Coal forge w/Newman firepot

[blacksmith-450]

Here's my first real coal forge.  The firepot is from Newman, Ontario, Canada... it's built very heavy duty !  I love that !

 

[anvil]

Ut looks like a great firepit! Any addy?

It appears that the way you are set up, you will be standing in front of the extension. That puts the clinker ball handle to your left,,, a long reach.

I'd set it up so the handle is under your extension.

[ThomasPowers]

As in general I don't dump ash or use the clinker breaker very often I'm OK with that location.  (Some coal you are doing it all the time!) I would have increased the sides higher because in use you will probably want the bed load of coal higher than the rim of the firepot so it's easy to rake in or mound for large work.. Of course this will mandate a pass through on the side opposite from the extension.

[JHCC]

Here's a radical proposal: cut off the extension and the rims on the long sides. Add some plate along both long edges to make the width the same as the length. Increase the rim height on all four sides to at least two inches, leaving cutouts on the front and the sides. This will give you a nice square forge, and you'll be able to work from any side without the interior corners of the rim getting in the way or worrying about coal dribbling over the edges.

You might also think about relocating the blower so that the air gate is accessible from the same side as the clinker breaker and ash dump handles. That way you can do all your fire maintenance from one position, without having to walk around the forge.

[anvil]

8 hours ago, ThomasPowers said:

As in general I don't dump ash or use the clinker breaker very often I'm OK with that location

I couldn't be without them. Keeping my fire clean is just part of my fire control routine, no matter the quality of the coal.

Bring coke into the center of the fire, stuff settles to the bottom, quick flip of the handle, poof, gone

Besides it beats standing there waiting for yer iron to get hot doing nothing. 

8 hours ago, JHCC said:

Here's a radical proposal: cut off the extension

Not so radical. I'd do the same. I'd make the lip at least that height above the lip of the fire pot, if not a bit more. And a lip the same height at the front and back of that fire pot. Then if you ever decide to fire clay it, your long irons would have a good flat surface to rest on, on both sides of the fire pot. This radically helps keep your work straight. 

[JHCC]

"Radical" in the sense of "root" or "core" (from the Latin radix, from which we also get "radish"). 

[anvil]

lol, works for me!  The radish of the problem for me is the firepit isn't rooted properly... 

[JHCC]

I had a problem once getting power hammer tooling that turned out to be made not from steel, but from a large Chinese radish. It was a real die-con.

[anvil]

Ya buried me too deep to sprout on that one.

[blacksmith-450]

Thanks a lot for the comments.  It was in the plan to put some walls around to keep the coal.  So far, it's not a problem to control the air gate and the clinker breaker.  I'll use it a little more before  make changes.  I'll keep you posted !

[JHCC]

2 minutes ago, blacksmith-450 said:

I'll use it a little more before  make changes.

That is wise. People often rush to make changes before they know enough to know what they actually need.

[Hans Richter]

Hi Mr. 450, this looks like a very nice and durable forge to me. With a heavy cast hearth sole wide and deep enough to forge all kind of items. With the contain of the sole and a rim of approx. 2in and the left space you also have the space to store a reasonable amount of de-sulphated coal and green coal in spare for the ongoing and future work.

Be gentle to the great sole and spare her (temperature shock) with gentle quenching by a water soaked rag ball while fire management.

Regarding the extensions and positioning of the clinker breaker and air supply it’s a wise move to do up some experience while forging. In my case I use the air escape of the blower to be in charge of intensity of the fire and fuel consumption, about the clinker I use my ‘clinker poker’ on regular base.

Only constructive feedback from my side and as an work safety adviser, will be the replacement of one pair of moving wheels by wheels with breaks. No ‘clou’ how heavy/top loaded the forge will be with fuel and work piece, but you know ‘safety first’.

Wish you many pleasant hours on the new forge.

Kind regards, Hans

P.S. Please find attached the ‘fire management set’ I use for decades to keep control of my stationary and mobile forges I share already on IFI, and witch is ‘borrowed’ by several of my smith brothers & sisters (extinguisher rag, coal positioner-shuffle, air/clinker poker).

[blacksmith-450]

Merci Hans, j'ai bien noté les conseils.  Votre série de poker et rack est également dans mes plans.