Tanner Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 I couldn't get a brake drum but I could get a rotor, so I bought a piece of metal to weld in. I welded it all the way around and drilled six holes for the blower, which is a bathroom fan. I cut a hole in a 55 gallon drum and dropped the whole assembly in. The problem with this is that in Yakima Washington finding coal is hard, so I used lump charcoal. It will get a rr spike dull red but I can't get anything hotter. What am I doing wrong? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arkie Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 Maybe your air supply is not enough. I have used lump charcoal in my brake drum forge when I ran out of coal once, with a bathroom fan for blower running through 2" black pipe...was able to melt mild steel in it (by mistake). I didn't think it would get that hot. Also, a rotor does not give you a very big fire pot or volume of coal/coke. A regular brake drum will have a much larger fire volume. A regular firepot is even better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 Is that lump charcoal or is it charcoal briquettes? *VERY* different and charcoal briquettes are designed not to get too hot as they are for cooking food not steel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 Charcoal needs to be deeper than what you show. Heat is made by the air through the fuel so it'll take a little experimenting to see what your fire does but charcoal was used to smelt, founder and forge metals since the copper age.If those are briquettes it's a problem, there're a techniques for getting a decent smithing fire with them but it's so much easier to use lump charcoal.It also looks like you might want to break it up a little more, egg size is too large but pea is too small. The more surface area there is the faster it will react with oxygen meaning more heat in a shorter time, hotter absolute temp AND it'll consume all the oxygen so the steel doesn't scale in the fire.Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanner Posted July 3, 2015 Author Share Posted July 3, 2015 It's about 2.5" deep and it's lump not briquettes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 ok I can forge weld in a mud forge blown by two smallish hand powered single action bellows using lump charcoal; how big are the holes you drilled: 1/2"? Larger? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 That's pretty shallow, IIRC I'm thinking charcoal works better closer to 4" deep but it might be more. I'm not really a solid fuel guy but I've used charcoal in the past. Try breaking it up a little, say walnut size and load the rotor higher than the rim. Not solid across just mound it deeper. There are 3 burn zones, close to the air grate is oxidizing and not where you want your work. Above that is the sweet spot, honey hole, etc. Temp is near hottest and the oxy is consumed. This is where you want to work, above that is zone 3 where some of the fuel is unburned but the oxy is spent, this is the reducing zone and is good for preheating but it's terribly hot.I'm expecting, hoping one of the guys who burns charcoal as their main fuel will speak up and correct any mistakes I've made. I don't so much work by zone as pick the spot I want which doesn't translate so well.Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 Charcoal likes lower presure air than coal, but you need close to a square inch of air for a 6" fire ball (1" hole, 4 1/2" holes, 16 1/4" holes) a bowl over 6" across burns more fuel but isn't hotter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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