Chuckbuckeye Posted October 23, 2018 Share Posted October 23, 2018 So I have acquired a lot of angle iron. I was thinking of making my coal pot out of it and lining it with refactory cement . Is this a good idea ? Question 2 is how deep should my pot be ? I would basically weld up a box out of the angle iron and step it down until I got to about 4” square. I would then weld plate on that and cut out my hole for my blower . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted October 23, 2018 Share Posted October 23, 2018 If you are going to use plate steel anyway why not just weld up the fire pot from that. Refractory cement would just be a waste of money really. The frame for the table could use that angle iron. As far as size of the pot, that depends on the size of work you want to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted October 23, 2018 Share Posted October 23, 2018 I suggest reading in the solid fuel section of the forum, I will now relocate this post to there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 23, 2018 Share Posted October 23, 2018 Well since you don't tell us how you plan to use it; I'd say it needs to be 4 inches to 1 foot deep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc1 Posted October 23, 2018 Share Posted October 23, 2018 Ha ha Thomas, very funny. Chuck ... Steve's suggestion is your first step, plenty of info in the right section. For a forge burning coal or coke, a 4' depth is the usually accepted average. The size of the pot and the hight of the edge depends from your source of air, volume and pressure and what you are wanting to forge. Long stuff that needs a recess or short small stuff. If you are going to make a pot from plate, it will work but will eventually burn out at the edges. I suggest using 3/8 plate and pay special attention to the top edge. You make it as an inverted truncated pyramid and add a 2" flat edge frame from same material to stop it from burning out. Add some pictures of your progress and make sure you read the many threads about forge build here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckbuckeye Posted October 23, 2018 Author Share Posted October 23, 2018 Thank you guys . So I’ll get a little more in depth. I’m hoping to start out making knives and tomahawks and axes all the way up to swords . Obviously starting small. Hoping to get started soon . My coal is on its way . Super excited ! So I have made a table out of angle iron with a piece of plate for the top . It’s 2’x2’ . So what I’m thinking of doing is starting off with my coal pot being 12”x12” then taking it down from there . I have 1”x1” angle iron . So if my math is right I can weld up a “pot “ about 6” deep . I only have a little bit of plate so I was going to use that for the bottom. I will leave an opening in the bottom for my air . Should I use the refactory cement ? I feel like that will make it last longer . Also devising a clunker breaker . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted October 23, 2018 Share Posted October 23, 2018 Well, how much is refractory cement vs. steel plate? ( I honestly don't know. Still using a 2" or 3" deep by 8" diameter brake rotor for the past 4-5 years now.) Just because you have a supply of something doesnt always make it the best or efficient thing to use. You could make an aweful lot of leaves from angle iron. Tool holders, tables, parts of fullers to clamp in a vise..... just offering different views. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc1 Posted October 24, 2018 Share Posted October 24, 2018 Absolutely. Cut a round hole in your table for a brake rotor or even brake drum. Seen some truck brake drums dumped by a truckie neighbor that are absolutely awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 On 10/23/2018 at 5:16 PM, Marc1 said: For a forge burning coal or coke, a 4' depth is the usually accepted average. That’s a very deep forge. 4” is more typical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc1 Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 Aouh you little !!! Ha ha, that would be a cyclop's forge under a volcano Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 Coal works just fine in a side blast as well... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 CRS, I'd not be so fast saying that; they have only been testing it out that way for around 800 years vs the around 3000 years for charcoal... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 True, but atleast burning rocks has been around longer than burning the stuff coming from those funky big white eggs... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 29, 2018 Share Posted October 29, 2018 Oh shoot the Chinese were burning rocks way way back---just not for smithing purposes. Them big white eggs look positively painful to produce; and bet the bird laying them is a might peevish! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anvil Posted November 7, 2018 Share Posted November 7, 2018 On 10/25/2018 at 1:18 AM, Marc1 said: Aouh you little !!! lol, he best me to it! 4" US = 4' Aussie. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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