so i need to build a new forge

[junker]

So I need to build a new forge because my old, brake rotor, forge is to small for what I usually work... I have noticed that for one I am having trouble fitting enough of the stock into the forge to properly heat the pieces I work... another problem other than length is depth... I find that I end up having to build a very large pile to gain enough heat and most of the heat is too high up to properly use without wasting copious amonts of charcoal... so given these few facts... what type of forge would you suggest I build?

[Glenn]

No use heating 3 feet of steel if you can only work 6 inches per heat. Control the size and heat of the solid fuel fire by the amount of air you blow into the fuel. Control the length of the steel heated by the design of the fire pot.

[David Einhorn]

So I need to build a new forge ... what type of forge would you suggest I build?

I confess a bias towards large commercially made cast iron firepots. If I was in your position I would build a 2ft by 2ft or larger forge with angle iron legs, with a nice cast iron firepot, with cutouts on the sides for the stock to pass through the fuel a little above the firepot, as illustrated by the picture of an original semi-portable buffalo forge shown below. Or if money was short, I would weld up a firepot that functioned like the commercial ones.

Such firepots are constructed with very similar features, indentations on the sides for entry of stock into the fire, easy to clean curved sides and bottom, easy to use ash dumps, a clinker breaker, and large air intakes. The firepot shown here also has a counterweight on the ash dump so that the ask dump automatically closes, a very nice feature when one is a bit tired.

I have used smaller forges, rivet forges and such, and have found similar frustrations with only being able to heat a one inch area of a bar, when a three or four inch heated area would save a lot of time and frustration.

Edited August 5, 2009 by UnicornForge