Rob Gorrell Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 This is the first time I have posted with pics on this forum, so tell me if I am doing it wrong. This is my forge so far. I am somewhat limited by the fact that I have a 6" flue that I have to use. The hood is less than ideal, but was free. I altered the end so I would not catch my tongs or work on the way to the anvil. I like the enclosed nature of it since this is also my wood shop. As many of you have said, the 6" setup will not draw worth a cent without assistance. I added an cheap inline 6" blower that seems to do the trick with a charcoal fire. It draws the fire fleas straight up unless I am really cranking on the blower. If I keep a nice slow crank, maybe 5 or 6 rpm, I seem to get a good heat with minimal sparks. I was suprised to find that the exhaust gases at the entry to the flue are cool enough that I can easily hold my hand in the top of the hood.Anyway, it functions, not ideal. I would be interested in any comments you guys have. Especially if you have safety concerns or suggestions for improvement.Thanks,Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Gorrell Posted October 4, 2011 Author Share Posted October 4, 2011 Here is another angle on the setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wesley Chambers Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 I think it looks good, as far as sparks and such I would go with a better coal or coke they wont shower you with sparks as much a low grade with high ash or charcoal. I personally dislike a well lit shop when I'm at the anvil, I want the best idea of what temp/color my heat is, do you have any other lighting options. I understand the brightness for woodwork and camera shots though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 May I suggest you stand at your normal position at the forge and site (look) to the back of the forge so that you can see everything you normally consider important. Now measure from the hood down to that line of sight. You can now put a temporary extension on the front of the hood making the front of the hood closer to the forge. You may want to block part of the open end equal to the temp front panel to the back of the forge. Temporary is the operative word as you can alter it how ever you like till you get what suits you and your forge. This added material to the hood will reduce the incoming open air and assist you in drawing out the smoke, gasses, etc from the forge without interfering with your vision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Salvati Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 Also Glenn's idea will be nice to provide you with a nice area to sketch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWooldridge Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 I had a similar hood but with 10" pipe in my first shop. Drafts from side breezes are bad with this type of setup but your saving grace may be the draft inducer in the flue. Since the hood is not getting hot (being able to hold a hand there confirms that) the surface is not inducing draft when it heats. If the vertical walls get hot, they will channel some smoke to the hood. Other comments: In my opinion, the fire in the photo is too small for general work and the charcoal chunks are too large. The reason charcoal (and sometimes coal or coke) is broken into smaller pieces is that the only part of any solid fuel that burns is the surface. Lots of little pieces an inch or so in diameter will burn hotter than a couple large pieces and will form a better bed. If the fire gets large, use a watering can to reduce it. The bricks are OK if you want some side containment but try a deeper fire with smaller chunks - I think you will like the result. BTW, that is a nice forge and blower setup. My portable forge rig had the same blower and similar forge - worked great for all the years I did demo's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Gorrell Posted October 5, 2011 Author Share Posted October 5, 2011 Thanks guys. I am a complete beginner so I appreciate the help. I had been thinking about bringing the front of the hood down some more. I have noticed that when I get smoke or lots of sparks they tend to swirl down out of the hood right in that upper left corner. I may have to rewire my lighting some to be able to turn off some of the lights when I forge. My sight is not great so I tend to keep my shop lit like the sun. About the blower. All I did to it was scrub it up. The previous owner must have tuned it up. If you turn it one way it has a little bit of a grinding sound like the gears are not meshed well, But turn it the other way and you only hear the flow of air. Not sure how long it is supposed to go after you let go, but I get about a turn to a turn and a half before it winds down. The firepot was a mess. It was really warped and stuck up about an inch above the forge on two sides. I ended up getting it bolted in then ground off all the excess. I think I goofed on the fireclay though. what I did was put a soup can over the air inlet area and filled the surrounding area with the clay and tapered it up to the forge floor. This left a area about 2" deep straight up from the clinker thing before it starts tapering out. Is this a bad thing or just room for a deeper fire? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drewed Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 Did you clay the firepot? Or the forge pan? Normally firepots are not clayed, but the thinner metal of the pan is. That looks like a pretty beefy rail road forge. You may not even need to clay the pan. The fact that your inline fan is working shows that the vent is not. You are sucking in too much room air and not getting the smoke. I had the same fan on top of my chimney, and it sort of worked, until I closed down the opening by the fire. Smoke was really sucked up then and about 2 min later I popped the breaker when the fan melted! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wesley Chambers Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 About the blower, the way the gears are setup in most of them the fan shaft will can be pushed out or pulled in by the direction of rotation. On some blower models it will move so much that gear end of the shaft can pass into openings on the larger gears in the box and lock ( Seen this in some smaller buffalo models). This sounds like the issue on yours and when you turn in one direction the fan shaft extends / protracts slightly and can cause the blades to skim over the interior of the housing causing a clacking or grinding noise. I have corrected this in a number of blowers by observing the push/pull of the fan shaft while in rotation, with the fan exposed reset the set screw while the shaft is fully extended this way you figure what direction you blower wants to move, and by setting the fan all the way in and the shaft as far out as possible you wont get a shift and allow the blades to hit anything. If you hear anything after the reset look down the profile of the blades in movement and you should be able to see if any fan blades are out of alignment with the rest of the fan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Gorrell Posted October 5, 2011 Author Share Posted October 5, 2011 I did clay the pot. Maybe I should take it out? It is a very heavy forge. I would say that the pot is a good half in thick.The main reason I clayed it is that the fit is so bad at the top of the pot with the bed of the lathe. I could remove the clay in the pot without uncovering the lip area maybe. I will definitely close in the hood area more the next time I get a chance to work on the forge. I will also see about adjusting the blower as suggested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 Rob; may I suggest putting the hood extension on with a piano hinge and a catch for it on the part already there? Then you can flip it up if you want or let it hang down. Painting it so you can use chalk for sketching is a great idea. I mounted a chalkboard near my forge for "thinking on". As for changes to how you have the firepot set up---if it's working well; leave it alone! If it's not change it! Nice looking set up. BTW I like a blower that will make 3 complete turns after you release the handle as that allows you time to switch hammers/tongs without the fire going down. But many blowers are more in the range of your one... I strongly urge folks to avoid ones that you have to crank on continuously----too much like work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Gorrell Posted October 10, 2011 Author Share Posted October 10, 2011 Thanks Wesley and Thomas. I will add those suggestions to my list of projects. I am hoping to get some time later this week to tinker with the forge some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Gorrell Posted November 15, 2011 Author Share Posted November 15, 2011 Hey Drewed. Yep. Lowered the sides of the forge hood (pic later) to change air flow and roasted the fan. Guess it is a good thing that I bought a cheap fan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John McPherson Posted November 16, 2011 Share Posted November 16, 2011 If the fan is in-line, it was only a matter of time until creosote, ash and heat killed it anyway. Put the next fan on a 'Y' connection pointing upstream, the closer to the exit the better. If the fan is installed lower than the flue pipe, smoke will not come out of the opening when the fan is off. I have seen this configuration in several shops where the flue had to run horizontally, and could not go up thru the roof for whatever reason. The same thing can be done on the blower side in a coke fueled forge. A 'Y' connection with a flapper valve will let a very low cfm fan (like an old computer muffin unit) keep the fire alive while you forge at the anvil or power hammer. You then use the hand cranked or higher cfm electric blower for controlled heat only when the iron is in the fire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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