May 4, 20179 yr I searched this and didn't find the answer I needed so sorry if I'm asking a repetitive question. Simply put I live in the Texas Panhandle where the wind blows 9 to nothing all the time, so a big fire risk all the time. So my question is when pounding hot metal how far will the sparks fly? I'm setting up shop in a metal barn so not worried about the inside of that but if one of those hot pieces of metal flew outside when it's bone dry and the winds blowin. ......
May 4, 20179 yr If you are not forge welding NO sparks should fly from working the steel. If your steel is sparking YOU ARE FORGING IT TOO HOT AND BURNING IT UP!!!!!!!!!!! If you are using a propane forge: NO sparks should fly from heating the metal. If you are using a coal forge there may be a few sparks flying and if you are using a charcoal forge lots of sparks will fly. DETAILS!
May 4, 20179 yr Author Ok! Thanks for the quick reply! It will be a propane forge. Sorry I forgot to add that. Call me crazy but I wanted to make for sure as long as I am careful there wouldn't be a huge fire danger because one little spark out here means one big fire! PS: I'll leave the forge welding to the pros for the time being!
May 4, 20179 yr Then the problem will mainly be due to you dropping/losing control of hot steel---being in a steel barn will help. What will the floor be? Dirt==OK, Dried Manure---might want to clear around the anvil area and or apply some borax water to it. (or use good tongs!)
May 4, 20179 yr If you are in a questionable fire risk situation, use a garden hose to wet down the forging area before you start. A working and pressurized garden hose is the quickest way to extinguish a small fire. ALWAYS have a 5 gallon bucket of clean water available when you are forging. It is great for quenching, large enough for a foot to go inside, and can be used for putting out any small fire, if it should develop. At the end of the day put anything that was/is hot into the water and then into your BARE hand before you put it on a table. If it is too hot for your bare hand, then it goes back into the water. Why clean water? If you get burned, put the hand etc into the water for 15 minutes to pull the heat out of the meat, and to keep the meat from cooking. Clean water just feels better (grin) but any water will do. Sparks from grinding can travel 20 feet or more.
May 4, 20179 yr Steel walls, concrete floor, propane forge. You would have to work hard at it to start a fire forging, save perhaps igniting yourself... As was mentioned sparks from grinding would probably be what you would worry about. And remember: when using a propane forge, excessive ventilation is just barely enough!
May 4, 20179 yr One of the best suggestions I have read (on this board) was to put flexible conduit over the propane line to protect it from accidently being bumped by a piece of hot steel.
May 5, 20179 yr Another fire threat are "pinch offs" Those little ends you hot cut when you drew something a little too long or over estimated how much stock a project needs, It happens to all of us and calls for a little trimming and the trimmed bit I call em "pinch offs" can cover a considerable distance and are HOT. When I'm working where fire danger is a consideration I pay attention to where they're most likely to go and aim them in safe directions, same as using a disk grinder. Safety around propane hoses is always important, armoring them isn't a bad idea. I deal with potential trip and burn hazard by positioning the tank and hose as out of traffic as possible. The 100lb. tank makes it easy as it's tall enough it's in your face, heavy enough it doesn't tip over easily and if I put it about 4'-5' from the forge nobody considers walking between them even in a hurry. Small bottles, 20lb. $ 40lb. bottles are easier to not notice, knock over and step over / around and get caught on the hose. At demos putting the propane tank between the display table and forge is a reasonably safe no traffic zone. People would have to walk around behind the table to get close and if someone is sharing my set up to demo, looks like they want to shortcut between the table and propane tank I get to YELL AT THEM! Frosty The Lucky.
May 5, 20179 yr I forgot to mention in my previous long winded reply that a rainbird sprinkler on a hose is a LOT more effective than a hose and nozzle for wetting down the area. For me anyway, YMMV. Frosty The Lucky.
June 13, 20178 yr When I first started out I was in the middle of the yard, it was August, grass was dead, and I was forging. Took the steel out of the forge, which it was a little on the hot side you might say, as in it was dripping a little. from the few steps from my forge to anvil it dripped, and caught the grass on fire. Now, I didn't realize this immediately, but after I got the fire put out, we had a UFO landing, about a 25foot burnt circle. Hahaha. Littleblacksmith
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