BoOnTheGo Posted September 23, 2019 Author Share Posted September 23, 2019 Glenn, I've been using wood for years. Use to and it works well for me. Charcoal has a lot less smoke to it. Easier on my eyes... pnut, that makes more sense. Thanks for clarifying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laynne Posted September 23, 2019 Share Posted September 23, 2019 I get my fire started with charcoal then feed it wood chunks. If/when I get behind I give it a scoop of charcoal. One less labor/time intensive process. As far as versatility, I haven't figured out anthracite yet. I need to dedicate a whole day using it. Deeper fire more air, same depth more air.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoOnTheGo Posted September 26, 2019 Author Share Posted September 26, 2019 As promised, here are a couple of pics from the first firing. I was only at it for about an hour, all the time I had. I felt the bottom and it was rather warm, not too hot to touch. Thanks for every's help with this. Several observations from today. Air- a little dab will do ya. really doesn't take much compared to what I was used too. Fuel, once again, doesn't use very much. Takes no time to heat up. I'm looking forward to spending a day with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris C Posted September 26, 2019 Share Posted September 26, 2019 Well, it looks as if it works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoOnTheGo Posted September 26, 2019 Author Share Posted September 26, 2019 Chris, so far so good! I'm pleased with this set up so far Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted September 26, 2019 Share Posted September 26, 2019 Do you have to angle the stock to get it in the hot spot? If you do try adding a little more fuel on top and just barely increasing the air. Pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted September 26, 2019 Share Posted September 26, 2019 Nice job Bo. You're going to find you like a side blast a LOT more than the old bottom blast, burning wood or charcoal. The thing I didn't care much for when forging in wood fires was all the radiant heat put off by the coaling wood. I found cutting both ends out of a can and standing it on the back of the fire lets the wood pyrolize without roasting my like a broiler. The coals are pushed to the bottom where you can rake them where you want them. I've never used a forge that configuration, didn't know any better at the time but I'll have to one of these days. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoOnTheGo Posted September 26, 2019 Author Share Posted September 26, 2019 pnut, I did just that as I got going. I had saw that somewhere on here. Easy peasy. Very happy with the way it has turned out so far. I am looking forward to a full day of it Frosty, now that is a neat idea. I have had no issues with using wood. It is a bit more time consuming to get going. And I have to make sure the wind is blowing the right way. I agree about the heat. It's nice in the colder months though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted September 26, 2019 Share Posted September 26, 2019 Boonthego, nice work. When using wood or charcoal the forge design itself can be different vs coal. No need for all the dirt persay. just a layer on the bottom and 2 sides to hold the charcoal from blowing away. This make charcoal use less. A deeper firepot or nest design in more inline for coal use. A wood fired forge can benefit from greater depth but only to burn off the viotiles and setup the charcoal having a way to feed in the wood as it turns. At some point I will be making a few models for use in the school and will document the process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoOnTheGo Posted September 26, 2019 Author Share Posted September 26, 2019 jlpservicesinc, I know there are multiple ways to do it. I would like to see what you come up with. My wash tub worked well for the wood. I share the 'hole in the ground' method with bellows several weekends a year. I'm always up for learning something new. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoOnTheGo Posted October 15, 2019 Author Share Posted October 15, 2019 Wanted to update as I have been using this for a bit. I noticed that my sweet spot seemed to be rather low in my mind. I measured and sure enough it was. I think it must have moved down as I was packing the dirt. Easy fix though. This time I did add some fire brick under to prevent this from happening. I used it a bit after today and there was a big difference. Thanks again for everyone with your guidance and support. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 4 hours ago, BoOnTheGo said: I noticed that my sweet spot seemed to be rather low in my mind. Oh Bo! Do you know how much I love a good straight line? Are you torturing me on purpose or is it just happenstance? Do you have any idea how hard it is to type while biting my tongue this hard? Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoOnTheGo Posted October 15, 2019 Author Share Posted October 15, 2019 Frosty, it must be happenstance, or my coffee hasn't kicked in yet..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoOnTheGo Posted May 8, 2020 Author Share Posted May 8, 2020 I just wanted to give an update to this set up. I have enjoyed it and has worked well for me. I did find that my sweet spot was a tad lower than I would like. So a few days ago I moved the pipe up so the bottom of it was approx 2 1/2 from the floor of the forge. So maybe up about 1/2 inch.It took around an hour to redo. I did it about a week ago and it does make in my mind a significant difference. A little dab will do ya'. Thanks again to all for your help and input. Now I just need to fine tune my charcoal making skills..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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