August 16, 20178 yr I made a new coal forge, and ran it for the first time yesterday. Wow, what a difference having a good set up and good coal makes. Only problem I was having was heating the center of a bar. My firepot is quite deep - around 5" to the rim. and my cutouts are about another inch above that so laying a bar across is about 6" from the bottom of the pot. I can mound the coal up higher and get it to a red heat, but doing that repeatedly seems kinda wasteful with that much coal burning below it. I like the current depth for small work, anything I can stick an end in is perfect, so I'm not about to make a new pot entirely or cut apart the one I have. One idea I had was to make up a plate with airholes that I could temporarily drop into the pot on days where I know I'd be doing longer work, effectively raising the bottom of the pot several inches, but not restricting air flow. The mound to get to the top wouldn't be burning as much coal at once. Ideas? thoughts? Or, just tell me I'm talking crazy, mound it up even higher, and burn baby burn.
August 16, 20178 yr I would cut the hole the firepot sits in bringing it down level with the table and cut the cutouts down to the level of the table. Five inches of coal under the work is not excessive.
August 16, 20178 yr Making the bowl shallower is a good idea, a 2" pipe cap with a 3/4" hole drilled in it has proven efective. Depending on the depth you need a nipple may be necisary. Just let ash fill in around it. The big advantage of the bullet grate is that the slag rolls off and fouls a donut instead of blocking the air.
August 16, 20178 yr Author 5 hours ago, Irondragon Forge & Clay said: I would cut the hole the firepot sits in bringing it down level with the table and cut the cutouts down to the level of the table. Five inches of coal under the work is not excessive. The firepot is already pretty flush, but I might yet take out at least the front cutout. I'm hesitant on the rear since I'm using this on a gravel parking spot that's not level and tips away slightly. 5 hours ago, Charles R. Stevens said: Making the bowl shallower is a good idea, a 2" pipe cap with a 3/4" hole drilled in it has proven efective. Depending on the depth you need a nipple may be necisary. Just let ash fill in around it. The big advantage of the bullet grate is that the slag rolls off and fouls a donut instead of blocking the air. This sounds like a great compromise as well, I'd need a bigger cap, my clinker hole is 3" across. but a bigger cap would stick up more too. 3 hours ago, Jasent said: I have used your plate idea with good results. But I use charcoal not coal Always good to hear an idea works. Thanks!
August 16, 20178 yr 5 hours ago, Grumpy'sWorkshop said: I'm hesitant on the rear since I'm using this on a gravel parking spot that's not level and tips away slightly. Cut a notch in the middle of the back notch as a pass-through for longer stock, and keep it blocked with a bit of something when you're not using it. You can also put a bucket underneath it to to catch any coal that dribbles out the back.
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