I can't put as much heat as I want where I want it when working.  My forge pot is an old honda break rotor about an inch and a half to two inches deep and about six inches in diameter and I am using coal for fuel.  When I place a piece of stock so that it rests on both sides of the rotor, the heat doesn't seem to get above cherry red.  If I dip the tip of the stock into the firepot like you aren't supposed to, I can bring the piece up to welding heat.  Do I not have enough coal on top of the work?  Nothing sucks like pumping the bellows for 5 minutes and pulling out the steel only to find that the metal isn't even red.  My tuyere isn't clogged.  

 

Thanks,

Rob

I would build the fire taller.

You have to learn to manage your fire, move the metal in the fire to get the heat where you want it to be on your workpiece,
 
Ignore the "like you aren't supposed to" heresay, and you have already found that your set up can achieve the heat you require.
 
So, you need fire under and over your workpiece, the solution would then seem to be build up a higher fire.
 
You have to get a balance of being thrifty with the fuel, and not wasting fuel by having too big a fire, only experience will teach you this.

Dump the bellows and go for a more practical approach.  A hair dryer will work nicely, if you want to burn down the neiborhood use a small wet/dry vac.  Also learn how to build a "beehive".  I'm sure there's a sticky here on that.

I don't have power in my shop, but I decided to run a couple of extension cords to it. I picked up a hair dryer from Goodwill for $5 and a dimmer control for $12 and rigged up the dryer to the tuyere pipe. Now it runs very well. If only I could hook up a chimney. Is there a design for a stealth chimney?

Thanks,
Rob

I don't have power in my shop, but I decided to run a couple of extension cords to it. I picked up a hair dryer from Goodwill for $5 and a dimmer control for $12 and rigged up the dryer to the tuyere pipe. Now it runs very well. If only I could hook up a chimney. Is there a design for a stealth chimney?

Thanks,
Rob

 

My forge is on wheels and I move it outside to work... No chimney required....

 

EDIT TO ADD:  I found that using more fuel (coal) and more air got me a hotter fire...

 

Dale

I once had a bellows I could pump to welding heat with my pinkie!

 

My suggestion is to add a sheet metal "fence" to your set up so you can pile the coal up without it falling off the sides.

 

Make sure you leave a gap on opposing sides so you can push long pieces through to heat them in the middle.

I have been there done that.  The heat is where the  fire ball in your fire pot is white hot or thereabouts.    When I say fire ball I mean the hot coals in your fire where the real heat is inside your fire pot.   There is a ball that is hottest.   It can be red, or yellow or whatever.    Telling people they have to "manage their fire" is correct but not informative enough.    You have to create this fire ball and manage that, inside your fire.   This white hot ball is as big as your pot, coal pile and air flow can make it.   I have had the same struggles as you.   What I believe is we need to learn how to manage the fire which means we need to learn how to create and see this white hot fire ball within the forge pot and then we need to learn how to control the size and location of this white hot fire ball.   If your fire is only red then you will only see mild heat.