Jump to content
I Forge Iron

Budget Coal Forge Build


Recommended Posts

So, no blower or tuyere installation yet, but nearly everything else! took some quick pictures this morning before I left for work, more to come when it's finished. 

The chimney is not permanently installed yet... I am thinking it needs to be farther from the wall with a better bracket. Just what I had on hand and wanted to see how it all looked. 12" diameter chimney built from 6" pieces of black steel duct, snapped together. I have one more section that I believe I will need to install to make it reach higher above the 10' peak. It barely passes it now.

The horizontal box is an old file cabinet made of sheet steel; gutted, cut and welded back together to sized. The old drawer faces are on the underside, welded back on. Unfortunately, it is 18" wide. I know 14" tall has been reported to work well, but I am worried about it being too wide. Any thoughts? The opening by the fire pot is also still 18". I think I will make a smaller mouse hole out of thicker steel..? 

Also, cut a hole in the wall beyond the forge to allow for long stock. It is just closed in the picture.

20200921_081828.jpg

20200921_081730.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 78
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Last night I did a quick rig-up of the tuyere from the black pipe mentioned earlier in the thread, but it still needs refining. It is deadlocked from rust as it has been sitting outside affixed atop another project for about a year and after wrestling with it for an hour, I decided to spare myself any more frustration and just went ahead attached it to the fire pot as is so I can test the draft and chimney. And... I am very pleased with the outcome!

I have not yet made the horizontal opening any smaller, but I did extend the chimney to reach over the peak of the smithy. No smoke or fire fleas inside the smithy, it all got pulled right out! I'm also psyched about the heat I was able to achieve! That is a 5/8" round tent stake that I had smashed a bit after the previous heat.  

20200923_192913_HDR.jpg

20200923_192921.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Some more pictures of the process.

The steel tubing I split to create the table/hearth, joined together with the rebar underneath. Ugly welds and bad cuts, but I did go through and fill the gaps. 

20200905_122344.jpg

20200909_194838.jpg

20200909_194624.jpg

You might notice that the table bows downward on each end, that happened as a result of the center sections of the tubing being cut out: it just naturally bent. I will eventually close off the right side of the hearth to block and charcoal from spilling off.20200919_180250.thumb.jpg.d9d24e629cf8eaf489fa9545e5aaacc4.jpg

20200919_180323.jpg

And this is how I gutted the file cabinet to then put back together as my horizontal side draft. 

20200920_142909_HDR.jpg

20200920_142901.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


×
×
  • Create New...