charcoal size

[metalmaster1766]

ok im going to start making my own charcoal, iv never used it before, what is the best size for forge welding, i want to try cable damascus and such, i have been using propane till now, but cant seem to get temps to forge weld, ive searched all over and cant seem to find anything about charcoal size, thanks
Ron

[oakwoodforge]

I break/Chop mine into 3/4 inch to 1.5 inch peices, I prefer my home made charcoal for forgewelding as opposed to the store bought stuff. My home made stuff dosen't have the "forge fleas " -Sparks that bite - like the store bought stuff does. This helps me keep my concentreation. Without sounding cheesey, I'd say that chopping charcoal for me is sort of meditative, it helps clear away the BS of the day at the office and gets me in a more focused frame of mind. Somedays when I leave the office I'm so totally scrambled and would loose my head if it wasn't attached, to say nothing of misplacing tongs or a hammer at just the wrong time . Chopping charcoal for a 1/2 hr or so before starting the forge puts me in a much better place in my head for smithing. Just my $0.02

Jens

[Matthew Groves]

How do you chop it?

I make my own charcoal, but I have large chunks, and realize that I need them smaller.

Do you chop it on a peice of plywood? in a bucket? Using a shovel? an ice spade?

[oakwoodforge]

Matthew, I set a 18" x 48" peice of 3/4 " plywood on top of several 5 gal buckets, set up so I can push the choped peices into the open top of a bucket. I Chop the charcoal with a sharp cleaver like blade I made. After a bit of practice you get a rythym going and you can chop 3 or 4 5 gal buckets full pretty darn quick. I've tried crushing it in a bucket with a shovel but I ended up with tons of "fines" as well as no control over the size. Chopping just seems to work better for me .

Jens