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I Forge Iron

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15 hours ago, Small town Smith said:

Sorry I'm still new to using anthracite I mostly use charcoaled wood and propane but that coal burns extremely hot and I torched the end of 2 knives completly off guess I'm going to have to get used to the heating times from forge to anvil lol

Coal can burn the tips off your knives too ;) try cutting the air down a bit, pay more attention to your steel in the fire. Doesn't take long when the work piece gets thinner. Also placement of your piece in the fire. Keep the tip out of the sweet spot. 

I tried the nut coal on its own last night. Took a lil bit to get it going good but once it was going it worked well. 

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For starting a fire with the anthracite, I've been starting with a balled-up newspaper piled over with hardwood charcoal. Light paper, turn on the air. When the charcoal starts to glow around the edges, add a layer of coal. Working fire in about five minutes.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

K, I picked up a bag of nut coal to try.  It was hard to start.  After 2 attempts I used a little green coal.  That got it going.  It took the fire a while to mature, but once it did I found it perfect for projects where monitoring the steels color since I could lay the work on top.  I'll definitely keep a few bags around for future projects.

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8 minutes ago, Donniev said:

Are sparks a concern with the TS bags of coal, similar to using charcoal? 

I haven't found them to be so. Some sparking when you get into the coal dust towards the bottom of the bag, but not as dramatic as you get with charcoal's fire fleas.

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49 minutes ago, Donniev said:

Are sparks a concern with the TS bags of coal, similar to using charcoal? 

I have some of the nut and rice from TS and it doesn't spark as much as pop at the beginning. I believe becasue it is kept outside and so wet. once I start to work the pile into the fire, the outer ring of coal is dried by the heat and the popping is gone. The Nut seems to do it more than the rice. 

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I start it buy throwing a few 2x and 1x cutoffs in a charcoal chimney, since they burn down I chuck the coal on top. If you break up a coffee can of nut coal it will get you started (takes 1/2 a can for my small fire bowl) the nut coal seems to break up as it cokes, so I don't bother after start up.

i do get a pleasant crackling sound as the coal cokes.

 

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