Irongru Posted March 15, 2019 Share Posted March 15, 2019 Hello all I am new to blacksmithing. I have an old bbq that i was planning on converting to a forge, i have put some pictures below. At the bottom is a hole which was used to brush the charcoal through once it had been used. My plan was to clean it out and put clay around the inside as im not sure if the metal is good enough to withstand the heat. With the hole at the bottom, i was going to use this for my air flow. However, one concern i have is used charcoal falling into the tubing. Has anyone ever converted one of these to a forge. Any advice/tips would be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 15, 2019 Share Posted March 15, 2019 For a charcoal fueled forge you will probably want to convert it to a more trough shaped forge as all the charcoal in the hearth will burn and so any not actively involved in heating the work piece is just wasted. And remember to use lump charcoal and not briquettes. Have you reviewed the JABOD thread? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irongru Posted March 15, 2019 Author Share Posted March 15, 2019 Yeah, i found the thread after i posted this. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irongru Posted March 15, 2019 Author Share Posted March 15, 2019 I was quite keen to try and use the bbq as its on wheels which would allow me to move it about. What about if i build it up so it wasnr so deep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted March 15, 2019 Share Posted March 15, 2019 Welcome to IFI... Have you read this yet? READ THIS FIRST You should consider making it into a side blast forge, they work better with lump charcoal. Sort of like this one I've started. I still have to clay it up for the fire pot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted March 16, 2019 Share Posted March 16, 2019 Charcoal isn’t particularly bottom blast friendly. You have to build deepper fire and it tends to burn more fuel than an equivalent side blast Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irongru Posted March 16, 2019 Author Share Posted March 16, 2019 I see. In terms on the whole of the bottom of the bbq, would i need to cover it? Im guessing i could weld a piece of sheet metal to reduce the depth and then clay that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted March 16, 2019 Share Posted March 16, 2019 You can, but a little extra dirt would work just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irongru Posted March 16, 2019 Author Share Posted March 16, 2019 I am hoping to end up with something similar to this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted March 16, 2019 Share Posted March 16, 2019 Think Side blast. Just lay a piece of pipe across and into the fire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irongru Posted March 16, 2019 Author Share Posted March 16, 2019 So cut a hole in the side amd put the air in that way? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted March 16, 2019 Share Posted March 16, 2019 Yep... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 17, 2019 Share Posted March 17, 2019 Why do you hope to get a bad design for a charcoal forge? Are you hoping it will be more expansive and harder to use so you will drop the craft? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irongru Posted March 18, 2019 Author Share Posted March 18, 2019 I meant in terms of the filling of the bowl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted March 18, 2019 Share Posted March 18, 2019 The style your showing works ok for coal as fire spread isn’t an isue, not so good for charcoal as you will waste fuel. For charcoal bring the mud all the way even with the rim and scoop out a bowl or trench. go to the forges section and look at the pended posts, their is a treatise on side blast forges with illustrations. And some pictures posted. The drawings are on a 1” to one square scale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 18, 2019 Share Posted March 18, 2019 Take a 4' length of stock and heat the middle of it in that design. Remember there needs to be several inches of fuel on to of the piece too! Me I use dirt and creak clay, I avoid rocks and bricks but may mix sand and wood ashes in the dirt and clay. If I am using charcoal in a coal forge I will put in firebrick or adobe to make a trough to contain the fuel and deepen the fire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted March 18, 2019 Share Posted March 18, 2019 If you like I can give you step buy step instructions on how to build ither a bottom or side blast forge from your set up. Some times when we first start out it’s hard to wrap your head around what is for us experienced pyromaniacs are simple concepts. Besides TP and the gang haven’t had a chance to herandpg me in a wile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irongru Posted March 18, 2019 Author Share Posted March 18, 2019 Yes please if you wouldnt mind Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lou L Posted March 18, 2019 Share Posted March 18, 2019 I have two instructive videos I think will inspire you with possibilities: Torbjorn Åhman’s simple side blast forge concept here https://youtu.be/m-R6iY-mY-Y and Joshua De Lisle’s bbq forge here https://youtu.be/Ys0LcbJ363E Both will provide you with the visuals and you can blend the concepts as you see fit. Oh, and get the cheap cheap cheap cat litter with no additives and you have cheap clay. You can add water or just mix it with dirt. Lou Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 18, 2019 Share Posted March 18, 2019 I'm not really impressed with the second one as he seems to go out of his way to spend money to make a less effective forge. Like using a cheap fountain pump you can drop into a bucket of water and not using the expensive tubing to hook it up; lining the sand with a layer of wood ashes to start---or using dirt. I was noticing how bent over he was using that anvil and how loud the anvil was. Nothing was stopping him from building a stand that would straighten him up a bit and silence the anvil, of course he wouldn't have needed a welder then... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted March 19, 2019 Share Posted March 19, 2019 So tell me your prefers fuel, coal or charcoal. Or both? Give me an idea of your tool access and skill level. Then we will get down to it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lou L Posted March 19, 2019 Share Posted March 19, 2019 Thomas, that wasn’t his normal setup. He actually had just recently been forced to rent out his very well appointed shop and take on a full time welding job for financial reasons. The manifold he created was basically an experiment to see if he could replace his full size English side blast forge that was no longer available to him. Either way, I had forgotten about that part. I posted it as an example to show what he did with the interior of the grill in order to make it a side blast JABOD. Funny aside: My autocorrect on this IPad just automatically suggested JABOD as the best choice upon my typing of “jab”. Nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted March 19, 2019 Share Posted March 19, 2019 This is why I set back and look at it. I tend to over complicate things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 19, 2019 Share Posted March 19, 2019 It still seemed to overcomplicate things. (And I noticed the offer to sell folks the water cooled tuyere stuff) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HojPoj Posted March 19, 2019 Share Posted March 19, 2019 On 3/18/2019 at 9:28 AM, Charles R. Stevens said: go to the forges section and look at the pended posts, their is a treatise on side blast forges with illustrations. And some pictures posted. The drawings are on a 1” to one square scale. Man, not to sound ungrateful, but the fact that those were scaled drawings would've been REALLY good to know in the post that they're contained in! I've been scratching my head on specific dimensions for a charcoal-fired JABOD for awhile now (specifically where the stock should be relative to the top of the tuyere) because I'm having limited success in getting decent heats with mine... I end up fiddling with it for an hour, get fed up with how slow things are, and break out the propane forge just so I can accomplish something in the limited time I have remaining. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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