January 30, 201610 yr I have an old, extremely heat resistant clay pot. I need to know if this can be made into a wood forge, strictly wood, I live in a heavily wooded area in western WY and this is the only fuel that is free. I do not have a propane torch. Can this flower pot be turned to a makeshift forge? Or would I have better luck digging a pit fire?
January 30, 201610 yr well if your in a heavily wooded area you could start making charcoal and use that for your fuel. It would be better than wood.
January 30, 201610 yr It can, but it is probably to big (a 6" pot) so the addition of sand, clay or a combination of the two is advisable. Even if you don't live in the woods, construction scrap and other sources make good forge fuel. charcoal is certainly easier to work with but something like the Lively washtub forge works ok with raw wood, the best way is to have a fire place of sorts to burn a nice fire and take coals out.to forge, like you would a cooking fire.
January 30, 201610 yr Author 10 hours ago, Newtotheforge said: I am completely new to smithing, (is that the correct term?) anyway, I was wondering a way to practice without a forge or heat source. I was thinking making a tight packed aluminum mild of some sort and using this for hammering. My mom has a kiln that she doesn't use anymore, but she will never let me use this. I have a soldering iron, could this help somehow? G 29 minutes ago, Charles R. Stevens said: It can, but it is probably to big (a 6" pot) so the addition of sand, clay or a combination of the two is advisable. Even if you don't live in the woods, construction scrap and other sources make good forge fuel. charcoal is certainly easier to work with but something like the Lively washtub forge works ok with raw wood, the best way is to have a fire place of sorts to burn a nice fire and take coals out.to forge, like you would a cooking fire. Thank you! That is some great info, the wood here is extremely hot burning because it is a resin rich spruce
January 31, 201610 yr Don't mistake the radiated heat you feel for the kind of contained heat you need for the steel. A wood fire will BBQ you at tong reaching distance and only be adequate for basic forging. I've done a LOT of forging in wood fires in the bush. You can do way better with a small charcoal forge at shovel or better distance from the wood fire. Shovel coals out of the fire when the forge needs more. I've done this too and it's far more comfortable. You do NOT need anything fancy to do high quality smithery. Frosty The Lucky.
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