Another JBOD kinda forge. Any advice appreciated.

[Hammers&HotIron]

Hello fine people! I'm starting my first forge and would like any advice that you have to offer. So here are my stipulations for my forge build.

1. It has to be built at zero cost, mostly using scrap I have laying around.

2. The fuel will be charcoal

3. No electricity. I don't mind using electricity to build the forge but once it's up and running I want to be power free.

I guess that's it if I can think of anything else I will post it as I think of it.

So here is what I have so far.

I'm using this cause it's gonna sleep outside and this thing already has a lid, I will have to add weight to the lid but I'll get to that when it's time.

The diameter is about 16 inches and the depth is just under 10 inches. It will be a sideblast. Now onto my first questions.

1. How deep should I should t put the tuyere?

2. Should I mix some wood ash with the sandy clay I have dug out for it?

3. Should I put some wood or something at the bottom to lighten the load a bit?

Any tips or suggestions would be appreciated.

[JHCC]

Sorry, were you planning to make the forge out of the wheelbarrow, or the lobster pot?

[Hammers&HotIron]

The lobster pot, sorry for the confusion. I found something to put it on and right now I'm working on getting the blower connected 

[JHCC]

Okay, thanks. Assuming that you still have something else in which to boil your lobsters, let's look at your three questions:

5 hours ago, Hammers&HotIron said:

1. How deep should I should t put the tuyere?

Read THIS THREAD; that will answer your question.

5 hours ago, Hammers&HotIron said:

2. Should I mix some wood ash with the sandy clay I have dug out for it?

Can't hurt. Don't worry about it if you don't have ashes ready to hand.

5 hours ago, Hammers&HotIron said:

3. Should I put some wood or something at the bottom to lighten the load a bit?

No, dirt is fine, and better insulation.

[Charles R. Stevens]

With charcoal and a small blast you can get away with the top of the tywere being about 1- 1 1/2” from the top of the hearth. You will need banks so you can get a cuple of inches of fuel above it. With a more robust air source one can go as much as 3”. 

You certainly can use light fill of some kind as long as you have 2-3” of soil providing insulation, alternatively one can cut two slots in the side of the pot and bring the hearth down. You want the hearth at about anvil hight to save you from lifting stock from one to the other and to be able to use either the hearth of anvil as stock supports. 

Either way I would build up two walls like an African/Asian forge to contain fuel above the hearth (center of the fire where you stick stock).

interesting blower set up, a large pipe sized down close to the tywere would be my advice, the more restriction the easer squirrel cages turn. 

[Hammers&HotIron]

Thanks for the advice guys. It's getting closer to done, I should have it all tied up tomorrow.

[Hammers&HotIron]

I think I finished up my forge today. The dirt I used ended up being too dry and I had to add a little water to it to make it stick to itself. I will let it sit for the rest of the day and fire it up tomorrow. Here is what it looks like all done.

[robie1373]

I am loving that blower setup. That's my kind of engineering. Can you still shift the gears?

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Should be able to, still has both derailleur's on it.