Solid Fuel Forges

hey guys I built my forge with 1" piping for the air supply...it seems to do ok but am i missing out? Should I have gone with the 2"?

Hi I wonder if anyone here could direct me in finding documentation on a unmarked forge with a well marked blower seemingly made for it. http://tinypic.com/r/j5e8ue/4 the makings it has are http://tinypic.com/r/9rnd3m/4 The fan Has large words LANCASTER on one side, as well as "Champion Geared Forge Lancaster PA" elsewhere "Lancaster geared blower #40" on the underside of the hood there are letter number combo of F0212 (890) !!!where the last 3 can barely be made out so I don't know if thats what they are!!! Just wondering if anyone would know its history. A advertisement would be awesome. Thanks in advance for your help.

Any and all info on em' post it here

I am currently talking with the folks at Teck Coal. They have 2 mines in the southern rockies on the B.C. side in Canada that produce met and thermal coal. Their coal has about a 9.5% ash, but the sulfur is close to less than 1% and above 14,000 Calorific Value in BTU's. The size of the coal will typically be minus 2 inch mesh and smaller and have fines. The price they sell to their over seas customers is $165 USD per metric tonne. The person I am talking to is going to see what can be done for a smaller amount, 1/2 ton truck or 45gal drums. Mind you, they usually only sell in the rail car load size. Is the price even in USD good compared to what ppl pay in th…

A thought occured to me. I see lots of ads in the local paper for free horse manure. We used to have horses, so neither my wife or I find the smell of horse manure unpleasant. I used the search feature on the forum and could not find any discussion on use of dried horse manure for fuel. Does anyone know how horse manure, both with and without sawdust mixed in compares to charcoal and/or coal for energy output? I would be very interested in numbers for comparative information on the calorie output of: - coal - charcoal - straight horse manure (assuming timothy grass fed with grain supplement) - horse manure mixed with sawdust - straight cow manure, grass fed …

OK I am looking for a coal forge cast. I have plans to build one from 1/2 to 3/4 by 6 or 8 inch wide hoy roll. Buy the time I Buy the material, cut, drill tap assemble. I would have more than the cost of just buying a cast fire box. SO who has a cast fire pot for sale. What companys still make and sell cast fire pots. Thanks. With a roof on my new building and a tire hammer almost built I want to get out of my rivet forge and into a full size unit asap. RalphAndrewKessler Georgia rakessler

Hi to All... I just now joined this group because I've recently made a small forge out of some old Chevy Suburban Brake Drums. I've tried only Mesquite Wood Chips & Twigs as fuel so far; and found that I can heat 1/2" rebar hot enough to bend into a circle by hand only. I've tried spraying old engine oil, cooking oil, and old diesel onto the fire to attain higher temps; but am still working on an automatic spray mechanism to get this done at a later date. From what I've read, it'll make lots of difference. As is, I can melt about 100 beer & soda cans in about 20 minutes, or as fast as I can throw them into the top inlet. I can also melt glass in abou…

Yep, it's made from the body of a lawnmover, the leg part of a school desk, two empty cans of paint, the grating of a stove, defa car preheater (as the blower), a switch for the blower, some nuts and bolts and some mortar. Except the mortar and the switch, everything else was various junk that me and my brother found lying around our dad's yard. And guess what, it summed out to a working forge. All that was needed to make it was some serious improvisation:) It may not be pretty but I am very proud of it. Me and my brother tested it today and it exceeded our expectations. We were really surprised how well the blower system turned out. Ok, enough said. Below are some pict…

Hi guys and gals!! I'm still very new to 'smithing, and seeing as there are very few bottom-blast forges available over here in the UK, I've sourced a small side blast forge (made by Glendale) with a hand cranked blower. I've just spent the whole afternoon trying to get the fire going on this little forge. I'm using coke, and have used small pieces of wood (kindling) and paper/cardboard to get the thing going, after which, I've placed coke over the burning wood with the intention of igniting the coke. I've had limited success, although I have managed to light some of the coke, but it seems to die off pretty quickly, whether I use the blower or not. Can anyone give me…

I have officially had the first firing of my new coal forge. Things went well even though I jumped into it before I was fully ready. I don't have a sprinkling can yet so I used a sports bottle and the blower is kinda scabbed together. It's a constant speed blower with a flap of box tape over the opening to control draft. So I burned a bit more coal than I could have but the results were satisfactory. I started a new project with it and I think my first real forge weld in a coal forge was decent. Since we can't upload pics right now here they are. http://home.mchsi.com/~stcarol/ff12009.JPG http://home.mchsi.com/~stcarol/ff22009.JPG http://home.mchsi.com/~stcarol/f…

Awhile ago I bought a Champion forge. The pan is 2feet by 3feet and weighs a ton. My question is do I need to line this one?

Hello all i HAVE FINALLY OUT GROwND my rivet forge, so I have started to chase a Good Thick Rectangurare ... Are there non to be had... have they just gone passea, or am I looking for the impossible..... Any and all infomatiom is great fully appreciated..... Help please. Tired broke on SSDI please RAKESSLER 770 214 1951

Hello, This is simply me thinking based on observations while forging. I have a gas forge, and do a lot of knifemaking and damascus in it. Of course, oxidation is problem no matter what you are using for a fuel source. So to help cut down on oxidation in the gasser, I throw a few pieces of coal and charcoal in the back of the forge to help eat of the oxygen, and help create a neutral environment. Sometimes I have accidentally thrown a little bit more solid fuel in than I had wanted. I have noticed that at those times, the forge has started to burn higher, and I can lower the PSI by like one pound or so. So now my question is, does or would it make sense to …

:confused:I have recently gotten my grandfathers blower ( he made his own forge and hood) It has been modified in in the stand and the handle but i have not found out what model it is. it looks different than the chanpion 400. the date is april 15 1902 then below that is june 11 and july xx 1901. the patient numbers (it has 5) do not match any i have tried. any answers for a computer dummy

Any thoughts or experience on using lime rock as a forge lining? May be a stupid question I dunno. Just a random thought, and I cant seem to find any info on how it reacts to heat. Edit: never mind stupid question. http://www.teichert.com/documents/public/MSDS%20Limestone.pdf "Decomposes at 530

About 2 years ago I bought the Lively's knife making video, and ever since I wanted to try making one of their little forges, so yesterday and today I put one together, nothin special, but it works, I did some forging on it and learned a few things that need to change, but for about 4 hours, not including drying the refractory cement, not bad! oh yeah, I used charcoal for it, works pretty good!!

I'm trying to make my first coal forge, and I don't have access to welding equipment (or the skill to use it, if I did). I feel confident I could manage some decent forge welds, if I had a forge, but that's not useful to me yet. Instead of a brake drum, I'm considering using this torque converter I parted with five bucks for at a junkyard. It already has a little pipe sticking out of the bottom, which could easily be made into the attachment point for a ghetto tuyere. All the little holes and the slight dip in the bottom will be filled with a thin layer of refractory cement to bring it into a bowl shape. Dimensions, in case you can't tell from the picture, are 12.5…

I know this thing is going to be a far cry from perfect but I hope it works. I plan to try the kitty-litter lining. Now I need to make a blower or bellows for it. It looks rough but I have a $0.00 investment in it so far. I set it on that 1/4 drum just to set it down. It fits perfect and I'm debating just using that for the stand.

I built this forge and have been waiting for a hand cranked cannedy otto blower purchased off ebay. I wanted to take pictures of it in action because the side draft hood works great, but the electric blower i got from craigs list died a day after i got it! I have a Roger Lorance firepot. I got to use it for a full day, and i like it way better than my gasser. Just some thing about working the fire that really gives me satisfaction. I stole an idea from Brian Brazeal and made an adjustable arm on the front of the forge for supporting large work pieces at different angles. I should have my blower this weekend, and i will post some pics of it in action.http://www.iforg…

being new here i have a problem. i've been looking for 2" pipe to build a tire rim forge with 2" black pipe under the rim for my blower to hook up to. lowes and home depot only have 2" galvanized pipe. the best value hardware store has the same thing. is there something else i can use ? thanks henry

So, I have come across a decent supply of free metallurgical coke. I believe that is what it is after a little research and picture comparisons. After a 4hr session I was left with about 1/2 cubic inch or a bit less of clinker. I had read in an older thread where Brian Brazeal had commented on his use of oil coke and how it ate through his firepots, but 250$ a year was a good trade off for free fuel. I agree with this and imagine I would not burn through pots like he had but was curious if there was anything I could do to help prolong the life of my firepot. Something alongs the lines of a clay lining to subdue the intense heat at the bottom of it. I am using an o…

Hi, I'm Kazuma. I am very new to blackmsithing and with the extra spear time I have now due to the American economy, I want something to keep me occupied. I just started researching forges and blacksmithing hence how I came to this site and I am wanting to build my own forge and have no idea really how to do it, I have seen some sites but I would really like to get professional advice to make sure I get it right. Thanks for any help I am given.

Finally got it done. Been busy getting the house ready for winter. Priorities you know. Made from a break drum, 1/8" floor plate and 20 gauge 2 x 4 studs. Very sturdy and easy to break down for transport or moving. 2' x 2' hearth. I'm using a hair dryer for air blast. I went to hook it up and get a fire going and work on somethings and as soon as I turned on the hair dryer. I got the dreaded blue smoke. Dead hair dryer. Oh well.

oh well it tried

Hi, im new to this site, and i'm gonna be building my own coke burning forge. i would like to know if anyone got and working/techincal drawings on building forges, packet drawing are good too. what i would like to build is a water cooled tue and back bosch as a single unit to bolt onto the back of a forge. How many cubic feet per minuites of air do i need to displace to get up to welding temp? whats the best compressor for this? and what materials and material thickness's of pipe are best for a side blowing tue? just about everything anyones got on the subject. any help will be greatly recieved thanks