Looking to overhaul coal forge as I accumulated enough favors to have Mason buddies brick entire forge and I’d like to make some functional improvements as well. Would like guys opinions on two things. 

I currently have a 12x9 firepot but it seems small sometimes when I’m doing gates etc. 

what are the favorite sizes and why. I am doing more and more scrolling and like the coal forge as opposed to gas. 

Also. Would like to upgrade to a modern blower and would like thoughts on any models. 

Going to keep side draft hood as I have no complaints 

I’ve included pics of current setup.  

Thanks. 

I have used a forge built from plans in The Anvils Ring circa 1990 or so by Mitch Fitzgibon for around 24-26 years. It  is a variable firepot that can give me up to a 40" fire or as narrow as 6". It is very rare that a really huge firepot is useful, but when you do need that oddball heat it is nice to be able to do it, I will try to find the plans.

 

30” square hearth with a 30” work table next to it, water cooled side last tuyere. Fill the hearth with ash and cinder. Walla, just mold your fire bowl to tast when you build a new fire

You might find rearranging things so you work from where the open top drum stands to hep as well, at least when working long stock

 

Here is my forge empty so you can see how it is constructed. I think the above suggestion of a side blast forge might be a good way to go. they are easy to build and use and very adaptable. I built this before I had ever encountered one, as you can see it has seen some use. the other two are the forge in the process of packing the bed. Here I am using a mix of old cinders and cat litter, with some fire bricks to fill in big spaces.  I think the plans were in the fall/winter '89 Anvil's Ring.

 

Please excuse my ignorance here, but how to you maintain a clean fire with it full like that?
Cleaning out clinker etc to start a new fire, do you also have to dig out a layer of the filler too?

Apologies if that's a stupid question, I only use coal once a week, and it's just in a cast fire bowl, so I empty (and sift) the whole thing to clear it out before lighting up.

Well, as the ash and clinker build up you certainly have more volume of fill, traditinaly this was saved to fill new side last forges (they being essentially 32” boxes) now clinker will generally sink to the lowest point in the bowl and if you kill the air for a few miners will solidify enough to snag with your poker. On a new fire you reshape your fire bowl and are back to the races. One of our English smiths showed how he used a can and a sprits of water to form a fire bowl in his sided blast using ash and clinker. 

I like the cat litter and was actually thinking long those lines as to how to make the JABOD forges portable for demo’s. Sand having serious problems with slag at welding temps. I would appreciate your comments on it Jason.

Clinker is not much of an issue as it pools below the air vents and actually seems to reflect a lot of heat back into the fire increasing its intensity. With a side draft it isn't much of a problem either. Clinker interferes with a fire by obstructing air flow and choking it. Wit this forge as with a side blast that is not likely. Now my air pipes at pretty well burned/rusted away, this is an old forge. About 18-19 years ago I made a lot of damascus in this forge and ran welding heats for 6 to 10 hrs a day without cleaning it out. The next morning I would pull a football sized Clinker out, it always had air holes in it. This is the only time I have used the cat litter and it seems to do ok. I hadn't burned coal in a few years and was a bit short on cinders when I set it up this lest time.

I am on my phone and typing is kind of a pain. Here is a rough description of the plans- about as detailed as the originals.

Thank you. I have seen ilistratiins of a set up that esentualy used hole drilled in a pipe cupler, tho I imagine a reducing “T” would work as well.

dont sweet the phone I post from my phone as often as not