Whats the best wood for Charcol

[Hillbilly iron]

I`m new at this kinda thing,Is Hard wood better or soft wood Better.Which is best for the greatest heat. I have many diffrent grades of wood to choose from.
Thankyou in advance.:)

[Dave Budd]

Everybody has their opinion on this topic, so you may have opened a can of worms

Basically, if it burns then it will do the job fine!

I work through a lot of charcoal in my forge and I try to do single species burns just for experimentation. I've never tried soft wood on account of not having any, but of the hardwoods that i use they are mostly fairly equal. The only things that have stood out are that oak sparks a lot and generates the most clinker, sweet chestnut fragments easily adn doesn't burn away completely (meaning you have to constantly rake out unburnt fuel). I'm using birch at the moment and that is great, beech was also great, mixed batch of alder and london plane was pretty good too.

The best thing to do if you have teh choice of woods is to make some and see what YOU like :)

[Francis Trez Cole]

what is in your area.

[Bully]

Redgum works really really well, but as I am in Australia you may not have it available as I do, but in saying that any hard wood I find is a hotter burning fuel with less sparks cheers...

[Sam Falzone]

In my opinion hardwood is WAY better than softwood - burns hotter and longer.
I find oak to be the best choice. Here in Ontario we have LOTS of oak - maple is good too - but it all comes down to "What do you have local"?.

Pine and resinous softwood makes a fire that snaps and pops alot, but if that was all I had I wouldn't let it stop me from at least trying to smith with it.

Fruitwood like apple, cherry, pear all make good charcoal too, but my wife prefers to cook with these types of wood when we're camping or at a re-enactment event - she'd kill me if I used it to smith with So to maintain domestic bliss, I just buy my charcoal by the bag and leave the hardwood for my wife to cook with.

If you have the means to make your own charcoal, try experimenting with different species. If you really feel ambitious, this could make for a great research opportunity - find the carburizing and smithing characteristics of different woods and rank them according to suitability for smithing.
Hmmm ... I wonder if anyone has tried this?

Sam

[ThomasPowers]

FREE wood is best followed by cheapest (as long as it's fully charred).

Note that the japanese swords are forged using softwood charcoal.

[Sam Falzone]

Thanks Thomas.
I didn't know japanese swordsmiths used softwood charcoal.
Just goes to show that any charcoal will do.
But I would stay away from pressure treated wood and railroad ties.
The chemiclas used in these types of wood are really nasty - bad for the smith and the environment.
Sam

Edited August 12, 2009 by Aeneas

[Frosty]

Generally hardwood lasts longer and produces fewer sparks.

Softwood makes a hotter fire but burns faster with more sparks.

There are exceptions but in general that's how it works.

Frosty

[double_edge2]

i have used charcoal exclusively for now for about 7-8 years, although as the other aussie says, it doesnt help you with tree names. the lighter timbers if you have an enormous supply are hot and burn extremely quick. the harder timbers are the more consistant, i have made my own from iron bark and assorted gum trees after storms etc (hardwoods) and bought malley root and gidgy. the harder and heavier it is, the more consistant, control and longer burning you will have. you will have sap residues that survive the distillation process, which starts off as a sticky ball then progresses to dry hard clinker looking to smooth lump....that will need to be checked for and removed if any, just before you weld. i like charcoal and good in the bbq too.
just one of my useless tips...i use a 2litre plastic bottle with a nail hole in it full of water to control the outer edges of fire to reduce waste burn or to focus heat, and if you want to save more, carefully quench the charcoal when you are finnished. damp or wet charcoal when burnt releases the moisture agressively (pops and spits at ya) so always have your safety glasses on.
hope this helps a tiny bit.

Edited August 12, 2009 by double_edge2

[chrisfrick]

Hillbilly, I'm gonna pull a Frosty and ask you to click on the USER CP button at the top of the screen and then enter your location so we can best address your question. As for the charcoal, I've been exclusively using Mesquite charcoal in my forge and it burns really clean, is pretty easy to break up into useable chunks, and only sparks way too much when I really crank up my blower. ("exclusive" means that it's the only 'natural' charcoal my local grocery store sells and it's cheap and they never run out of the stuff.)

[Mike Ameling]

A number of years ago, one of the Japanese Living Treasures came to SE Iowa for a session on making traditional Japanese saws from wrought iron. He only worked with charcoal, and he was very specific about needing charcoal made from Soft Wood. One of the guys organizing it made up a big batch of softwood charcoal after doing a search to find some to buy. But that was years ago before lump charcoal became much more available. His saws sold for between 5 and 20 grand when finished - as National Treasures.

The common lump charcoal you can buy around here is made from oak from primarily sawmill waste - slab wood. It works well, but I have had little experience using it.

Mikey

[relichuntr]

Here in South Carolina in the Midlands, we have a nice mix of hardwoods and softwoods available. Recently a neighbor cut down a bunch of timber to clear-cut some land he sold, and of course left huge amounts of smaller trees laying all over. I cut and hauled a number of different oaks, maple, poplar, ash, hickory, and cypress to use in my charcoal forge.

Since my forge also doubles as a retort, I make my batch of charcoal right before I start working metal. So far, I've found that a mix of softwood poplar and ash with oak and hickory makes a very hot sustainable fire that last for several hours at forging heat. I cut my wood into 'stove wood' lengths, and then split them as I lay the fire inside the forge firepit. It's kindled by a combination of twigs and pine straw, and then by controlling the air flow at the point of gas release and combustion. They all burn very clean, and work great.
The previous advice about use the trees/wood available; sure. All my fuel costs is really the effort to cut and haul it. If you have the capacity to make your own charcoal, this is what I've learned.

[double_edge2]

Here in South Carolina in the Midlands, we have a nice mix of hardwoods and softwoods available. Recently a neighbor cut down a bunch of timber to clear-cut some land he sold, and of course left huge amounts of smaller trees laying all over. I cut and hauled a number of different oaks, maple, poplar, ash, hickory, and cypress to use in my charcoal forge.

Since my forge also doubles as a retort, I make my batch of charcoal right before I start working metal. So far, I've found that a mix of softwood poplar and ash with oak and hickory makes a very hot sustainable fire that last for several hours at forging heat. I cut my wood into 'stove wood' lengths, and then split them as I lay the fire inside the forge firepit. It's kindled by a combination of twigs and pine straw, and then by controlling the air flow at the point of gas release and combustion. They all burn very clean, and work great.
The previous advice about use the trees/wood available; sure. All my fuel costs is really the effort to cut and haul it. If you have the capacity to make your own charcoal, this is what I've learned.

love to see some pics of that if thats ok...never know a better way less you try them

[Avadon]

I second the hardwood. If you can (legally obtain) lots of pallets you can axe or saw them up and use the cross members to make charcoal. They are generally very hard wood. Generally only the vertical supports are softer pine. A lot of companies who have broken or old pallets would love to give you some. So it doesn't hurt to ask. There is a place near me that has thousands of them in different stages of decomposition lol.