Andre Of Astora Posted September 2, 2013 Share Posted September 2, 2013 Hi everyone, I'm new, both on here and to blacksmithing in general. Just a few questions I'd love to have answered, I'll try to keep things simple, haha. 1) I've mananged to get my forge up and running, it's been used a few times since I cleaned it up, I burn coke as fuel etc. But the last time I used it, I heard a massive bang and saw that the forge has split right through on one side, I'm assuming it heatcracked cuz it's old..I've heard you can't weld cast iron forges to great effect, and I've also read about fishplating, if that's the right word..Anyway, what would be the best course of action? I've thought about welding it, then claying the bowl, but I'm not all that adept with technical stuff. I'm addicted to smithing now and I want this forge fixed well enough to use again. 2) How long does charcoal burn efficiently for? 3) Can a type of coke be made from charcoal? I use small nut coke in my forge, but occasionally I see fairly large chunks of coke that I have no idea how they got there. I know that coke is the end result of coal, but I KNOW I don't use coal, just burning wood. I think that's all the questions i have for now, thanks for any answers. Peace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmccustomknives Posted September 2, 2013 Share Posted September 2, 2013 Fixing the firpot might be possible, I'll leave that to the guys with experience in that matter. As far as the other questions, charcoal burns very fast and clean. Coke is to coal what charcoal is to wood. The biggest advantage to coal is using the coking process to make the "beehive" which is like a mini forge oven. Coke and charcoal can't do that. One more thing about charcoal, it hurts :wacko: . You get lots of little sparks that land in your hair, gloves and don't have any dry tinder around :ph34r: . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSW Posted September 2, 2013 Share Posted September 2, 2013 Sorry to hear it cracked. You really need to know what you are doing to weld cast iron. There are a bunch of different ways to go about doing it. Not all work all the time. Biggest issue with cast is that it doesn't take high temp swings well without cracking. Many times guys do a welded repair only to have it crack right next to the weld as the weld cools. Best way usually involves preheating the piece to be repaired, then welding it up usually with a high nickle alloy, then slow cooling the piece over several hours. The longer the cool down usually the better. I've done a bit of cast iron repairs using a variety of methods, but the small cast iron pump forge I bought with a crack will probably stay just the way it is when I bought it. Fixed with fish plates and bolts. If for some reason that original repair fails miserably, I'll probably either give up on it, or send it to a guy I know from another site who does nothing but specialized cast iron repairs and let a "pro" do it, even though I probably have almost all the tools and equipment except possibly a big enough oven to pre/post heat it in. You can sort of see the plates and bolts used to repair my forge in this pict. Guy I bought the forge from thinks it cracked because the grate that goes in the center ( not shown) wasn't symetrical. He said he put the grate in one day and fired it up and it quickly cracked. He thinks the grate expanded and was tight in one spot, so as it expanded from the heat of the fire, it cracked the still cold cast iron. He says he did not drop cold water on the hot cast and cause it to crack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted September 3, 2013 Share Posted September 3, 2013 how long will charcoal last? How far does a car go on some gas? try and find out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted September 3, 2013 Share Posted September 3, 2013 Welcome aboard Andre, glad to have you. Bummer about the forge pan, that's why you need to clay the cast iron ones. If you did clay it, it may well have been failing before you got it or may have needed thicker clay. While you can have that one repaired you'll find it a lot cheaper, faster and more likely successful to replace it. don't sweat finding a cast iron pan, just make one from sheet steel an old appliance lid works just dandy. I have a cast iron Buffalo rivet forge that's cracked from the air grate to the rim so it just sits there looking "blacksmitherly" in it's retirement. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre Of Astora Posted September 4, 2013 Author Share Posted September 4, 2013 Thanks everyone. I've thought about making my own anyway, because currently I'm reviving and using the one at an old country history museum, but I want to get into home use. I've heard using breakdrums is a good option to start with, until I get a bit better, but you said the lid off an appliance? What kind of appliance? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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