Guest Farrer82 Posted October 18, 2009 Share Posted October 18, 2009 Hi guys and gals!! I'm still very new to 'smithing, and seeing as there are very few bottom-blast forges available over here in the UK, I've sourced a small side blast forge (made by Glendale) with a hand cranked blower. I've just spent the whole afternoon trying to get the fire going on this little forge. I'm using coke, and have used small pieces of wood (kindling) and paper/cardboard to get the thing going, after which, I've placed coke over the burning wood with the intention of igniting the coke. I've had limited success, although I have managed to light some of the coke, but it seems to die off pretty quickly, whether I use the blower or not. Can anyone give me some indicators on how often should I be cranking the blower? The other thing I've noticed is that the Tuyere/Tewere/Tue Iron, or whatever you wanna' call it, has been burned back (prior to my use I might add!!!) so that the hole within the tue is over an inch wide, and the tue is approximately 3 inches from the base plate where it is connected to the back of the forge. Do you think that the bore of the Tue iron is too wide to provide sufficient draught to ignite the coke and keep it at a sufficient temperature to heat iron? Your help is greatly appreciated! :confused::) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWooldridge Posted October 18, 2009 Share Posted October 18, 2009 It's not impossible to burn coke with a hand cranked blower but it is harder to keep it lit because there are little or no volatiles present to allow the flame to burn once the blast is stopped. You might be able to mix a little charcoal or coal with the coke so it doesn't die as quickly. It will also take several minutes of cranking once the coke is actually lit before you have a working fire. The fire will form a nest and you should have a grapefruit sized mass of glowing fuel to work with. At that point, the nose of the tuyere will be fully buried down in the fire. An inch hole in the tuyere is not too large if the blower is sized for that opening - and it sounds like your blower came with the forge. If you continue to have problems, take a few pics of your process and post them - we may be able to provide some pointers from the photos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Farrer82 Posted October 18, 2009 Share Posted October 18, 2009 Thanks for the info, I think next weekend I'll have a go at creating a bit of a fuel blend by adding some charcoal to the mix. I don't know if you're familiar with portable forges here in the UK, but many come with blowers manufactured by 'British Alcosa', and the forges are/were manufactured by the likes of Glendale, Vaughans or Alldays, all of which use the same type of blower, so the blower itself is fairly universal. I think the tuyere diameter, however depends upon the manufacturer of the forge, which is why I questioned the diameter and 'effectiveness' of the tuyere. The way I build the fire is by filling the forge with coke, so there's just enough to cover the top of the tuyere, then excavating a small hole in front of the tuyere aperture. I then lay a couple if fibre bbq firelighters at the base of this hole, then some small dry pieces of wood above that, then cover it with coke. I use a propane gas 'poker' to light the firelighters and then crank the blower for 20 seconds or so every minute. Once the firelighters are lit, the wood burns readily, but the fire only seems to take hold of a couple of pieces of coke at most, and the fire never seems to spread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Einhorn Posted October 18, 2009 Share Posted October 18, 2009 ......and then crank the blower for 20 seconds or so every minute....the fire only seems to take hold of a couple of pieces of coke at most, and the fire never seems to spread. You will probably need to crank continuously. Coke tends to be unhappy with an absence of air. There are a number of factors that could be, or are likely to be, effecting your fire, including but not limited to: - That you are using coke instead of coal - That you are likely using coke made from hard coal instead of coke make from soft coal - That you are not providing a constant flow of uninterrupted air - That your air nozzle may not be blowing the air straight into the coal - That you might have a space between the nozzle and the coal, thus blowing onto the fire instead of into the fire Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted October 18, 2009 Share Posted October 18, 2009 LB0010 Building a Fire First check your ash dump to be sure it is not full or that the airway is not otherwise obstructed. Build a fire (sticks and wood) that would be the pride of any boy scout. While giving the fire continious air, slowly add coke to cover the fire keeping a hole in the top for the flame and smoke to escape. Punch the fire down to collapse any caves and keep the fuel together. As Wooldridge suggested, you will want a fireball about the size of a grapefruit or melon with additional fuel on top and to the sides. Coke (that I have used) takes a small stream of continuous air to keep the flame going and air as needed to heat the project at hand. If in doubt, connect a hair dryer or other air source to a 1 inch pipe (or other suitable size black iron pipe) and put that over the side of the forge as a side blown twyere, bypassing the current blower and air piping system. This will eliminate the on board blower entirely. Build your fire as described above. The forge is just a place to hold the fire, the fuel is needed via combustion to release heat to get the metal hot so it can be worked easier. The air just makes the combustion go faster releasing more heat. When in doubt go back to the basics, then add (or check to be sure it works) one improvement at a time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted October 18, 2009 Share Posted October 18, 2009 Hi Farrer, the problem you have is the fuel you are using, the hand cranked forges were not designed to use coke as is available today, that is not to say it won't work, however you will have to constantly crank it to even keep it in, firelighters will not last long enough to ignite the coke. you could try mixing charcoal fines with the coke to see if that helps. If you do manage to get a good fire and sustain it, because the coke burns much hotter than coked coal, you will burn back the face of the tue in a relatively short space of time, needing a replacement. If you are going to use forging coke then you will need to use a side blast forge with a water jacket/tank tue iron, or a bottom blast ( this will take up less space and is easier to make. ) Whereabouts in the UK are you? If you go to Blacksmiths Guild Home and see if you could make it down to us one weekend, we could show you what you need and how to use the forge/manage the fire. Meanwhile I would suggest you go to your local garage and purchase the cheapest bag of coal they have available. This should conform with the local smoke control issues, it is then just a question of getting used to how this works and how it can be managed to forge what you require in it. You do not need 'special coal', just understand and make whatever fuel you use work for you, some are easier to work than others, but it is far better to go with what is easily available and works for you If you need any more details, you can get a telephone contact or email addess from the website, and I would be pleased to talk you through your questions, or if you are near enough a visit would help you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Farrer82 Posted October 18, 2009 Share Posted October 18, 2009 Hi John, I'm in Derby, so Exeter is over 3 hours away, but certainly not beyond my range. I'll grab some coal during the week for another go next weekend (weather permitting). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Browne Posted October 18, 2009 Share Posted October 18, 2009 Coke needs to have a constant air supply. My main job in the forge on the family farm was to crank the blower constantly as they used coke. If I stopped the fire dies and I had better be out the door and on my way before the old man saw the fire out :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 Hi Farrer, You must be quite near to some of the coal mines that used to abound in the area. If you could source some Grimesthorpe or Barnsley singles coal that would be perfect for forging in your cranked unit, other should work OK though Good luck with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonathan king Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 Hi farrer, i use anthrasite coal beans mined in south wales about Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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