Advice welcome, General introduction

[Brokkr]

This is my first post so be gentle. ;-) I'm a recently retired old man looking for something to get into. I'm looking to build my first forge and hammer some iron since the late 70's, early 80's. I did a lot of "flat" shoeing in those days and pulled a few clips and hammered out a few heels on my mentor's portable forge and anvil back then.
I still have my 150# Trenton that I bought off an old fellow 40 years ago. I have since added a 30 kg double horn Peddinghaus that we take along on trail rides and to horse shows, easier to load, at my age, than the Trenton, a 70# near mint Fisher with a mold date of 1889 that I put up for the kids and a 25# Vulcan that I bought xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Supposedly the Champion 400 blower that I purchased off of "Flea bay" was shipped today. So that that leaves, as a major issue, putting together, and firing, a forge.
I'm leaning toward a heavy duty firepot fron Centaur Forge, probably "overkill" for my level of experience, but 'what the hey." I want to use home brewed charcoal, eventually, since that fits with my other interests of using traditional English and European arborist practices of coppicing/pollarding of trees to fill heating and structural needs.
I haven't been able to source, locally, any bitumenous coal so far, but I can get 40 # bagged anthracite "nut" coal for about $275.00 per "short ton" with a 40 mi. turnaround. "Coke" is about 90 miles away but I haven't been able to establish a price yet.
Any critique, comments, or suggestions for this "newbie" are welcome.  

[Charles R. Stevens]

If you want to burn charcoal as a primary fuel i would recomend a side blast with a 3/4-1" (id) tuyeer. It will burn coal, coke and charcoal with little modification. Bit diferent fire management than a portable rivet forge but you'll adapt. 

i

[Brokkr]

Thanks for the reply Charles. It's my understanding that anthracite, charcoal, and coke, in particular, are somewhat difficult to keep "fired." It's my intent to add a 12 v blower, something like a Dayton, and eventually a 115 v. "speed controlled" blower, "down the road.". 

 

Any commercial "side blasts" on the market?

Edited August 3, 2015 by Brokkr

[Frosty]

Welcome aboard lets see if this reply gets forbidden. If not I'll edit a more full reply.

Yep in edit mode. Nope, charcoal tends to burn up completely if you're not careful, anthracite will keep burning but not aggressively and coke depends on what kind. commercial coke needs air to it continuously to keep burning but breeze (forge coke) will keep burning quite a while and is good for starting coal or commercial coke.

I'd better hit save while it still lets me.

Frosty The Lucky.

Edited August 3, 2015 by Frosty

[Brokkr]

Thanks for the input, Frosty. I've "lurked" around the forum for a while. My sister's grandchildren's regular farrier broke a collar bone recently and they lured me out of "retirement" to try to keep six horses shod. Hammering a few nails has re-fired my desire set up a shop.

[Charles R. Stevens]

Funny how that happens!

as to comertial Sideblasts? Yes sir, but shipping costs from Engand are a bit steep. 

Easy enugh to build one. Air control is a must, as charcoal likes just a stedy breas wile coal likes a strong wind. And any thing less than a breas and hard coal and coak go out. Used to be standard practes to put a palm sized chunk of wood in the forge fire during lunch to keep the soft coal from going out. 

How fancy a forge are you looking for? Lots of ways to build one. Even some great info on water cooled Tuyeers out there.  

Your grand daughters hair dryer will work for now!

Edited August 3, 2015 by Charles R. Stevens

[Brokkr]

[....How fancy a forge are you looking for?...]

Nothing too extravagant. I have no illusions about cornering the market for bearded Viking war axes, etc. My focus is more to the "survivalist" forge - square nails, bodkins for crossbows, Philippine style choppers (Parangs) and "mouse hawks" from the pile of old horseshoeing  rasps I have laying around. 

[Charles R. Stevens]

I imagine a 55 gallon drum is easy enugh to sorce? 

[Brokkr]

I imagine a 55 gallon drum is easy enugh to sorce? 

Sure. I'm rather fortunate in that regard. My extended family and I have a small fleet of "over the road" tractors and trailers (14) and we do virtually all maintenance and repair on site. A couple times a year we load up "scrap" metal to sell. Most of the good stuff, with regard to forging, - axles, flat and coil springs, etc. are probably a little too heavy duty for me to hammer out on my 150# Trenton but if I like forging, that's the most important part, it will be a good excuse for equipment upgrades in the future. 

I've been eyeing an old leaky aluminum fuel tank for a shroud.

[Charles R. Stevens]

For a quick start, look at Glenn's 55 forge if you cut it so as to leave a 8" pan, and cut back so as to leave about a third of the side, talerd up to about 8" of the top as a hood. A 25 gallon grease drum is a bit big but will work as a flue. If you can score the ring off of a clamp top it makes a fine brace/spacer for 3 legs. ( i used 1x1/4" flat strap) set the top of the forge at anvil high. 

Put the tuyeer in so the bitom of the opening is 3" off the bottom, this places the top 4" beyand this. A trick from our British brithers is to place two hard fire bricks in the bottom (keeps you from digging to far down when rebuilding the fire) i my self recomend building a "bellows stone" either of adobe or by notching the sides of two fire bricks, set on top of the floore bricks with the tureer iron just back from the opening protects it from burning up, the rest of the pan will be filed with ash, sand, dirt adobe etc. with a small bowl bug out infront if the tureer 6-8" across and l the way to the brick floor.  With charcoal you dont leave fuel on the table as it will burn up, with coal and coke you can leave the fill an inch shy and use this slace for fuel. 

Edited August 4, 2015 by Charles R. Stevens

[Brokkr]

For a quick start, look at Glenn's 55 forge

Nice, simple and direct. I see that he had to reduce the pipe diameter to get a more "aggressive" fire. I wonder what he was using to push air. I got shipping confirmation on the Champion 400 I bought last week.

[Charles R. Stevens]

For charcoal 3/4" schedual 40 is just shy of an inch ID, nowing Glenn probbably his wifes hairdryer, lol. 

With your blower you will be aboe to controll air by how fast you crank, charcoal is "slow"

i added to my previus post more detailes. Also look at "another portable forge buy" Everything Mac

[Brokkr]

Thanks - Fred.