Time to repair forge

[ausfire]

OK, my forge has been coping with daily demos for a few years now, but it's really in need of some repair. It is side blast, uses charcoal only and is built from rock and ant-bed like a lot of the early forges around the hills here. The thing is, the steel pipe from the blower has slowly been eaten away, and the mortar around the stones comes out regularly in the form of a glassy blob. This has created a problem in that long pieces of stock cannot be placed in the central heat of the fire. The pictures explain it best.

So, what's the best solution? I intend to remove what's left of the rock and mortar, fit a new heavier pipe (a hub from an old buggy) and set it in between two fire bricks, fixed with heat-proof mortar. (The package says heat proof to 1000.) Then I am going to coat the area around the pipe and the first part of the fire pit with Satanite, a commercially produced refractory material. I am hoping that will last for some time, eliminate the need to constantly remove melted mortar from the fire, and make heating longer material easier.

The forge is sited in a historic village complex, so I want to keep it looking like the forges used by our pioneers. I guess the firebricks and refractory will be something of a compromise, but once covered with ash they should blend in pretty well. I have found a few of those old water cooled tuyeres in the scrap in quite good condition and I would like to set one up some time down the track. But that's for another day.

Am I on the right track with the reconstruction as described above? I am happy to receive any suggestions.

 

[Glenn]

Lengthen the air pipe to get it away from the side wall of the forge and more the fire into the pan.

Consider it a consumable and as it slowly erodes from the fire, push more air pipe in to replace it.

[Charles R. Stevens]

I would assume the mortor to be a latter addition, as white ant (termite mounds) are very high clay content with termite spit mixed in they can be used to make a period mortor well enough. Clay melts at over 1,700c (3,200f) if you want period go period and remove the later repairers. The clay will vitrify in the forge and as you use charcoal clinker won’t be an issue. 

 

Looking closer it apears that lime mortar was used to build the forgebox of stone, white ant mound would be the lining to protect the mortor from the heat.  I would consider how to make the tire replaceable. The cast axle hub looks like it will fit over the pipe and you want it sticking in at least a hand width and protected with clay. 

 

[ThomasPowers]

Is the axle hub cast iron or steel?

[ausfire]

18 hours ago, ThomasPowers said:

Is the axle hub cast iron or steel?

I think it must be steel, as I had no trouble tack welding the last one onto the 2" pipe from the blower.

@Glenn: Yes, I do intend to have it projecting some distance into the fire. I guess the steel is a consumable, but the last one lasted a few years until it got to this stage.

@Charles: When I originally built the forge about eight years ago I used ant bed for the floor of the fire pit, The rim of rock around the top was placed with ordinary cement mortar. No lime used. Do you think a protective layer of clay would handle the heat better than the refractory stuff? And the tuyere is replaceable - just have to crack out all the old mortar and weld a new one on.

[Charles R. Stevens]

I think it’s cheaper and period correct. It is also easier to repair and replace. 2” keeps wood from burning

As to mortor, I was under the false assumption that it was a period forge, so locally praduced lime mortar would have been used or simply clay mortar. 

[ausfire]

19 hours ago, Charles R. Stevens said:

I think it’s cheaper and period correct. It is also easier to repair and replace. 2” keeps wood from burning

As to mortor, I was under the false assumption that it was a period forge, so locally praduced lime mortar would have been used or simply clay mortar. 

Yes, we built the forge to look like the ones that miners used around here when our town was founded on the discovery of tin back in 1880. The rock and ant bed forges were used to sharpen and temper rock drill steels. I have a steel tray/cast iron pot bottom blast forge with an electric blower as my home forge, but that wouldn't look the part in our historic village setting. Interesting what you say about clay. I will take note of that, thanks.

[Charles R. Stevens]

Clay melts at over 1,700 c, (3,,200f) and my experiments with the JABAD forge and my red clay rich soil shows it vitrifies in the forge. Creating a soft ceramic like salado tile. 

[Charles R. Stevens]

When you put in the new tuyere, consider giving it a wrap of brown paper or a clotting of grease. So in another half decade you can pull out the tuyere and slip in a new one, you might even consider a slip joint and okum instead of welding the tuyere to the air pipe for the same reason. Then stash a 1/2 century of those carriage/buggy spendals along the back wall there ready for action. The other option of corse is the cast water cooled tuyere I saw in your junk pile a year or two past, a barrel mounted on a shelf on the wall and some pipe and your in business. It wouldn’t look out of place any more than the hand cranked blower.  

[ThomasPowers]

Clay varies WILDLY in temperatures that it can stand; I've boiled a  terracotta flower pot in my forge trying to replicate some of =Theophilus' enameling techniques while porcelain clay can stand a lot higher heat.  One of the biggest problems Huntsman had when working on the cast steel process was getting refractories that would work with molten steel temps and be usable in a "factory setting".  (check out the other thing Coors is well known for...)

[Frosty]

21 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said:

(check out the other thing Coors is well known for...)

And here I thought Coors just made terrible yellow water imitation beer stuff.

More reading. Cool. Thanks Thomas.

Frosty The Lucky.

[ausfire]

On ‎11‎/‎05‎/‎2018 at 1:20 AM, Charles R. Stevens said:

 The other option of corse is the cast water cooled tuyere I saw in your junk pile a year or two past, a barrel mounted on a shelf on the wall and some pipe and your in business.   

Yes, I should do something with those water tuyeres. We have some water tanks of various sizes and plenty of pipe. Maybe I should fit one of these up instead of the buggy spindle.

[Charles R. Stevens]

Still period for a mining community shop I would think. Has a cool factor as well.