Sun Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 Hi all, I am a newbie to this site. I had previously tried my hand at some backyard/ hobby blacksmithing before, but it was not very successful. The forge I was using previously had air blowing in from the side and I could not figure out how to get concentrated heat (I know realize air coming in from the bottom is much more efficient). I have now obtained a brake drum (which for some reason is pretty difficult in my area) and will be making a simple brake drum forge. *edit: I no longer have the side hole forge My problem is I live in a residential area with a small back yard and am worried about possible embers flying up into the neighborhood. I was thinking of possibly making the forge stand out of red clay bricks and maybe making some sort of simple overhead structure (maybe a piece of sheet metal sandwiched between some bricks) to rest a few feet above the forge. Does anyone else have a simple solution to the ember problem? (other than using a propane forge). I also DO NOT have access to a welder currently. oh also, the forge will not be located in a shop if that wasn't already clear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 Welcome aboard Sun, glad to have you. Both side and bottom blast forges have their plusses and minuses. At your present skill level neither is particularly good, you have to learn a few things first. A brake drum bottom blast is NOT a good beginner's fire pot unless it's all you have available. You have a side blast now learn to use it, it has a number of advantages. What's bad about a brake drum fire pot? It's WAY too large, especially for someone who hasn't become proficient managing fire. That will be a serious fuel hog and you'll burn up a lot of steel before you learn how to make it behave. A sideblast on the other hand is easy to reconfigure and all three main zones are visible making work placement and fire management much easier. If you're getting a lot of embers you're cranking the blower too hard or need to gate the air if it's electric. Fire management issue. Coal is easy to shut down safely, shovel the coal and ash into a bucket of water and it's no fire hazard. It'll dry right out when you wish to light another fire. Seriously, coal doesn't care if it's wet, it'll burn just fine. Better in fact in many ways. Stick with your sideblast for now is my advice but that's just my opinion. Dressing things up for he neighbors isn't a bad idea but making a permanent or even semi permanent installation can be a problem. However, dry laying brick into a nice forge with a hood and stack is an option and the stack will help get any smoke higher so it's less an issue for neighbors. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sun Posted January 23, 2019 Author Share Posted January 23, 2019 Thanks for your reply Frosty, I did update the post as I no longer have the side blowing forge. I do realize that this will be a somewhat more demanding forge in terms of coal consumption but it is a relatively small brake drum. The furnace currently is a hair dryer. Strangely enough I dont have much problem with smoke, just the embers scare me a little. But I will try to implement your feedback! Thanks:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 Separate the end of the hair dryer from the air pipe going to the forge. Aim the dryer more directly to the air pipe for more air, less directly to the air pipe for less air. Fuel does not make the fire hot, air makes the fire hot. You only want the amount of air going to the forge to produce the heat you need from the fuel. You want a fireball about the size of a large grape fruit or melon. Then you want fuel on top of that. This will help hold the heat into the fire ball and reduce any embers. You will be surprised just how little air it takes to run a solid fuel forge. Keep a 5 gallon bucket of water beside the forge at all times. A splash of water can put out most small fires. If you are in doubt, wet the surrounding area around the forge down with a garden hose and keep the garden hose pressurized just in case. If you are worried about the neighbors, keep a fire extinguisher handy close to the forge. When finished forging, rake the fire apart. As the fire goes out, put anything that was hot into the bucket of water, the fire, the fire ball, the clinker, the ash, any unburned fuel that is warm, etc. Do hot forget the down tube or ash tube of the forge. Leave a couple inches of water standing over the top of anything that used to be hot. Next day dump the bucket and reclaim any unburned fuel or coke. Let it dry out and use it again later. If you have strong winds, and or dry conditions, do not light a fire. Go back in the house and use the time to catch up on your reading. Or play with modeling clay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
51 Papy Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 Sun I have used a break drum forge for the last four or five years. The best thing I did was go to my local brick yard and pick up some cheap! fire brick. These are used in fireplaces and will stand up to "some" heat. I got 4 full size for $10 US. I fit them so that they set level with the top of the drum and they form a "forge pot". These are consumables. They will need to be replaced. I can more than pay for the brick with the savings in coal. The other two brick can be stacked on top to deepen the fire for welding. As to the original question, the suggestions above came from some very experienced people. Try them. If you have access to any heating and cooling folks, son-in-law is a master HVAC, have them get you an old exhaust blower off a 92% heater. I have three different brands and they all slide right on the 2" pipe I used. A ceiling fan variable speed controller $10-15US will let you "idle" the air flow to the fire when your hammering. Not sure what is available in B.C. or costs but you can make it work. Once you start having fun with it you'll want to upgrade your set up. I also have a very small backyard and neighbors. Be curteous with your work hours. When I roll the forge out my neighbors want to know what I'm working on. Communication is key. Last summer the neighbor was having her in-laws over for a BBQ. I shut down as soon as I found out. Neighbor-Relations are important. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 Welcome to IFI! If you haven't yet, please READ THIS FIRST!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 First of all; WHAT FUEL ARE YOU USING? Bituminous and Anthracite coal should not be producing flying embers if the air is adjusted correctly. Charcoal will have spark issues, sifting out the fines help as well as "drying it" on the sides of the fire before raking it into the hot spot. Peat will have issues with flying small bits so be very cautious with your air levels. Secondly; for using a small brake drum efficiently I suggest putting in a fence---I bent a piece of plain sheet steel around and dropped it in the empty brake drum so that it held in place by spring tension and extended several inches above the top of the drum. I cut it a bit shy in length so there was a gap between the ends to put work in and I cut a "mouse hole" opposite so I could stick long pieces all the way through. This allowed me to build up the inner sides of the drum with clay making a more typically shaped firepot. In use I added fuel to above the rim of the drum and adjusted air till the hot spot bisected the plane of the rim so I could stick the workpiece in horizontally! and have it in the hotspot and NOT down at the evil steel burning oxygen rich level right at the tuyere. I used this forge as my billet welding setup for several years---it was part of my "Beginner's kit for under US$25" exploration. The fence allowed me to pile coal high without it falling over the edge of the drum, the clay kept the fire size reasonable. (Note with charcoal this is a MUST because all charcoal on the forge will burn. When I use charcoal in my coal forges I put a parallel line of fire bricks to make it a trough forge to get depth of fuel without wasting it in breadth. I also turn the air to almost NOTHING with charcoal!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sun Posted January 24, 2019 Author Share Posted January 24, 2019 Thank you all for the wonderful tips and tricks. I have a lot of experimenting to do in the near future! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enewguy Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 20 hours ago, Glenn said: Fuel does not make the fire hot, air makes the fire hot. Just curious Glenn, as I've been reading A LOT of older posts on this site. Ever get tired of saying it? it's even been said to me when I was burning my steel. Sun, I was having a kinda sorta related issue... It wasn't so much of an ember problem but I was blowing way way WAY to much air into the fire pot. Every once in a while I would get a poof of embers when I moved the steel in or out of the fire. 14 hours ago, ThomasPowers said: down at the evil steel burning oxygen rich level right at the tuyere Yep, that spot. But the air I was blowing in was through a 1/2" pipe with a mattress inflater taped in the end. So my whole evil spot was much taller than if I had been doing it properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 Much like saying *If the metal gets too hot to hold, then turn it loose.* It makes sense AFTER you think about it. (grin) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 I always knew you were a hands on thinker Glenn! Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 Also the similar "If the floor wants to examine your piece; it is EXTREMELY rude to interfere!" (If a piece is heading toward the floor, LET IT, and then pick it up correctly with tongs or at the COLD end.) (Training yourself to NOT grab something dropping saves a lot of pain in the long run.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sun Posted January 25, 2019 Author Share Posted January 25, 2019 14 hours ago, ThomasPowers said: Also the similar "If the floor wants to examine your piece; it is EXTREMELY rude to interfere!" (If a piece is heading toward the floor, LET IT, and then pick it up correctly with tongs or at the COLD end.) (Training yourself to NOT grab something dropping saves a lot of pain in the long run.) ahaha I have made this mistake when I was using my old forge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enewguy Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 On 1/24/2019 at 10:00 AM, ThomasPowers said: "If the floor wants to examine your piece; it is EXTREMELY rude to interfere!" Lololol I actually told my son that today. We finally got a chance to fire up the 55 I built. He was itching to make something so I suggested a bracelet for his girlfriend. At one point he started to drop it from the vise. for some reason he thought he should catch it by pinning it against the workbench with his hip. Lol I yelled let it fall, he did. Then I quoted you. He kinda laughed as he realized how dumb of a move that was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 By pinning hot metal against the workbench with his hip, yes. To letting it fall, no. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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