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I Forge Iron

side mount leather bellows


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Welcome aboard Docsi, glad to have ya. If you'll add your general location to your header you might be surprised at how many smiths are in your area and how much better your chances of getting a little hands on help will be. Besides, when we old farts are traveling we won't have to rely on our memories about who's in the area if we want a snack or beverage. You DO keep cold beer on hand being a dwarf. Yes?

So, what are you referring to as a "side mount" bellows? You want horizontal, vertical up, vertical down, on edge left or right? Seriously, there are so many ways to hang a bellows a question with as little info as your's is virtually meaningless.

Heck, if you just want it out of the way, put it in the rafters or even outdoors alltogether. How about putting it under a bench or table top? There are just too many options to offer without better specifications.

Frosty the Lucky.

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<snip> ...
So, what are you referring to as a "side mount" bellows? You want horizontal, vertical up, vertical down, on edge left or right? Seriously, there are so many ways to hang a bellows a question with as little info as your's is virtually meaningless.

Heck, if you just want it out of the way, put it in the rafters or even outdoors alltogether. How about putting it under a bench or table top? There are just too many options to offer without better specifications.

Frosty the Lucky.


Oh the options boggle the mind ! blink.gif

Heck ... check this action out .... a forge with the bellows installed UNDER the firepot.
Talk about the epitome of "space saver" ... sweet biggrin.gif

And foot operated too !!!

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Boggling minds IS one of my favorite pass times you know.B)

I've seen this kind of forge but don't recall what they're called. I do wonder what measures were used to prevent explosive coal vapors from flowing down into the bellows. The explosive vapors being CO, smoke and various vaporized coal oils. A volume the size of those bellows would make a large enough FAE to do a person a serious mischief at a goodly distance.

Frosty the Lucky.

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Boggling minds IS one of my favorite pass times you know.B)

I've seen this kind of forge but don't recall what they're called. I do wonder what measures were used to prevent explosive coal vapors from flowing down into the bellows. The explosive vapors being CO, smoke and various vaporized coal oils. A volume the size of those bellows would make a large enough FAE to do a person a serious mischief at a goodly distance.

Frosty the Lucky.


I thought that was mostly (wholly?) an issue when watering the coal. It created hydrogen gas that could seep down the tuyere and air pipe. If you made sure to pump air while watering it wasn't an issue.

Is this not the case?
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I thought that was mostly (wholly?) an issue when watering the coal. It created hydrogen gas that could seep down the tuyere and air pipe. If you made sure to pump air while watering it wasn't an issue.

Is this not the case?


Hydrogen from watering coal is a tough one, but carbon monoxide is quite flammable and forms easily. It used to be produced and piped to houses to operate lamps, and stoves before natural gas.

Phil
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A check valve would probably be okay. The way I've dealt with it is by employing an up side down "P" trap or by mounting the bellows, blower, etc. higher than the air grate.

While it's maybe theoretically possible, most folk aren't watering the coal while cranking the blower hard enough to have a hot enough fire to break water into hydrogen and oxygen and if this happens the mix is at an ideally combustable oxy fuel ratio in the presence of an ignition source. Also, H is lighter than air so it'd NEVER settle into the tuyere or bellows to even make a pop let alone blow out the windows.

CO is highly flamable or explosive depending on the situation. As Phil says, CO was piped around cities and towns to fuel gas lights, stoves, furnaces, etc. The practice was stopped a long time ago making it impossible to commit suicide by blowing putting your head in the oven and turning on the gas.

Just the smoke from coal is very flamable and is what makes the thick red/orange flames, CO is making the yellow flames and hy/oxy flames are invisible. CO and the smoke is heavier than air and settles into any low area.

Frosty the Lucky.

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