Randy Griffin Posted November 18, 2019 Share Posted November 18, 2019 My tuyere is 3/4" sch40 black iron pipe with a ball valve to control the air flow. That's just in case I hook up my electric blower. I'll get measurements of the fire bowl for you but it's around 8" wide, 4" long and 4" deep with the top of the tuyere at 3". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted November 18, 2019 Share Posted November 18, 2019 (edited) If it's working for you that's what's important, but doesn't that leave all the coal beneath the tuyere not really contributing to the fireball? Was the reason you raised the tuyere in order to get the fireball level with the top of the table? Pnut Edited November 18, 2019 by pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Griffin Posted November 18, 2019 Share Posted November 18, 2019 Yes, I raised it to get the fireball higher and it comes up to heat quicker. I also raised the bottom of the firebowl. It's still just an inch below the bottom of the tuyere. That's a place for ashes to collect also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted November 18, 2019 Share Posted November 18, 2019 (edited) That's what I was wondering. I thought you might have had three inches of coal under the tuyere. I was going to suggest raising the bottom of the firebowl but you have it well in hand. Good job and keep us posted. I cut a notch on the front and back of the box to be able to stick the stock into the center of the fireball. Same result different method. Pnut Edited November 18, 2019 by pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted November 18, 2019 Author Share Posted November 18, 2019 Leaving the inch below also allows one to use coal. Remember tho that slag sticks to vitrified clay like glue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted November 21, 2019 Share Posted November 21, 2019 It's official, the procrastinating has to stop. I went out to the jabod and I can't put off building a new one. It did have a good run though. It lasted sitting outside since February. I think that the hard freezes we've had was it's final death knell. I have all the materials to put a better one together thankfully. I left the cover off as it's supposed to rain tonight and the clay that wasn't vitrified was harder than I thought. Hopefully the rain will help because my back doesn't like digging clay. I'll post some pics when I get it done. Hopefully my body and the weather will cooperate so I can get it finished before I have to go back to work on Sunday. Pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Griffin Posted November 21, 2019 Share Posted November 21, 2019 Good luck. I'll be watching for the pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 Went to the woods and broke up the clay from the old jabod. The rain didn't help a bit. It was too hard to absorb any of it. There was an ant colony in it too. I busted it up with much difficulty and was wore out by the time I got done with it. I felt like a convict sentenced to hard labor. It would've been easier if I'd had a pick or mattock but all I had was a bar and a RR spike and hammer. Tomorrow I'll be putting it back together hopefully. Pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nico M Posted December 1, 2019 Share Posted December 1, 2019 Work in progress. I'm starting my first jabod forge, after starting with a few bricks on the ground. The soil here is quite sandy, but I have a few fire bricks I can use to make the fire pot. I'll upload a picture after finishing it and testing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rally Posted December 5, 2019 Share Posted December 5, 2019 Starting on a jabod after selling my old one, below is a rough plan on what it's going to be Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted December 5, 2019 Share Posted December 5, 2019 How do you get the stock into the hot spot? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Griffin Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 OK, I made a modification. My fire ball didn't have enough depth so I moved my tuyere so it's sticking out about 1 1/2" through the brick. Problem is, it is going to burn. So I've been wanting to try some of this Alabama red clay. I clayed it about a week ago so it's pretty dry now. This stuff is like concrete. Don't know why I didn't try it instead o the cat litter. I'll redo the whole thing soon and I will let you know how it holds up. Anybody ever had a red forge? BTW this added a couple of inches to my fireball. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted January 19, 2020 Share Posted January 19, 2020 With your red clay, mix in some sand and wood ash to make fire clay, about 2 parts sand to 1 clay. You can also make adobe bricks with that mixture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Griffin Posted January 19, 2020 Share Posted January 19, 2020 IFC, what will that do? Straight out of the ground it feels smooth and just a little gritty. It's like concrete now. Tomorrow I'll see what happens when I put a hot fire on it. You're the pro on clay. I'll be asking you some questions because I'm planning to do more with this clay. After all, I've got about 20 trillion tons of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted January 19, 2020 Share Posted January 19, 2020 By adding sand as grog, it will keep it from cracking when fired. If it feels gritty it may have enough sand mixed in. Put a little clay in a jar full of water and shake it up. Then let it sit overnight and it will separate into layers of clay,sand and debris to give you an idea of its composition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Griffin Posted January 19, 2020 Share Posted January 19, 2020 Thanks. Since I'm this far I will fire it tomorrow. If it cracks, I will know why. Stand by, I'll have more questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted January 19, 2020 Share Posted January 19, 2020 4 hours ago, Randy Griffin said: . This stuff is like concrete. Don't know why I didn't try it instead o the cat litter. When I broke my forge apart because the box was degrading it took a sledgehammer and wrecking bar. It really was like concrete. It was much more difficult to bust it up than build it that's for sure. The surface of the trench was like glass. I was truly surprised how hard the rest of it set up. I separated the vitrified glassy pieces and left the rest in a cut off plastic drum I used for tomato plants to soak up some rain. It was ready to go when I had to dump it out. I think you'll have to replace the glob of clay on the end of the pipe pretty often due to it being thin so it will probably crack but that shouldn't be much of a problem I wouldn't think. I might give it a try myself when I can build my next jabod. I don't know if you were having any trouble with the fireball being right on the wall but Angling the pipe slightly down moved the fireball away from the wall of my forge and more into the center of the trench. Pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devilsapp Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 Hello, I will be building this as my first forge. As i live in Canada, dirt is hard to find with the snow. Do you know if black earth would work? (The gardening stuff) thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted February 26, 2020 Author Share Posted February 26, 2020 It will burn and smolder, try cheep cat litter (bentonite clay) or dri sweep and play sand in a 1part to 2 parts ratio. If weight is a concern 1/2 to all the sand may be replaced with perlite or vamiculite. Simple clay brick piles have worked as have dri cat litter and bricks. Note I have melted hard fire brick. Another option is soap stone, but tho it can easaly be worked in less you have access to it cheap it gets spendy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devilsapp Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 Thank you so much for your feedback Charles. It is much appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted February 26, 2020 Author Share Posted February 26, 2020 Any time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 16 hours ago, Devilsapp said: i live in Canada, Welcome to IFI...We won't remember this once leaving this post, hence the suggestion to edit your profile to show your location. I always recommend reading this to get the best out of the forum. READ THIS FIRST Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devilsapp Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 (edited) Well noted. I have update my profile and will definitely read this post. Thank you for the information Edited February 26, 2020 by Mod30 Remove excessive quote. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Griffin Posted March 21, 2020 Share Posted March 21, 2020 Pnut, how's your tuyere built? Is it drilled down the length of the trench? And, does it blow from the side of the trench? I'm going to build one similar so I can heat treat longer blades without having to stroke them through the hot spot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted March 22, 2020 Share Posted March 22, 2020 18 hours ago, Randy Griffin said: Pnut, how's your tuyere built? Mine comes in from the right side about an inch above the floor of the trench right in the middle of the length. It's a sideblast jabod. I've seen them run down the floor of the trench lengthwise with multiple holes drilled in them like a whitlox style forge but can't personally say how well they work. I used a one inch sch. 40 pipe. You can just see it on the right side of the picture. Pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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