Reoryx

Hi, its been a while since I've posted on here but for what it's worth I built a over-head hood type forge and still use it. My set-up is a little different - I used an old furnace blower to create a forced draw. There are pics in my gallery showing most of the detail. The hood unit is adjustable up and down - I have it about 16" off of the forge most of the time; it's really only up higher when I'm cleaning out the firepot. Having said that the next forge I build will be a sidedraft. Irnsrgn had a blueprint on here a while back that showed how effective even an 8" stove pipe sidedraft was. Maybe Glenn or Andrew can direct you to it. Hope this helps. Jason

Thanks for the replies.

Well my forge blower packed it in today. It's seems to have reached the end of it's second life (It was originally from a clothes dryer). Since I'm now in the market for a replacement I was wondering if anyone had any experience with the 164 CFM model that Kayne and Sons sells (see link below). I'd like to get something that will last for a while. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks. Jason Blacksmiths Depot | 164 CFM Blower

Hey guys, Not sure if this has been posted before but here's a link to some free pdf versions of blacksmith books. I had a quick look and there seems to be some really good stuff here. Craft publications Enjoy Jason Edit: These threads have been combined to place all the information in one place for easy access Site Admin

Hello guys, The little box on my screen says it's been too long since I posted - so I thought I'd start a new thread. I once saw a reference to "Blacksmith stew"; I did a quick search in Vulcan's grill but didn't see anything so I thought I'd ask for recipes. Jason

Heavy Hammer, You could go with a forced draw system and dump the forge exhaust straight out the window. I'm using an old furnace motor connected to my exhaust hood. The motor sits on a bracket in the window opening and is connected to the hood with standard stove pipe. The furnace unit pulls air from the hood on one side and from the room on the other. The output duct is combined from both sides mixing the two and cooling the forge exhaust. It's very efficient and there is zero smoke in the shop. There's a pic in my user gallery on this site if you're interested. Hope this helps. Jason

Thanks for the feedback guys, I figured that's what it was that happened but I wasn't sure and I didn't think it would be anywhere near that dramatic. The shop is only 9 x 20 so when it went off I nearly launched myself through the wall. LOL - It would have saved me putting in a window. Jason

So last Saturday I'm merrily forging away in the shop. I'd finished for the day and though I'd make a little extra coke for my next fire. I put some green coal on like normal and watered it down a little, set the blast on low and sat down to think, when I got up and killed the blast there was an unbelievably loud bang and a white/blue flash. The concussion made my ears ring for about 10 minutes. ----- I think I remember reading about this somewhere but can't remember what the cause is. Any input will be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Jason

Hey Andreas, welcome to the site. I'm a new member too and a fellow Canadian (oakville). There's loads of excellent information on here and some truly helpfull people. Enjoy. Jason

I must admit that I really wasn't expecting such a flurry of responses; you've certainly given me some very useful information both for immediate use and for future consideration. Thanks for all the responses.

Hey Chris, The sparks didn't seem to be a problem; I didn't see any outside the shop and the blower parts are all steel. In addition the other side of the blower was left open so it's drawing ambient air from the room and mixing with the forge exhaust on the output side of the blower. Hope that explains things a bit better. Jason

Hey Chris, Just thought I post the attached pic. I'm in an old barn as well and for various reasons can't use a standard exhaust stack. This is my forced draw system; it uses an old furnace blower motor for the draw. The hood is height adjustable from 10" to 20" above the fire. The ducting takes a 90 deg turn before the blower motor and then goes out a pre-existing window. Today was the first firing indoors there was no smoke at all in the shop. The idea came from Darrell Markewitz of the Wareham Forge. Jason