SanJacintoSteel Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 Hi everybody,This is my first post here on IFI,been reading a lot but just made my account. So, just finished up my forge and filled the fire pot with some cedar. After that burnt down to coals I filled my pot with nut coal I bought from my local feed and farrier supply, as it cokes up its like it melts and plugs up my air flow to my fire pot. I'm going on about 2 hrs and my fire is just now getting to where I might think about sticking some iron in it. Any tips and advice. Here she is before I packed her with sand to fill all the voids. Old tractor rim off my ol' international packed with clay brick and sand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 More info could help, as in what's under it and what kind of blower you are using. Could stand to use something to block the hole a bit. And that's uh. An interesting setup for a forge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 Coal slag will stick to your brick, grow your bowl to 6-8" across and about 4" deap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SanJacintoSteel Posted June 9, 2016 Author Share Posted June 9, 2016 Wow, thanks for the quick replies guys, Daswulf, I have a 1/4" thick round brass plate to cover the center hub hole and reduce it down to 1 1/2" with a piece of 1 1/2"x12" pipe dropped in it with a cap with 7 3/8" holes drilled in the top. As far as being interesting, it's all I had to work with and I got the bug to get forging and first forge was just short of a complete failure so I knew I wanted a bigger bottom blast. I thought about a truck rim but tractor rims are bigger Charles, thanks. I guess tomorrow evening I'll tear it apart and make it wider across and I'm guessing I'm some where around 7" deep, is that too much? Oh and my blower is a hair dryer for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 Brass has a low melt point... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Ling Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 How about a picture of after you have filled it with sand....... It may make it easier to help, as it may be something simple that you forgot to add. Littleblacksmith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SanJacintoSteel Posted June 9, 2016 Author Share Posted June 9, 2016 Sorry not much to show already lit'er off. The brass is about 1 1/2" under sand, was hopeing that would insulate it enough to work And pardon my ignorance but what is a clinker? I've read clinker a couple dozen times on here probably but have seen no explanation as to what it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 A wheel rim of any kind is really unwieldy for a forge, almost anything else will work better. However that's what you have right now and the fire is burning. How much air blast did you give it? You have to blow air through the coal to get it HOT. Clinker is dirt in or on the coal that melts in the fire forming glassy sticky chewed bubblegum hunks of badness that sticks to your work, the forge and blocks the air so the fire won't burn properly BUT it looks like it's really hot. Think of it like forge buggers you need to pick so the fire can breath. Take a look through the solid fuel forge section for good inexpensive coal/charcoal forge designs. Once you know what's what you can make a perfectly serviceable forge on a wooden kitchen table and not scorch it. Thinking you need or even want a big forge is a common beginner's mistake, we all made it it's a . . thing. Well maybe some of us didn't but a lot of us didn't have experienced mentors to learn from. An old junked top load washing machine makes a fine forge. Flip the lid over. punch a hole in the center to accept your tuyere and pack the rest with damp sandy clay. a few pieces of bar stock laid with a gap between bars makes an excellent air grate and a few of your bricks to stack around the air grate to define the size and shape of your fire and you're in business. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SReynolds Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 I have no troubles getting my coal to roll. You need a fire pot. When the coke drops its clinker they form over the air hole or air passage(s). You use a poker to clear them or rotate the clinker breaker. many of these pictured are mine. I use both a clinker breaker and the tuyere holes. Both work real well. Also an air source to provide enough air. See an example below. I don't see a fire pot in your forge. And I can't see the tuyere holes or slots for the air. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 A ducks nest word just fine, it's just a "fire pot" made of dirt, ash and cinders, honestly I'd you come up to about 4" of the rim with your tuyere (this is the top of the bullet grate) you can fill the wheel with dirt to about an inch of the rim. Then simply dig down to expose about an inch of the bullet grate (2" pipe cap with 3/4" hole) and form a bowl 6-8" across. No need for a fire pit or clinker breaker. And if you need a trench fire for arching those buggy springs then one just builds a manifold and digs a trench.... Btw. The 1" is for the classic fuel reserve on the table. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SanJacintoSteel Posted June 9, 2016 Author Share Posted June 9, 2016 Wow guys, thanks for all of the advice. Here's a couple of pics after first burn and my fire is definitely too deep. Looks like most of my heat was being used to turn my bricks into extremely hard red glass. But once I got it rolling I could shove my rebar in turn around and play with my kiddos a minute or two, come back and my metal would be burning so ide cut it off and go again. So at this point I've chipped away as much ode the glass as I could and now I'm going to work on making a bowl rather than a 8" deep rectangular hole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SanJacintoSteel Posted June 10, 2016 Author Share Posted June 10, 2016 Ok so I reshaped the surface and made my fire pot wider and shallow as advised and I'm about to lite'er off again and I learned last nite that a little light helps prevent first-aid circumstances Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 The slag will still stick to the clay brick. Lol. I laugh because I have been there. Make the brick area a bit bigger so ash can collect. And for a slope. The ash won't stick to the slag Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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