James Drescher Posted May 22, 2017 Share Posted May 22, 2017 Hello all! I just finished my first forge on my blacksmithing journey. After receiving some great advice from fellow IFI members, I decided to stick with my brake drum coal forge because I was, more or less, nearly finished with obtaining all the necessary components for it. However, in the near future, I will consider switching to either a gas forge or charcoal! Anyways, I wanted to share some pictures of the finished forge. Any "constructive" criticism would be greatly appreciated...see what I did there? Sorry, my humor's a bit on the dry side. Please enjoy! I am planning on building a side draft chimney to control the smoke (there was ALOT of smoke when I lit the coal initially). I certainly need practice maintaining the fire and using the right amount of coal and air (I only had it running for maybe 30 mins just to see if it would get a fire going). Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arkie Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 I think that will work fine for you. After you get your hood installed, it will be even better. I like the large table. Good for staging your coal to start coking and a place to lay a tong or two, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranchmanben Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 Like Arkie said, looks good! I'm a big believer in table space, you can never have enough flat space to lay tools and forget where you put them. Also, I see some kegs in the back ground, I think they make the best slack tubs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 I'm a fan of a large table too without going overboard, more is better. A swing gate for the ash dump can be a hassle, clinker ash, etc. will make it hard to open and close after a while. I used an exhaust stack flap cap. They clamp to the pipe just get the right size and aim the counter weight towards where you stand so you can reach under with something, tongs, hammer, piece of stock, etc. and flip it open if necessary. The other good thing about a flap cap ash dump is when you get a coal smoke explosion it'll open the ash dump rather than flow coals out of the fire pot. If you put a bucket with a few inches of water in it under the dump you don't even have to think about hot coals doing you a mischief. Nice job. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 Overall, looks good! One detail: the material of your grate looks a little thin, and I wouldn't be surprised if it burned out. A better option might be two or three pieces of heavier bar (say, 3/8" or so) welded across the opening. Another might be a bullet grate, like the one in this blueprint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Drescher Posted May 23, 2017 Author Share Posted May 23, 2017 17 hours ago, arkie said: I think that will work fine for you. After you get your hood installed, it will be even better. I like the large table. Good for staging your coal to start coking and a place to lay a tong or two, etc. Thank you very much! Yes, I wanted a good sized table for the coal and I was considering welding some extra metal on the end and putting holes in it for tongs when I develop the ability to handle those. For now, I'll leave my metal at a decent size to manipulate it by hand! 16 hours ago, Ranchmanben said: Like Arkie said, looks good! I'm a big believer in table space, you can never have enough flat space to lay tools and forget where you put them. Also, I see some kegs in the back ground, I think they make the best slack tubs! Will definitely consider using the kegs for a slack tub. Thanks so much for the advice. 15 hours ago, Frosty said: I'm a fan of a large table too without going overboard, more is better. A swing gate for the ash dump can be a hassle, clinker ash, etc. will make it hard to open and close after a while. I used an exhaust stack flap cap. They clamp to the pipe just get the right size and aim the counter weight towards where you stand so you can reach under with something, tongs, hammer, piece of stock, etc. and flip it open if necessary. The other good thing about a flap cap ash dump is when you get a coal smoke explosion it'll open the ash dump rather than flow coals out of the fire pot. If you put a bucket with a few inches of water in it under the dump you don't even have to think about hot coals doing you a mischief. Nice job. Frosty The Lucky. Thank you, Frosty. I will definitely consider changing the ash gate's design to a flap cap as per your advice! Coal smoke explosion sounds alittle dangerous..is it a common occurrence? It is odd that I haven't come across it during my research into utilizing coal as a fuel source. Thanks again! 7 hours ago, JHCC said: Overall, looks good! One detail: the material of your grate looks a little thin, and I wouldn't be surprised if it burned out. A better option might be two or three pieces of heavier bar (say, 3/8" or so) welded across the opening. Another might be a bullet grate, like the one in this blueprint. I will definitely consider your advice and use a thicker piece of steel. Thank you very much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 If it were me while doing modifications, I would set the top edge of the rotor flush with the table top, to eliminate the step up and seal up the cooling fins with fire clay.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Drescher Posted May 26, 2017 Author Share Posted May 26, 2017 On 5/23/2017 at 10:31 AM, Irondragon Forge & Clay said: If it were me while doing modifications, I would set the top edge of the rotor flush with the table top, to eliminate the step up and seal up the cooling fins with fire clay.. Thanks for the advice! Any idea where I can get fire clay to be shipped to Hawaii? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted May 26, 2017 Share Posted May 26, 2017 7 hours ago, James Drescher said: Any idea where I can get fire clay to be shipped to Hawaii? Try cheap, unscented cat litter. For this application, you don't need anything fancier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 26, 2017 Share Posted May 26, 2017 Check that it's clay based of course! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 26, 2017 Share Posted May 26, 2017 Unburnt coal smoke is flammable can can explode but it's usually just a pop and funny poof of flames from your fire. However in a large enough tuyere enough smoke can accumulate to blow coals out of the fire if it pops. Having a flap cap ash dump makes an automatic pressure relief valve for smoke pops. The tong racks I made for my coal forge are clip on, they slip over the rim on the table and are easily moved. I have the same rim on my little portable steel table for tongs, top and bottom tools, hammers, keeping long pieces of stock handy and out of the way, etc. They haven't been on the coal forge in years, decent coal is way too hard to come by here and it's unused. An easy way to bring the table bed level with the rotor disk is by packing the table top with damp clay till it's level or just ramps up to the rotor. It all doesn't need to be a plane as long as there's enough on the same plane as the fire pot to support the work and coal for coking. I used to keep split and full fire bricks handy on my forge, they stack nicely to adjust the size and shape of the fire and prop work. I don't use a "fire pot" in coal forges by preference I like the "duck's nest" type forge. Basically just a shallow depression around the air grate surrounded by fire bricks to make the size and shape fire I want. Don't let my preference confuse you though, I mention it only to illustrate how handy fire bricks on (or under) the forge table can be. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 26, 2017 Share Posted May 26, 2017 Lookup Producer Gas. Folks who use water in their forge can be making the stuff and it can build up and pop too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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