Making Breeze

[Clay]

Hey everyone, just started out and a friend and I have built a forge that we're pretty proud of. We got a hold of an anvil and a railroad rail, and were all ready to go--we even have some coal. But we start the fire like we've been told; newspaper, then split wood, then dry coal. We get to the dry coal part and we were pretty excited about that. But we don't have any breeze or coke or whatever your supposed to call it. We read that you add water to the outside of the hot coals, compact it, push it a little closer to the fire and then repeat until you have like coal bricks. Unfortunately our fire pretty much died when we poured (very conservative amounts) or water around the edge. Any tips for making coke?

Some things you should know is we are using a bellows(very small 2X3 ft), and our coal is of low quality(not sure on the stats but it has like 3% sulfur). Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks guys.

[Glenn]

Go to IForgeIron.com > Lessons in metalworking > Blacksmithing > LB0010 Building a Fire

BP0450 Clean Coal
BP0384 Using Coal Fines

Water is used on the outside edges of the unburned coal / coke / fuel to control the spread of the fire to the excess fuel on the forging table. You want all the heat possible in the fire pot so it can be transferred to the metal.

BP0157 Watering Can 01
BP0160 Watering Can 02
BP0162 Watering Can 03

It would depend on the size, and shape of the fire pot and the shape of the forging table but a (small) bellows most times would not put out so much air as to need to water down the outside edge of a fire. The size of the fire is directly in proportion to the size of the work, small work = small fire, big work = big fire.

Try things without the water and see what happens. Better yet, post photos of your set up and we can see what is going on and be more specific with the answers to your questions.

we don't have any breeze or coke or whatever your supposed to call it.

Most blacksmiths prefer coal / coke about ping pong ball size to walnut size, but will use what ever size is available.

Trying-it (on this forum) brought home lump coal in 55 gallon drums, You simply break the lumps into smaller pieces with a hammer. The smallest pieces and coal dust that remains is still good coal but needs something to hold it together. This is where the water comes into play. BP0384 Using Coal Fines.

[Ferrous Beuler]

Hey everyone, just started out and a friend and I have built a forge that we're pretty proud of. We got a hold of an anvil and a railroad rail, and were all ready to go--we even have some coal. But we start the fire like we've been told; newspaper, then split wood, then dry coal. We get to the dry coal part and we were pretty excited about that. But we don't have any breeze or coke or whatever your supposed to call it. We read that you add water to the outside of the hot coals, compact it, push it a little closer to the fire and then repeat until you have like coal bricks. Unfortunately our fire pretty much died when we poured (very conservative amounts) or water around the edge. Any tips for making coke?

Some things you should know is we are using a bellows(very small 2X3 ft), and our coal is of low quality(not sure on the stats but it has like 3% sulfur). Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks guys.

You have to get a fire going - a real live vibrant fire- , not huge just established. I do this by stages. In a clean empty pot goes about a double handful of hardwood charcoal, with green coal heaped around the outside but not yet included, just there all around so it can be raked in once the charcoal is going and the fleas are jumping.
Not a lot of charcoal, about a coffee cupfull is all you will need, but just to get started put in twice that, the double handful. Too much won't matter, you can't put in too much. Too little will put you back at the start, no fire. Once youv'e done it a couple of times, you'll see what it needs.
Storebought bagged lump charcoal for grilling goes about $7-$10 per 10 lb. bag. DO NOT waste your time with briquettes, you want hardwood lump charcoal. One bag will last you for quite some time, starting many fires for you.
Once you open the bag you will see it is not all of uniform size, there are some big pieces in there. Just scoop out a bit and take it to the pot. I use the cross pien on my forging hammer to gently bust the bigger hunks into smaller bits. The grain of the wood can readily be seen, bust it with the grain to split really big pieces, and crossgrain (gently tap) to make those little bits. A layer of nickel sized chunks about two inches deep is what you put in the pot atop the grate. Above this is still an empty pot, with the coal heaped around the edges, but first we need a fire.
Below the grate in the ashdump/tuyere upload some LOOSELY packed newspaper. Don't squeeze the balls too tight, I use one "ball" of a single sheet first, right up under the grate and under that another single sheet of which half is made into a loose ball and the rest just gather into a dangling tail hanging down out of the ashdump pipe. That is the fuse.
Light it, one quick flick of a bic is all you need on the bottom corner of the hanging fuse, let it go. The flame will grow upwards and now smoke is gently gathering atop the charcoal. The paper is burning and the charcoal is beginning to catch at the bottom, it burns readily which is the whole idea behind using it as a booster for coal to begin with. Coal alone is hard to light, using charcoal in the chain gets you fire in short order without wasting time.
You have to judge when to start feeding air, and FEED IT GENTLY AT FIRST.
This is the point when your fire will go out in a frustrating pathetic wisp or catch and grow, experiment and learn.
Let's assume your first try goes well, you havn't packed the paper too tightly
and so it burns increasingly and upward, which it will if you don't apply blast prematurely. The licking flames reach the charcoal and it begins to white about the edges. Soon there is more and more smoke, not just a whisp but a rapidly increasing cloud of white expanding. Fleas begin to jump. For the first time add slight blast now.
It will dictate it's wants for air, pay attention, not too much too soon but keep a SLIGHT feed of air coming. If it appears to suddenly have died, FEED AIR QIUCKLY, it may be saved and envigorated. If not, reassess the paper and start over.
As I said, charcoal burns readily and soon you will have a heart of red coals, whitening about the edges and a sworm of lively fleas keeping you company.
Now at long last, begin to rake in green coal from all around the outside, leave a doughnut hole in the middle where the heart of the charcoal fire is now burning actively with flames emerging 3 to 6 inhes high to serve as a chimney, coke will begin to form in the ring of applied coal.
The small amount of charcoal will soon dissappear and so will its fleas. The flames will now increase to a foot or more high, all the while keep the air coming. the more obnoxious yellow cloud of a new coal fire is now there and the coal around the ring of fire will appear as a sticky gooey mass as the immpurities are burned off, a crust will begin to form a dome. Now you have a coal fire in your forge. Experiment and learn. :)Dan.