Bacon

Buddy is great if you are nearby, but he is just a bit to far for me. Id also be on the look out for good bulk order but again its the shipping that kills you. Good thing I'll be back in Virginia soon, but Im not sure if I'll be able to find a place to work.

Welcome to the millea- old craft and discipline of blacksmithing.  Clinker is the metal/ceramic crud left by burning coal.  If you are in a hurry to learn the techniques and mysteries of the trade find a near-by quango of conspirators interested in undermining the last hundred years of technological progress.  You might also do a search of this site.  Read everything in the library about this craft so you can ask a question that can be answered.  This is basic.  Do your part.

I've got a book "A Blacksmithing Primer" and I have 4 more on the way "New Edge of the Anvil" "The Backyard Blacksmith" "Practical Blacksmithing and Metalworking" and "The complete Bladesmith".  I've also been trying to read through all the sites and forums. Somehow I missed a propper description of clinker and couldn't find it from my phone. Thanks for the welcome, I may come to the meetings one day if I get a chance..

I light my coke from the previous fire with a method I read here. I can't remember who posted it, or I'd credit them. I take three sheets of newspaper, wad one tightly into a ball, wrap the next tightly around that, and wrap the third tightly around the whole shebang. I light it, place it right on top of my air inlet, and SLOWLY add air, while holding it down (and together), with my rake. As the paper gets roaring, I scrape in all my surrounding coke, give it a few more seconds of air to make sure I haven't smothered it yet, then pile more on top. Then the rake holding down the ball can be removed. As the paper continues to burn, I press it and the coke down every twenty seconds or so, keeping things compact while it lights. It took me a few fires to get this method down, but it's really fast, I don't have to mess around with kindling, and it works well. Just my .02.

This is a great method, thanks for the tip. I'm definitely doing this from now on.

When all I have left is Coke from a previous burn I sometimes throw a bit of coal in about half into filling the firebox with coke.   Somehow this either helps there to be some flames or maybe it just allows you to see some smoke that let's you know that you are making progress.     Usually there is plenty of coal mixed in with the fused coal/coke chunks that this is not necessary.   here is a pic that might help

I think adding the coal for the smoke effect really helps, at least for me so I know its working. Thats a great picture, probably the most descriptive thing I've seen.

I ended up finding coal outside of bossier at Emerson Horseshoe Supply. http://emersonhorseshoe.net/
I only found them because Buddy (sells coal in south LA) referred me to them.
It was $34/50#s but that seems fair due to availability.

Wow thanks for all the great tips guys. I ended up using charcoal to light the coke.

So when the coal bubbles up it becomes coke. Should I crush the coke to normal size or leave it bulbous? I've been crushing it


Also george m, I love your signature

I've read a lot but just feel unsure right now, and I'm at the fire on my phone so I'm not searching the forums, sorry for that.

So clinker isn't the grey stuff that feels lighter and has lots of holes?

Hey guys, I found a coal supplier near me so I switched from charcoal to coal but I'm having a little trouble.

The first fire I lit when great with green coal, but now in trying to relight it as we speak and it won't take.

Could it be I have to much clinker? If I'm identifying it right I have tons even though I only ran the fire for an hour.

So my questions are:

How do I relight the fire?

How best to identify clinker?

And why do big lumps of coal congeal and get bubbly?

Thank you haha. Why are all you Louisiana Blacksmiths in south LA, come up to Shreveport so I can get some help haha

Haha that was quick, thanks

I'm currently using charcoal and it works well enough. How do I go about buying from Glen? I'm sure I'll find it once I look around but I'm on my phone

And I'd love to go down to the meet in Covington but I'm only in Louisiana till the 17th before I head to Virginia

Also could  I get any comments on this forge mock up I am doing



The dimensions are  24" long x 8" wide base (12" wide top) x 3" deep
The idea is that the circle hole will have a cover on it with small holes, thats where I will do most of my work. But when I need access to a long heat I can switch the airflow to the slots.

So comments? Suggestions?

And to give credit where credits is due, I got this shape and idea based off of Dan Brazzel, aka ModernBlacksmith

Hey there, I'm new to blacksmithing (started about three days ago)

I am in Shreveport Louisiana and was wondering if anyone know where I could get some coal. I can order it online for $20/50#'s but I was wondering if I could find a place I could drive too.
I am willing to drive a few hours and am looking to get a couple hundred pounds.

I saw some other posts from people in LA but they were in baton rouge and I don't plan on going that far, I've got smithing to do haha.

Well thanks for the help, I'll probably be needing lots of it as I go down this path