williamtd Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 Hi I am building my first proper coal forge and I am a bit stuck with the air flow / pressure. My firepot is 8in x 10in and 5in deep and what I want to know is will 2x 1800w hair dryers be suitable for general forging and may be a little welding. I will be burning coke beans. Thanks in advance William Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 That's way more than you'll need. One should be plenty and probably need a waste gate or valve to block some air. You can also just point the dryer at the air inlet instead of fully connecting it. Just aim it more directly for more air and less directly for less air. Pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamtd Posted March 31, 2020 Author Share Posted March 31, 2020 Hi pnut thanks for the reply that's great, I've included photos of the air valve basically it works by redirecting air away from the forge, I got the idea from a YouTube channel called df in the shop. The valve is spring loaded to the gate fully shut and tightening the screw opens the baffle allows air in to the forge. William Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 That should work fine. I don't think you're going to need two dryers. I'd try one first. What kind of fuel are you going to be using? I know you said coal forge but some people use it as a general term for all solid fuel forges. If it's Bituminous it's fine if it's anthracite you'll have to have constant airflow to keep it lit but if you're going to be using charcoal it takes way less air so you'll have to open the gate pretty wide. Keep us posted on how things are going. Good luck be safe and remember it's supposed to be fun. Pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamtd Posted March 31, 2020 Author Share Posted March 31, 2020 Hi pnut I'm using coke beans they are somewhere between 1/2 and 1 cubic inch so quite small. William Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 Actually no that is not quite small for use in a forge. When I use the local coal I use it ground to a powder and mixed with water. Most people using anthracite use "rice" sized rather than "nut" sized. When I get the good bituminous forging coal, I use it in nut size. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamtd Posted March 31, 2020 Author Share Posted March 31, 2020 ThomasPowers Oh right, I only fired my first forge up once before deciding to rebuild so I know next to nothing about blacksmithing, I've been learning from watching black bear forge on YouTube. William Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 I don't see why you would need both hair dryers. I'm about 99% sure one will suffice. Like Thomas's said your coke is a good size. I haven't used pre coked fuel but the bituminous I used was about the same size as your fuel. Although I use charcoal predominantly. Easiest way to find out if it's going to work in your forge is to try it. That's the one big variable. It has to work for you at your forge. You can get a good idea if it's going to work by talking with others but you never know until you actually try it with your equipment at your smithy. Pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 You do know about the British Artist Blacksmith Association---BABA right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamtd Posted March 31, 2020 Author Share Posted March 31, 2020 (edited) Hi Pnut The main reason I would prefer it to be overpowered is that my first forge was an absolute disaster (1) the firepot was to thin and started to glow cherry red (2) the blower was so weak it was almost a fortnight (3) the table held almost no fuel + no lip so all the beans fell off (4)the firepot was made from a gas cylinder and I went through 20kg of coke for nothing, now I've fixed everything but the blower. I hope this explains a lot. William Thomas powers No I've never heard of them Edited April 1, 2020 by Mod30 Remove unnecessary quote. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 Perhaps you should look into local resources as well as virtual ones; the internet is rather full of noise. (Just finished reading a biography of Claude E. Shannon.) I know that for something like forge welding it's a whole lot easier and better to teach someone in person than over the internet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamtd Posted March 31, 2020 Author Share Posted March 31, 2020 Thomas powers OK thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 Not a problem; I just know from experience that a Saturday spent with someone who knows what they are doing can save 6 months of trying to figure it out "remotely". When I started there wasn't an internet; I had a copy of "The Modern Blacksmith" and my original copy had a whole lot of big black thumbprints in the fold from where I was holding it with one hand and my piece with the other and wondering what the heck I had done wrong! We finally had ASCII based news groups; rec.crafts.metalworking for years before the RFP for a blacksmithing one; but long wordy descriptions and bad ASCII art was just a tiny step forward. This is why I'll teach anyone the "basics" in person---so they don't have to go through the trouble I had getting started. Over here we also have an organization: ABANA, Artist Blacksmith Association of North America, that has a bunch of affiliates that hold meetings and conferences and workshops. You will see us direct folks to them here from time to time...I built my first 2 gas forges at workshops put on by SOFA one of the ABANA affiliates, (about 20+ years past now...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamtd Posted March 31, 2020 Author Share Posted March 31, 2020 Thomas powers Wow fascinating bit of history thanks William Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 I don't have a lot of experience but the only time I've seen two hair dryers be used was for a long ground forge for heat treating a sword so it could all be heated at once. What were you using for an air supply on the first forge? Also if the firepot is too thin you can put about a two inch layer of clay on it to insulate it. Pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 I figure it's been around 39 years now since I built and lit my first forge. I take comfort in that I have know several smiths who were forging in their 80's and even 90's; but I'm still trying to get power to my powerhammers so I can sit and forge... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamtd Posted March 31, 2020 Author Share Posted March 31, 2020 Pnut Hi yup I ended up about 3in of clay all the way around, the blower was a squirrel cage type from the scrapyard oh and I forgot to mention that the grate melted (it was from a toaster grill) Thomas powers why not get a couple of apprentices /slaves in. Lol haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 Yeah you're dealing with some pretty high temps with a blown coke fire. You'll have plenty of air from a hair dryer. You'll probably have too much and have to cut it back but you have that taken care of. Let us know how it works. Pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamtd Posted March 31, 2020 Author Share Posted March 31, 2020 Pnut OK I will, thanks again for your help. William Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 No problem. Everyone is very helpful whenever I need it. You'll find that's the general attitude of the members here. Everyone is more than willing to help anyone who is willing to help themselves by doing a little research before giving up. Can't wait to see the finished forge. Pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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