from 10 ga plate steel, angle iron legs and a cast iron fire pot. The fire pot was about 8 inches by 11 inches and 5 inches deep.

[Mark Parkinson]

made for re-enactments

build photos on my website at forgecart

and my every day "mobile" forge

[imagedude]

Mine's made from 6mm (1/4") steel. The air is blown through a 8mm (3/8") stainless steel plate though mild steel would be perfectly acceptable. The fan is a 270cfm blower that was once used to cool the laser on a printing machine.

[Frosty]

This is a pic of my large coal forge. The angle is a little odd but I wanted to show the ash dump which is a truck exhaust cap. The tuyere is welded up from 4" exhaust pipe.

The table is 3' x 3' fire brick on 12ga sheet, angle iron frame. No fire pot, I like a duck's nest and fire brick stacked to make whatever size or shape "pot" I need. The big hood is only marginally effective, I made it years before I knew what would work. When I move it into the new shop it'll get a side draft hood.

I also have a cast iron Buffalo rivet forge and hand crank blower but no pics.

Frosty

[skunkriv]

This is my shop forge. 1/4" plate, angle iron legs and a Roger Lorance cast iron firepot. The hood is roughly the same size, shape, and color of a 100 lb propane tank

The air from the blower (which is on the other side of the wall, less noise) is piped through 3" pipe to a box with a butterfly valve in it. Air exiting the box flows either to the tuyere or to a 3" pipe that is inside the hood. This pipe ends just below the chimney pipe. The air flowing through this pipe induces draft into the chimney (venturi effect) and so it draws really well even though there is only about 9 feet of vertical pipe, including the hood. When the air to the tuyere is totally cut off (and the fire is just smoldering) all of the air goes to induce the draft. Works great.

Edit-Ash buckets fill and then overflow. There are 8" dams on three sides welded to the legs. Ashes dump on the floor. When this area gets full I get a flat shovel and a wheelbarrow.

[irnsrgn]

My first demo forge, set up in the ballroom of the hilton Inn in Sioux City, Iowa for the 100th National Blacksmiths Convention.

[HWooldridge]

Buffalo factory forge with large rectangular firepot - I added the tong rack. Used to have a factory half hood but that rotted away in a few years. I bought it practically unused from a man who had obtained it through government surplus. Apparently, the local military bases had scores of forges from WW2 that were sold off in the 1970's. The motor was 220v and he had it wired 110v. Since it would not come up to speed at that voltage, he simply set it in the corner until I found it in 1987. The factory rheostat and motor will create a great fire on the lowest setting with the damper barely cracked - I believe these blowers were designed to run several forges at the higher settings so it has no trouble with a single firepot.

[KevinD]

Here I am rescuing my grandfathers coal forge.

See more pictures here...Excavation and Restoration

[jimbob]

my coal forges