SandHuf Posted January 16, 2017 Author Share Posted January 16, 2017 Ok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SReynolds Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 Champion 145-18 Used in my blacksmithing class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adun Clebr Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 25 minutes ago, SReynolds said: Champion 145-18..Used in my blacksmithing class.... (etc) Thank you for posting all the information & the advertisements/pamphlets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandHuf Posted January 17, 2017 Author Share Posted January 17, 2017 Yup that's what I've got. Yours looks great. I'll be repainting it today, I'll post pictures later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adun Clebr Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 I'd save the paint money & use it to buy some fuel for a fire...Use the forge a little, if you know what I mean; you may decide it looks great as it sits now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandHuf Posted January 18, 2017 Author Share Posted January 18, 2017 Alright here it is after painting. All I have to paint is the legs. And add another coat of paint on the blower. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandHuf Posted January 20, 2017 Author Share Posted January 20, 2017 On 1/17/2017 at 0:26 PM, SReynolds said: Champion 145-18 I got a question for you on your forge since it's pretty much the same one as mine. So I fired mine up tonight for the first time and I had a hard time keeping up a good flame. I had the pan filled with coal about halfway. Do you fill yours up to the rim and is there any techniques I should know about using this forge? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SReynolds Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 I do fill it full. As in; full. So I have depth to the fire. It moves so much air, the blast is incredibly easy to hear. Thus the air moving into the fire is unimpeded. The air pipe has no restrictions. The bottom of the tuyere has a tight clean-out flap. The holes in the tuyere plate must be kept clear. They plug with clinker as the coal ( coke obviously) is consumed. You need quality coal (intended for smithing) and a fire tool to poke through the holes and clear them when the blast weakens. If the holes are too small, they plug quicker. If the coal is low quality (not intended for smithing) they plug quicker. These are small forges and are not best for all around smithing. They are intended to heat short rounds known as rivets. Yes, they can he used to make horse shoes and decorative items etc. But remember; no fire pot. You must heap the COKE up high in the center and surround that with a deposit of green coal to retain the coke in a heap. keep the green coal at bay where you slide the work into the mound of burning coke as well as opposite of that if the work must PASS THROUGH the fire like a three foot long fire poker etc. You cannot have green coal touching the workpiece. It makes a mess of coal tar sticking onto it. Not ideal. But doable if you can work with the idiosyncrasies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SReynolds Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Turley Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 I attended horseshoeing school in Corvallis, Oregon, in 1964 (no longer in existence). All of our coal forges had bottom blast firepots of cast iron. The surrounding hearths were covered with a strong mix of concrete to a varying depth of 1 to 1.5 inches. The mix I use in my forges is one part Portland cement to three parts sand. The concrete goes level to the top flange lip of the firepot. The old catalogs called firepots "tuyere irons." I have not used a pressed steel rivet forge but if I had one, I would probably replace the tuyere hole arrangement with a plate with a slot cut in it, maybe 1/2" x 1 1/4", no round holes. The round holes clinker up too much. I think it would be possible to create a firepot of fire brick surrounding the tuyere plate and then loading up the pan/hearth with concrete level with the top of the bricks. These little round forges were called rivet forges because they were easily portable in the old days and taken to construction sites. The iron or steel frames of the buildings were hot riveted together instead of using the modern day nuts and bolts. The rivets were heated and thrown, hopefully with accuracy, to the rivet men who caught them in a funnel-like tool and quickly placed them in the proper hole(s), They were then bucked and headed. I Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandHuf Posted January 21, 2017 Author Share Posted January 21, 2017 5 hours ago, SReynolds said: The holes in the tuyere plate must be kept clear. They plug with clinker as the coal ( coke obviously) is consumed. If the holes are too small, they plug quicker. Would you recommend that I replace the current tuyere plate with something like yours so it's sort of concave and with bigger holes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandHuf Posted January 21, 2017 Author Share Posted January 21, 2017 Ok so I had a small stroke of genius. I was thinking if there was a possibility that I could make a firepot of some sort. As I was looking at a pile of broken cinder blocks I thought to myself,"perfect!" So I stacked them up and thought I could put some mortor in between the pieces. Here it is without the mortor because I want your opinions on wether this could work before I make it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 got any creek clay you could mix with sand and wood ashes and apply to the forge bed leaving a trough from side to side across the tuyere and mounded to the sides? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandHuf Posted January 21, 2017 Author Share Posted January 21, 2017 Yea, I have clay. What do you mean by a trough? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 a narrow channel, gutter, or gulley allows you to place long items across the hot spot and out the other side while not spilling the coals to the side. For charcoal I prefer a U trough and for coal a V Either sized for your work of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandHuf Posted January 21, 2017 Author Share Posted January 21, 2017 how would that work with the air flow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Coke Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 Greetings Huff, If you want your forge to work better for you just add a small old brake drum to contain the coal.. You have a tin pan and it does not require clay.. Just an old boys suggestion that has lots of small forges.. By the way no cinder block they collect moisture and explode. Forge on and make beautiful things Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 Sander Huff, this is what my rivet forge looks like with the clay. You will notice that, like Frank Turley recommends*, it's filled all the way to the rim, leaving a bowl in the middle about 2" deep and 8" in diameter. If you look at the fire diagram that SReynolds posted above, this is where the bottom of the fireball goes. I've also added a flat wooden rim on three sides, which helps keep coal from spilling over the edge. When I get around to building my JABOD forge, it will probably be a little bigger than this square. *Pro tip: when in doubt, ask yourself WWFTD? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandHuf Posted January 21, 2017 Author Share Posted January 21, 2017 So should I put clay in it or the mixture of clay, sand, and wood ash? And is yours made of cast iron? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 Mine is a mix of clay soil, sand, ash, dirt, and probably some bits of clinker and coal dust. (One of the nice things about clay is that you can dig it out, grind it up, and do it over; this is about the fourth iteration of claying this particular forge.) Mix it with just barely enough water to make it slightly damp, but still crumbly. Pack it down hard and let it dry. If you use too much water, the clay will shrink and crack. You don't want that. You could also follow Jim Coke's suggestion to use a small brake drum, which would give you a firepot about the same size. Just fill in the rest of the dead space between the rim of the drum and the rim of the forge with dirt & ash. FYI, my forge is cast iron, but I don't clay it to protect the metal; I clay it to create a more effective firepot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 22, 2017 Share Posted January 22, 2017 As nothing is over the part air comes out of it doesn't do anything to the airflow besides angling it up a bit. What you should do is to experiment and figure out what works best for what YOU want to do the way YOU do it and with the materials YOU have to hand. We're trying to make suggestions of ways that are both cheap, commonly available and easy to work. THERE IS NO ONE BEST WAY TO DO IT! You replace the tires on your cars; expect to replace things on your forge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted January 22, 2017 Share Posted January 22, 2017 5 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said: You replace the tires on your cars; expect to replace things on your forge. Just don't make a forge out of a tire. That would be bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted January 22, 2017 Share Posted January 22, 2017 By the way, I've gotten 2" round up to forging temperatures in mine (and burned 1-1/8") and could probably do bigger stock if I had to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandHuf Posted January 22, 2017 Author Share Posted January 22, 2017 Doesn't surprise me, I fired mine up today for the second time and it went a lot better than the first time. I tried my cinder block idea and it worked. I was able to make a hook out of 1/4" threaded stock. But I think for next time I'm just going to fill the entire pan with coal and do fire management with water. And uh, just to be clear, does coke weigh less than coal? If so, should I just buy coke next time instead of coal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SReynolds Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 Much less. Hense the trouble of coke ovens prior to shipping via rail. I would never control a steel or iron forge fire with water as it can damage the forge not to mention it produces sulfuric acid. But it is yours and you are welcome to forge anyway you like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.