Glenn Posted September 19, 2017 Share Posted September 19, 2017 Cardboard is most everywhere. Open the cardboard box and lay it flat, Next cut it into 2-3 inch strips of what ever length is available, the length of the box. The tubes of the cardboard interior should run in the 2-3 inch direction. Take a strip and roll it into a cylinder leaving a small opening in the very center of the tube. Crumple up piece of burning paper, news paper, etc into the fire pot. Put the cardboard cylinder on to the burning paper. Add just enough air to get the cardboard burning. All your solid fuel on top of the cardboard cylinder and a bit more air. You should have hot embers from the cardboard cylinder that will ignite the fuel in short order. If the fuel is stubborn, place some small pieces of wood, sticks, kindling, etc on top of the cardboard cylinder. Then the forge fuel on top of the wood. Add air as needed to get embers hot and start the forging fuel to burning. One cardboard box should produce several cardboard cylinders. Each cylinder can be used for starting a fire in the forge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted September 19, 2017 Share Posted September 19, 2017 Wow Glenn, you've almost adopted My method of lighting a coal forge! I place the cardboard coil directly on the air grate and allow it to spring open slightly. I pack coarse (peanut, acorn) coal around it and over it to make a crater. Then I pack around that with dampened fines. The fines help contain the heat and fire, damp helps it coke to make a nice, fast closed or bee hive fire. Then I light a stick match and drop it in the center of the coil, it's generally open enough the match stays lit with a slight blast or just open the ash dump for a LITTLE air flow. As soon as the cardboard catches give it a GENTLE blast and cover it with coarse leaving a crater so live flame is visible and consumes most of the smoke. The coarse coal allows the air then flame to flow through the pile while the fines on the outside contain it. The cardboard coil with air blowing through it acts like a blow torch in the coal pile. Typically it takes me longer to arrange the coil and starter pile than it does to get a green coal fire to working once I drop the match in. It may be faster to use a shovel full of burning coals from the camp fire but I've never seen faster than the cardboard coil. Once lit it's just a green coal fire. Easy Peasy. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keith9 Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 timely topic, thanks. I'm about to get the legs rebuilt for my old forge. That'll happen this weekend then I'll be on deck for my first forge burn. I make and know charcoal, but more for the Weber Smoky Joe Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reeltree Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 I use Map gas, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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