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I Forge Iron

Forge Air Flow Setup


Quacy Wilson

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Hello there, i have a few question about my forge, 

i have previously made a coal forge out of a brake drum, with little success, i believe part of my problem is there is not enough space for my coal, and my work piece sits at an angle into to the fire and I believe my air flow is getting clogged.

What should i use to input airflow, but not allow my coal to fall threw? 

I am retro fitting an old forge I picked up for pretty cheap! I will post pictures of my forge i made, and my new one.

I just need some ideas on what I should do right underneath my coal for airflow.

What do you guys do??

 

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I personally do not like grates with a bunch of little holes.  Some people have been successful with that type of setup but they always clogged with clinker for me.  OTOH, I have made several pots out of 1/2" steel plate with a slot 1/2" to 3/4" wide x 3" long and they work quite well with sufficient blast.  Although convenient, a movable clinker breaker is not mandatory, as the fire can be cleaned with a slim poker.  Of course, the European smiths have used side blasts to great effect for many eons and that can be as simple as a short piece of black iron pipe. 

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Is the bottom of your tuyere open? It needs to be closed or the air won't be blown up through the fire. An exhaust flap cap works very well for an ash dump, clamped upside down on the bottom of your tuyere iron. Mount it so the counter weight is facing your working position so you can reach under with a tong, piece of stock, hammer, whatever and flip it up to open the dump and clear the ash.

A slot or bar grate works very well for an air grate. A simple fire rake or poker can slide along the slots to clear the clinker.

That's a nice forge you picked up, you'll love the larger table.

Frosty The Lucky.

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I use a cast iron drain grate from McMaster-Carr 2413K2  http://www.mcmaster.com/#drain-grating/=yhezd9

I keep it loose enough to swap out when it burns out.  But I also use castable refractory to make a cone shape down to it. It seems to be more economical on the coal.

http://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/42166-lining-a-brake-drum-forge/?page=2

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On a forge that I have used a few times, the grate sits loosely in the bottom. A simple handle with a square taper on the end of a long (~2-3') rod is used to poke through the middle of the grate, which can then be jiggled back and forth to get rid of ash and clinker. Those cast iron grates look like they'd work similarly well with that setup.

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I use a cast iron drain grate from McMaster-Carr 2413K2  http://www.mcmaster.com/#drain-grating/=yhezd9

I keep it loose enough to swap out when it burns out.  But I also use castable refractory to make a cone shape down to it. It seems to be more economical on the coal.

http://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/42166-lining-a-brake-drum-forge/?page=2

I might have to get me one of those grates, they look quite handy.

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