GottMitUns Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 I built and ran a side draft forge this week burning construction scrap in Nicaragua. I am used to burning charcoal and expected to have to burn a lot more wood than charcoal by volume but I didn't expect this. IMG_1978.MOVI had to rake out about a baseball size chunk of this stuff every hour to keep the tweir pipe open.the construction scraps were growing tree 2-3 weeks before and all of it was coated with a thin layer of mud/dirtEvery so often I would get some on the steel I was working and it acted like hot glass.So is it clinker, or is that term only for coal and coke? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quarry Dog Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 Sure looks like clinker to me. Gotta say, that's the first time of heard of this problem being associated with something other than coal, not that that's saying a whole lot. Did you have a hard time forge welding in that fire? Clinker will cause that problem as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 Sure is, clinker is melted dirt and scale that collects at the bottom of the fire unless it sticks to the work. Any fire that gets hot enough to fuse silica will make clinker given a chance, just try putting a SMALL dirt clod in a gas forge sometime.Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yahoo2 Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 I dont usually burn wood directly in the forge, i make a fire a suitable distance away and use a long handled posthole shovel to sneak fresh coals from underneath the burning timber. it works fine if you dont get distracted and turn them to ash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianinsa Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 I dont usually burn wood directly in the forge, i make a fire a suitable distance away and use a long handled posthole shovel to sneak fresh coals from underneath the burning timber. it works fine if you dont get distracted and turn them to ash.Do you get distracted by the chops(lunch) on the rack above the fire? If so it's understandable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GottMitUns Posted August 17, 2015 Author Share Posted August 17, 2015 Thanks Guys, I wanted to make sure I had my terms right! We never had a chance to forge weld anything on this trip but I talked them thru the basics of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arkie Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 You're probably scooping up some dirt along with the hardwood coals and that could contribute to forming clinkers with charcoal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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