Search the Community

Hello all, I have been using a brake drum forge I made much like the ones seen on the internet. It works and can reach the temperatures I need, so much so I ended up burning off some hard work I put into some rebar :( Part of learning I guess! My problem is this, to keep coal from falling down my tuyere I believe it's called, I got some sheet metal I found at the Brimfield Faire. It was like this really thin tinny looking sheet used for decorating restaurants, sort of like corrugated steel. Anyways, I cut a circle of it and put it in the bottom of the forge and drilled holes into the center. It worked for a little while but now I have air coming up out and around the plate rather than just through the holes. I think it's because it has warped so much from the heat it was never meant to experience. I couldn't get a clear picture since its filled with coal. I am now burning basically an entire brake drum of coal constantly, I don't really have a center of heat, its all going. This is really wasteful I feel. I was wondering if you guys knew of any good material or piece to put in the bottom of a brake drum forge (or any forge) that will work much better? I do have some old BBQ grill....grill. The bars seem too far apart though. Whatever you guys could recommend would be great, thanks! EDIT: I was perusing more, I have no way of actually welding something, I don't mean forge welding. So it would be next to impossible for me to weld some bars into the pipe.