January 25, 20188 yr I'm building a coal forge and I'm wonder what dimensions to build the fire pot. BTW, it's gonna be a legit forge that will last long.
January 25, 20188 yr Have you looked into the sizes of commercially made fire pots? Your question is a bit vague. What size items do you plan to forge? Are you making it like a commercially made fire pot? Just pointing out that the more info you can provide the better the answers you will get.
January 25, 20188 yr Welcome to IFI... Also if you will edit your profile to show your location you may be surprised how many members are near you and a lot of answers are location dependent. For a very good fire pot you could follow Bob Patrick's directions. http://magichammer.freeservers.com/fabricated_fire_pot_by_bob_patri.htm
January 25, 20188 yr Welcome aboard Jesse, glad to have you. A "legit forge"? Does that mean all the home builds out there are outlaw forges? On a serious not, fire pots don't last forever, even cast iron ones. We can't give you a meaningful answer without knowing what you need. The size of your proposed work, type of fuel, available space, etc. Frosty The Lucky.
January 25, 20188 yr Charles tends to look at forges sideways. Last bottom blast forge pot I made was made from the axle cover from a "banjo" rear end from probably the 1930's. They were often used to make jack stands and I bought a set for US$3 at a fleamarket, The first one is still the firepot in my coal forge for the last 30 years now and I have the second one still to use when that gives out...
January 25, 20188 yr 1 hour ago, Charles R. Stevens said: Some would say if it has a fire pot it isn’t a lagit forge... Really?! My duck's nest forges are legit? Soooo Cool. Jesse: Please don't get the impression we're making fun of you, we aren't. We often get onto sidetracks with silly funnin, this is nothing. We'd love to help, we just need more information from you. Get back to us please. Frosty The Lucky.
January 26, 20188 yr Author Thanks, I mean legit as not a hole in the ground with a hair dryer. I'm planing on doing mostly small projects and some knives. I'm also planning on lining it with refractory cement. I was thinking 10"x10" then adding the refractory.
January 26, 20188 yr Jesse. Go to the main page and look for the "introduce yourself" thread. In there is the "read this first" which explains about doin research before asking questions. You say you want legit which I see as wanting something less rudimentary than a ground forge but then you contradict your self by wanting to line it with refactory cement. Cement is not long lived in a forge and it has other issues also when used as a fire pot lining. Oh. And welcome aboard to the blacksmithing addiction.
January 26, 20188 yr Author Thank you Mr. Olson, I wasn't aware of that. I was thinking that refractory cement would increase the life. Thank you and I'll take your advice. Also, Irondragon, I will think about those plans. Also, I have a question. If the forge gets hot enough to melt steel then how does a steel fire pot work?
January 26, 20188 yr Let us be Socratic. If the forge heats one end of a steel rod hot enough to burn, why can you hold the other end in your bare hand? Why does your kitchen not burn when you turn the oven up to 475 degF? (Heat transfer rates and ambient temperatures much lower. Also the hot spot is not against the firepot but where the oxygen is doing the burn) Also a cement lining to a metal firepot may *decrease* its lifespan by trapping moisture against the metal unless you are in a very dry non-condensing climate.
January 26, 20188 yr Well, I appritiate your opinion, lol. I have a hole in the ground (acualy a box of dirt at inseam high) with a double action bed inflator pump... I also have a gasser. I like my box of dirt for my general forging, as I find burning charcoal a joy Das acualy had good advice, look at the commercial pots at center forge, they come with comertial forges for those in , very lagit .
January 26, 20188 yr 1 hour ago, Jesse Sommer said: Thank you Mr. Olson, I wasn't aware of that. I was thinking that refractory cement would increase the life. Thank you and I'll take your advice. Also, Irondragon, I will think about those plans. Also, I have a question. If the forge gets hot enough to melt steel then how does a steel fire pot work? I tried lining my fire pot with refractory, the clinker stuck to the refractory so I stopped doing that. My fire pot is 5" by 8" and only 2" deep made of 1/8" plate. I'm pretty happy with the size as I can make a really small fire in it and when I need a bigger fire I just bank it up with coal. The 1/8" plate is holding up much better than I expected.
January 27, 20188 yr 20 hours ago, bluesman7 said: If the forge gets hot enough to melt steel then how does a steel fire pot work? The air blast keeps the fire pot steel cooler than melting temperature, the hot spot of the fire is above the steel of the fire pot. Like this illustration.
January 27, 20188 yr Guessing the quote was quoted from your quote of the original quote, thus the confusion of quoters. (Or is it quotees? Or would there be 3 e's in quote-ees?)
January 28, 20188 yr Charles, I had good advice? Wow haha. Jesse, a legit forge is one that heard metal to work it in the temps needed to. They can take many forms and be made of some different materials, all that matters is that they Work for what you need them to, and in my opinion, last a while. They are consumable, just shouldn't be consumed quickly. Wether you make one that looks like a commercially available one or use scrap, dirt, clay, etc if it works it's legit. Now, have you found dimensions to build one like yet?
January 28, 20188 yr I feel like all solid fuel forges are just modifications on a hole in the ground. Some are just metal holes with legs.
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