Hi all

 

Which is better. A flat bottom forge or one with a fire pot?

 

Thanks

Tim

What are you going to forge, and how much are you going to forge?

Each has its place.

for most work one with a firepot... if you just want to heat rivets flat is fine....

The flat forges were only used for really small stuff them they were commercially made. If you want to heat larger sections quickly a firepot in needed.

I have used a small flat forge for about 2 years now, and am currently in the process of attaching a larger fire pot forge. the flat works all right but if you hope to continue on to bigger and better thing the fire pot is necessary for efficiency, depth, and size.

To get your heat zones and to keep your fire contained you need something to lay the coal against to get your depth.  You can use a flat table and bricks or chunks of angle iron to get more depth without having just a honkin big pile of coal.  Heck you could use pine 2x6's that you soaked in the bottom of a slack tub till you needed them, and then water the edge of the fire occasionally to keep them from burning too bad, that would get you some nice depth to your fire...The nice thing about a flat forge table is you can run long straight pieces through the hottest part of the fire and NOT have to put a convenience bend into it.  So it really depends on what you want to do, and if it deeply offends you to have to use "furniture" in the fire to help contain things;-)  Firepots are great for most work, and if you build a deep enough fire you can run straight stock through depending on how much of a lip there is on the forge table...  Like most things there are plenty of ways to skin a cat...

 

As a side note, I have an old centaur forge, horse shoer's fire pot, set into a big flat table, and I use some furniture welded up out of angle iron to help contain the fire and give me more depth...  Play with things learn to use what you have to its best advantage, and figure out what its limitations are.  Then go play with someone else's toys and see what they can do.  All of this is very subjective, meaning most of the time it comes down to opinions.  There generally isn't one best way. There's one or two wrong ways, then there's your way, there's my way, there's the Boy Scout way, and the Army way, but unfortunately there isn't one objectively significantly superior way.  It really comes down to what works for you.   You are only limited by your ability to adapt;-)

Sorry guys for the late response and thanks for all the advice. Little one had chicken pox so time has been scarce. Don't know what it is about wives that think that dads that work for from home are ALWAYS available to babysit :D Think I am going to stick with what I have for now and just use some refractory bricks to contain the fire. Can always put a fire pot in later if I need to.

 

Cheers

Tim

I'm going to try these; 4 1/2" x 9" x 1" (for woodstove replacement). Can add another set if necessary.

You will usually need a fire ball about the size of a melon. Put the metal in about 2/3 of the way up so the oxygen from the fire is consumed and leaves only the HEAT from the fire at that level.

 

A bottom blast forge (air from the bottom of the forge. Notice the bricks being used to contain the fire and give it more depth for the project at hand. That is a piece of leaf spring being heated in the fire.

 

A side blast forge (air from the side of the forge. Notice the air pipe at 5 o'clock.

 

You still need DEPTH to the fire, no matter if the fire is flat on a table or you have a fire pot or brake drum to hang below the table.  Think of the side view photo above and where the steel is placed to get hot and build the forge from there.

 

Notice the extra fuel around the fire ball that is not burning.  New fuel is constantly moved toward the fire to coke up and then moved into the fire to replace the fuel that is consumed.  Air makes the fire hot, NOT the amount of fuel on the table.

Bottom blast forges are popular in the US, and everyone and his dog seem to go for this design over there. However a side blast is easier to build and generally easier to run as the clinker does not clog up the tue. 

 

You don't need to build a water cooled tue iron either - a simple thick walled pipe will suffice. I have built forges in the way that have lasted years. 

 

I've only ever really used home made forges until this week where I used a "proper" side blast forge and it was a pleasure. 

 

All the best 

Andy