rrnsss Posted June 23, 2009 Posted June 23, 2009 Dear Forumites, After reading some of the information available here about forge design, I decided to upgrade, to my home made earthen forge. I don't know if it will work , but I have designed it based on what I read. I took clay, coal ash and rice husk in the ratio of 4:1:1 and mixed it all up with water and let it sit for a few hours. Next I took a fired clay pot (20'' dia ) with fairly thick side walls (3/4 inch) and made a hole at the bottom. Then I wrapped a bit of paper around the steel tube and pushed it through the hole so that the mouth goes to the center of the bottom. Next I took a few days worth of news paper and put it perpendicular to the tube and covering the mouth and started filling my clay mix in. As I came up to the top I filled up more and the sides and made a bowl like depression at the center 3'' deep. I have attached some pictures so that you can advise me . You can click on the thumbnails to see bigger versions of the picture. My SPGM gallery I hope to remove the pipe after it dries up. I use common charcoal and I do not have access to coal or lignite. Quote
james gonzalez Posted June 23, 2009 Posted June 23, 2009 This looks like it would work as a firepot just fine. I would suggest trying to keep the walls very smooth so impurities do not get stuck to them in use. Where are you writing from? Quote
rrnsss Posted June 23, 2009 Author Posted June 23, 2009 (edited) Sir, I am writing from Madras, India . It is called Chennai now, but the old British name is madras. I fired up the forge and put in a strip of blade from an old bench planer. Got to red hot and tested it with a magnet (it did not stick ) and I hammered it, but alas it cracked. I think I am not able to bring my metal up to the desired heat no matter how long I stick it in the fire. Edited June 23, 2009 by mod07 Quote
Charlotte Posted June 23, 2009 Posted June 23, 2009 Please explain lignite? Lignite is an "under mature" form of coal, aka "brown coal" it is less dense and has a lower fuel value than regular coal. It resemble peat as much as it resembles coal. In the North west I think it is called rosebud coal. One thing that may up it fuel value is to let it get quite dry and broken into smaller pieces. I don't know if running it through a charcoal like process would help or hurt. Quote
Charlotte Posted June 23, 2009 Posted June 23, 2009 (edited) I seem to have missed it some where. What are you using blow your fire? Edited June 23, 2009 by mod07 Quote
Rob Browne Posted June 23, 2009 Posted June 23, 2009 If you are going to work that blade try getting it up to orange and give it a bash. Working tool steel too cold will crack it. BTW don't go over orange or it could burn, it has quite a narrow working range. Your forge looks like it should work well, just let the fire settle down before trying to use it, you need a deep dense bed of coals. Quote
Finnr Posted June 23, 2009 Posted June 23, 2009 You may find that you will need a deeper fire using charcoal as it is very light . Charcoal has around the same heat per pound as coal but it takes a whole lot more of it to make a pound. Finnr Quote
rrnsss Posted June 24, 2009 Author Posted June 24, 2009 Happy to report that I did better this morning. I did the following 1) Made the hole that drops down vertically a bit larger 2) Used smaller charcoal pieces 3) used wet rice husk to smother the coal bed 4) Used a sledge hammer I managed to deform the same HCHCS that I could not even dent 2 days back. Actions 1 and 2 were from western wisdom and 3 and 4 were from a guy who is a hand made tile layer. He saw me for the past 3 days struggling and decided to help me out. The bad news is that after about 1 hour of use the ash blocks the air way and I can't generate any meaningful heat. I need to drill a hole from the bottom and keep it on 5 bricks so that the ash can fall off if I just move the center brick, the other 4 being in the corners. Anyway, here is the video. I am holding the stock and the tile layer is striking the iron. You can see the handmade tiles at Aathangudi Chettinad tiles if you like artsy things. YouTube - MVI 24311 Quote
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