Fabricate a fire pot?

[Frank Turley]

I haven't read all the posts, but I see that the side blast, water cooled tuyere nose has been discussed. This is often used in the U.K.

Most Americans are into the bottom blast, and I see no reason why one can't fabricate the fire pot/ash dump, if one has a knowledge of welding. Instead of scrounging for a brake drum, you could scrounge for 1/4" plate steel, some pipe, and maybe an axle, the latter converted to a rotating tuyere valve. Pictures of fire pots to use as a guide can be seen in catalogs from blacksmith suppliers. Many manufactured smith's hearths are 24" x 30".

The dimensions of the pot opening at the top will be 8" x 10" or 9" x 11", or somewhere in between. Most pots are about 4½" deep. A flange at the top of 1/4" x 1" will keep it from falling through the rectangular hearth hole. One way is to leave a hole in the bottom of the pot, about 3" x 1½" or 2". The old Buffalos had a cast cylinder with a rectangular ½" x 1" hole through it. I've made them out of 18-wheeler truck axles (2"D) or large car axles. The hole through the axle is optional, but if desired, it can be torch cut or hot punched. I like the hole, as it centralizes the blast. There will also be some air coming up either side of the valve. The cylindrical tuyere will be a scant 3" long. A ½" MS rod can be welded to the tuyere, fore and aft, so it projects horizontally. In front, it is a bent handle and in back, it can be bent down with a weight on it, so that it centers by gravity. The rods are going to sit in a small saddle-notch, front and back, at the top of the ash barrel pipe. The rods are fit in the notches and sandwiched when bolting the pot to the barrel.

The ash "barrel" can be of 3"D or 4"D pipe bolted to the bottom of the fire pot with perhaps projecting, drilled lugs for the nuts and bolts.A 3"ID pipe for an air intake is welded to the side of the vertical ash barrel. I like the kicking ash dump door on the bottom. It is a matter of making a simple riveted pivot and welding on a weighted projection. I used an old tie rod end.

A cast iron fire pot will last longer than a fabbed one, and cast iron is heat resistant. Clinker will tend to stick more to mild steel or the medium carbon tuyere valve, but it can be regularly chipped away with a cold chisel. However, the mild steel will keep you going for quite a while.

P.S. The drilled hole tuyere is the most likely to be clogged by clinker and ash when compared to other style tuyeres. Besides, it looks like a dang bathtub drain.

http://www.turleyforge.com Granddaddy of Blacksmith Schools

[Agita]

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