17 replies to this topic

[don't tread on me]

In NE where could I buy coal or coke for my forge?

[Fe-Wood]

If you want to pay way to much ther is always this
http://cgi.ebay.com/...6#ht_500wt_1182

[pkrankow]

If you want to pay way to much ther is always this
http://cgi.ebay.com/...6#ht_500wt_1182

Delivered, $35 for 25#....There are other things to burn for less bought more local. Lump charcoal, corn, propane.
Phil

[DennisG]

Delivered, $35 for 25#....There are other things to burn for less bought more local. Lump charcoal, corn, propane.
Phil

Never heard of burning Phil, can you get it to weld temp?

[MattBower]

Phil's right. You don't need coal. Tonight I needed to knock out a couple quick forge welds and couldn't get to the shop, so I threw together a simple forge in my back yard from firebricks, with lump charcoal for fuel and a heat gun for a blower. Problem solved. Charcoal is excellent forge fuel. In fact I almost overdid it making one of the welds; the steel got just a tad sparkly.

But buying charcoal can get a little expensive; I suggest you learn how to make it. Free scrap wood is pretty easy to come by.

[son_of_bluegrass]

If there is a local blacksmithing club they may buy coal in bulk and sell it at cost or a little more to members. That is where I get my coal, from the club I belong to. My cost $150 / ton

When I don't have that on hand, I use charcoal I make for myself or I've gleaned from the woodburning stove.
ron

[pkrankow]

Never heard of burning Phil, can you get it to weld temp?

Burning Phil is when the unwise Phil forges in shorts on a beautiful spring day and gets hot scale in the top of his boots! Welding only occurs when the unwise Phil forgets that his neck is protected by neither his shirt nor his helmet and fires up the stick welder and does more than glue a few small pieces together with a couple of tack welds causing severe "sunburn" in a smiley shape around his collar.

Phil - not an efficient forge fuel.

[don't tread on me]

Thnks all, I didn't know that charcoal could reach forge welding temp.

[Rob Browne]

Charcoal can do it all. It was the fuel used for centuries before people learnt they could burn rocks - coal. Its very good but has to be handled differently to a coal fire.

Cheers

[MattBower]

Thnks all, I didn't know that charcoal could reach forge welding temp.

Real charcoal, though, not that briquette garbage.

[keithgartner]

If you would do us the common courtesy of letting us know where you are located, on your profile, I know one of us would know where you could buy "smithing coal".
So in which, part of Nebraska are you located?
Keith

[ThomasPowers]

Charcoal was the fuel of blacksmiths for about 2000 years before they started adding coal, (high-late middle ages); but charcoal continued to be used for smithing up until this very minute as you can pretty much make charcoal *anywhere* and good coal is hard to find/get.

So all the migration and viking era pattern welded blades were forgewelded in charcoal and japanese blades are *still* forge welded using charcoal by traditional makers.

Charcoal was used for smelting iron from ore up until the 1700's when Abraham Darby figured a way to use coke for smelting---but "charcoal iron" was considered superior and you can read 19th century blacksmithing references about using "swedish iron" or "charcoal iron" for items needing the highest quality materials.

Now we are not referring to that "modern" abomination called the Charcoal briquette which is engineered to have as little real charcoal in it as possible and to burn slowly for cooking. Shoot I'd rather make charcoal from cow patties and use that over briquettes!

[Rob Browne]

Ya know Thomas, depends where you live but cow pattie charcoal could work but, gee, you would be busy on the shovel to keep them up to the fire They sure would be light!!

[Dizzerak]

If you don't mean briquettes, what is the other type of charcoal, the original? I'm a bit confused on this subject as I've never heard of anything but briquette charcoal. I have searched for the answers for this, but they don't seem to be very forthcoming.

[pkrankow]

If you don't mean briquettes, what is the other type of charcoal, the original? I'm a bit confused on this subject as I've never heard of anything but briquette charcoal. I have searched for the answers for this, but they don't seem to be very forthcoming.

Lump charcoal, it is easiest to get at restaurant supply place. Gordon Food Service, GFS, stock lump charcoal year round. Cowboy brand is very common. The lumps are irregular, and rather lightweight compared to briquettes. It is natural charcoal that is broken and bagged without any further processing.

Making it is not too hard, but required fuel wood, space, and understanding neighbors.

Phil

[MattBower]

If you don't mean briquettes, what is the other type of charcoal, the original?

Charred wood, i.e., wood with all the volatiles burnt out in the absence of oxygen. It's light, hard, dry, black, makes a tinkling sound when the pieces rattle around -- and it looks like pieces of wood! It's mostly carbon with minimal impurities. You can get it at Lowes or Home Depot, although you'd be better off buying bulk from someplace like GFS, as Phil suggested. Here's a quick rundown on lump vs. briquettes.

[Tran]

Try this address http://www.artmetal....OC/COALCOKE.HTM

The site has 23 addresses.

[John B]

quote name='ThomasPowers' date='10 May 2010 - 05:22 PM' timestamp='1273508573' post='171032']
Charcoal was the fuel of blacksmiths for about 2000 years before they started adding coal, (high-late middle ages); but charcoal continued to be used for smithing up until this very minute as you can pretty much make charcoal *anywhere* and good coal is hard to find/get.

[/quote]

Slightly off topic, but charcoal was used for forging even before the iron age, (1200BC ish) Meteorites were being forged into tools used when mummifying Pharoahs.

I was fortunate enough to be asked to produce a replica of one for a student of Egyptology, from a Jupeterian meteorite (only had the chemical analysis to prove that, I could not find a Made on Jupiter mark anywhere on it, but then I don't recognise the language or writing from there), and the one being replicated had been dated as 4000 years old.

The guys daughter produced a short video of when I made it and it was on the web at one time under the title Forging the Bear.