hdvoyager319

I stumbled into a youtube video taken in Africa of a village blacksmith. The blacksmith was setting on the ground, pumping a truck inertube bellows which fed the air thru a tube to the edge of a wood/charcoal fire. The air tube ended several inches short of the fire. The fire was in a pocket dug in the ground. Guess what the anvil was??? a rock. The hammer was a steel bar. The fire reached welding heat!!!. The blacksmith had cut apart steel wheel rims with a chisel for the steel.

We sure have it good using a stand up forge, steel anvil, tongs and many hammers. But, It is amazing what can be accomplished with only the bare minimum equipment. 

I have used a bottom blast forge for the last 20 years. Pulling the fore at the end of the day is no problem, just rake the hot coals out and make sure the clinker is removed. Then with the smoldering coal spread thinly on the hearth, the fire cools and goes out. 

In the Side Blast Forge, the coal, coke,  ashes and clinkers are found in then Duck's Nest which is built of Sand. If you rake the burning coal out of the Duck's Nest, you will at the least rake sand and mix the sand with the coal and coke..If the air is just shut off the coal will smolder and possibly wind up burning  all the coal stored in the Hearth around the Duck's Nest. 

There are many articles and videos on starting a fire but I haven't found anything on shutting down a Side Blast Forge for the night. 

What is the best way to shut down a Side Blast Forge? And not wreck the Duck's Nest or mix sand into the coal/coke?