MaxwellB Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 I've browsed the solid fuel section and read the BP on the 55 Forge. I'm planning on putting one together, so I can see if I prefer propane or solid fuel. So my question is simple... Have there been any NECESSARY/NEEDED changes done to a 55 that should be noted, or are they all "operator preference" types of changes? For example, would it be considered a must to go with side-blast over traditional "up from under"? Does a brake drum make things easier/more efficient or does it make things cumbersome? Things like that are questions I have. I have 2 55 steel drums left out of 4 I bought a few seasons ago to turn into burn barrels, and I really don't need 4 burn barrels in the yard. So I figured I would cannibalize one of them and take a shot at the 55. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 Side blast is traditinal, bottom blasts are new fangled things. 55 forges and simple side blast/ JABOD forges are simple and cheep so you can experiment till you get it right. Now if you mine the penned posts in the solid fuel forge section you will find they provide a good primer so you can get it right pretty close to the first time, just KISS it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 Side blast was generally used for a couple of thousand years before the bottom blast was; can you define "traditional" for us? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxwellB Posted July 28, 2019 Author Share Posted July 28, 2019 Perhaps "traditional" was the wrong choice of words. A lot of things I've been reading have pointed towards a general shift in using air supply coming from the bottom. Also part of the reason I was inquiring about the use of drums. Seems many designs these days favor air supply coming up from underneath everything. I figure if I'm going to build this, might as well pick a few brains before I commit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted July 28, 2019 Share Posted July 28, 2019 With cast iron becoming cheep, bottom blast forges were generaly more portable than side blast forges. Combine that with marketing and we have a shift to the bottom blast, but with it fame problems with slag being on top of the air supply. Combine this with some magazine or another advocating using a model T brake drum and wheel hub as a bottom blast Hobie forge and we have our current situation. Side blast forges evolved with charcoal and proved adaptable to peat and coal, wile bottom blast forges being late comers realy work best with coal and coke (as coal turns to coke in the forge, it works fine in sideblast forges). Now as far as cost and fast builds I say that either a 55 sideblast or a JABOD (the difference being just the box). A 3/4” schedual 40 tyere will heat 1” stock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 29, 2019 Share Posted July 29, 2019 I've assumed that the bottom blast firepots were probably an outgrowth of the huge rise in the commercial use of cast iron post the American Civil War. My copy of Civil War Blacksmithing is in a box 200 miles north; but ISTR that the official army travelling forge in the ACW was side blast. Anyone have their copy handy? I'm not so up on Modern Smithing stuff...The UK has a long proud tradition of side blast forges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Griffin Posted July 29, 2019 Share Posted July 29, 2019 Wish I had known all this when I built my forge. I'm not satisfied with the way it heats. As soon as I get back on my feet I'll be working on a side blast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted July 30, 2019 Share Posted July 30, 2019 The original 55 Forge was bottom blast only because that was what was being used in this area at the time. The T fitting to the air pipe needed to be a T so the ash would fall down and out of the way of the incoming air. A brake drum installed into the forge was a modification to suit those thinking a brake drum was needed. It was then modified to a rotor as they were easier to obtain in some areas. It gave a little depth to the fire that could just as easily been accomplished with bricks or a deeper ash bed. Side blast modification was used to make things simpler. Just add air from a 3/4 or 1 inch pipe about 3 inches or the width of a brick on its side to a flat bottom forge. No cutting, welding, etc for the bottom blast and the clinker and ash were no longer a concern. The JABOD Just a box of dirt was a modification of the side blast 55 forge. For those new to forging, their solid fuel of choice can create different types of smoke. Maintaining a fire is a part of the learning. You can use bituminous, soft coal, and forge with very little smoke. A chimney is just a device to get the smoke out of the work area. If you do not make smoke, you need less worries about a chimney. The chimney diameter of 10 to 12 inches diameter is suggested. It moves a lot of volume of air and works for many forges. Depending on your set up, the fuel you use, and the materials available to you, a working forge can be built at little expense. Show us what you have to work with, what you are trying to build and we can get you started. As has been said before, do not build a box and then try to think outside the box. If you do not build a box everything is an opportunity. The 55 forge project continues to be modified and tested. There is always room to see if that weird idea might really work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted July 30, 2019 Share Posted July 30, 2019 Nothing wrong with a bottom blast forge if built Correctly! Same with a side blast. Just use proven instructions to a T. Get it? Ugh. Thats bottom blast humor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted July 30, 2019 Share Posted July 30, 2019 (edited) I have an outdoor fireplace pan I'm using to build a sideblast African type forge. I'm going to fill it with clay with the tuyere coming in about two inches below the rim. A trench about an inch or so deeper below that and a clay mound on either side of the trench. I'll post some pics when I get around to putting it together. Pnut Depending on how the clay mounds hold up I may have to substitute some red clay bricks. Edited July 30, 2019 by pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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