I made a forge out of a few old Schaeffer's oil drums. It works I got a railroad spike hot enough to work and it melted an engine valve. Any recommendations on how I can make it better, keep in mind this is all stuff I either made or found for free.

I am impressed that you made your own charcoal briquettes!   However using real free chunk charcoal will be much better!  Also putting in parallel rows of hard firebrick will allow you to pile the fuel higher without wasting it on the sides.

4 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said:

I am impressed that you made your own charcoal briquettes!   However using real free chunk charcoal will be much better!  Also putting in parallel rows of hard firebrick will allow you to pile the fuel higher without wasting it on the sides.

Sorry to disapiont about the charcoal my buddy gave me his old bag to do a test run with and that's a good idea about the brick thanks

Jack, you're off to a good start.  Your forge will draw smoke away better if you can come up with a 10" or 12" (better) flue pipe.  I used to have an 8" one and it didn't draw worth a darn.  Went to a 12" pipe and it draws like a wonder now.  I couldn't find any scrap flue pipe that large and ended up going to an HVAC shop and got some there.

4 minutes ago, arkie said:

Jack, you're off to a good start.  Your forge will draw smoke away better if you can come up with a 10" or 12" (better) flue pipe.  I used to have an 8" one and it didn't draw worth a darn.  Went to a 12" pipe and it draws like a wonder now.  I couldn't find any scrap flue pipe that large and ended up going to an HVAC shop and got some there.

I was having a bit of a problem with the embers flying out at me but I just thought it was because there was a slight breeze, maybe that is still part of the problem but having a bigger flue pipe wouldn't hurt, thank you 

Charcoal will blow out a lot of "fleas", sparks if you will, if the air is too high.  The larger flue pipe is for smoke removal.  With coal, you won't have the "flea" problem.

I got my 10' of 10" spiral seamed galvanized ductwork for US$4 at a local Habitat for Humanity ReStore that was having a moving sale.  The later I was walking to my Dr's office and saw that the building next door had a 40 yard demolition dumpster full of it as it was being remodeled---ask about tear outs!

Will deffinatly look into buildings that are being torn down or remodeled, and I am in Washington state, is there a reliable source of coal relatively inexpensive? 

What did the local ABANA affiliate tell you when you asked them about sourcing coal?

Google "coal in washington state".  Might have some locations you could visit.

Any time I tried to find it on google it just led me to eBay, and frankly the bitabus coal on eBay for like 100 pounds for 100 dollars and free shipping didn't look to bad but would like to help my local economy 

In the Google search bar, type these exact words without quotes (or cut n paste):  "coal in Washington State"

Thank you for the help and suggestions it is much appreciated

The coal mine lead was in case you might have a chance to buy directly from a mine.  Otherwise, try to locate a blacksmith group near you, as they often sell coal to members (and sometimes non-members).  Sometimes our club members drive as far as 150-200 miles to get coal at a meeting.

yea i found a group that sell coal and ship it to local areas for pickup, the NWBA, not a bad deal i think, 50 pounds for 35 dollars 

A lot of smithing organizations will sell coal to members for about $10 to $15 per 50# bag.  Some, you shovel it yourself.  Thirty five $ seems high to me.

If you put your location in your avatar, there may be an organization with coal near you.  OOOPs!!  Just saw your location...sorry.

they sell 50# bags for $25 to members abd 35 to non members, id join the group but dont have to $60 atm

https://www.mountainbrookforge.com/ is the website so you can see what im talking about 

 

I can see why the Mountain Brook Forge coal is so high.  They are saying it is Pocahontas Coal (if it really is), which comes from KY, Va. and W. Va.  That's a long way from Washington!!  They are having to add shipping from the Appalachian area to Washington and Oregon.

Best of luck finding cheap coal up there.  Gotta be some smith organizations with cheaper coal prices.  Our membership dues are $25/yr, member coal is $8 for 50# and non-members $10 for 50#.  I think Saltfork Craftsmen in Oklahoma is just a smidgen more for coal, so that may give you some benchmarks to look for.  We all get bituminous from Oklahoma, about 200 miles away.

There are some of the largest coal deposits in the U.S in Wyoming...maybe that could be an alternative source for bulk coal distributors.

 

sweet good to know thanks for all your help