What is a side Blast forge like?

[Caballo bueno]

Hi! I would like to build an iron crater for my side blast forge but I don't know what shape to give it to make a large fire pit to temper knives and weld large piece.

Greetings from Spain and if I have any lack in my English I beg you to excuse me.

[Charles R. Stevens]

Mine is fabricated from a 12”x12” 1/4” plate cut diagonally. Weld a 2” strip of 1/4” bent 90 degrees or 2 pieces forming the bottom. From the bottom corner drill a 1” hole, centered 1-1/2” up. Weld a piece of 3/4” schedule 40 black pipe at about a 5 degree angle. Sloping down into the fire pot. I welded 1” x 1/4” bar around the top to form a lip. 

[Caballo bueno]

the round crater then does not work the forge has a depth of 8 centimeters

[ThomasPowers]

You can make one round it's just easier to fabricate a rectangular one.  My forge has a round firepot made from a piece of scrap that has a bowl shape.

[Caballo bueno]

What depths is good for the nozzle?

[Charles R. Stevens]

4-5” for a 3/4-1” ID tuyere.

[Charles R. Stevens]

Burning both charcoal and coal the shape I use is more fuel efferent and heats 1” stock. 
for coal only your u can go larger and deeper.

there is a chart imbedded in the article describing depth to tuyere size. 
but anything larger than 1” is inefficient for charcoal, it really needs multiple tuyere for larger fires. As one can only forge about 6” at a time this isn’t a problem for 1” or smaller stock (I have forged 1-1/4” 6040 square) and as I melt hard firebrick with charcoal I don’t think most hobiests will find this to be  an issue. 
a loose fill hearth lends its self to easy modification to accommodate different fire configurations. 

A note, 3/4” schedule 40 pipe has an ID of 7/8” wile 1” schedual 80 pipe is 1” ID. So you have a choice between 1-1/2” or 2” max. With charcoal. 

[natkova]

I build today bottom blast from side blast forge.

I just used galvanized elbows 2 inc in diametar wich connect to my 2 " dieametar pipe from bellows ,  well i bough it like it and it  was like it was zincplated i let it burn.

One thing about bottom blast is i found they are better then side blast, my air would blow in side blast fuel all over place now its better , my fuel dont run away becasue of gravity, but i would have to make some bars so my charcoal coal dont go in elbow.

And to be honest  side blast forge is just   side blast underneath  fuel, you cant make 100% side blast forge literaly pipe going straight in fuel , if you make it you will need to raise fuel  higher.

[JHCC]

Burning off galvanizing/zinc plating is never a good idea. Soaking in vinegar is a much healthier way to remove it, since it produces neither toxic gasses nor toxic byproducts requiring special disposal.

[Caballo bueno]

 

I do not know why it does not work and expand the fire

 

[ThomasPowers]

How do you push the air in?

[Caballo bueno]

with an industrial extractor. It is too powerful for my taste 700 W

[ThomasPowers]

Picture?

[Caballo bueno]

Tomorrow

[ThomasPowers]

!Sin Duda!

[Charles R. Stevens]

Side blast forges don’t have the slag forming on top of the tuyere (grate) and if the fuel is blowing out of the forge, I would suggest you turn down the air blast. 
charcoal needs much less air than coal, but it takes a shallower fire with side blast than a bottom blast forge burning charcoal. 
 

further a single piece of 3/4” pipe 8” long costs a lot less than a 2” T, 3 nippes, a cap and a flange to build a 2” tuyere from pipe fittings. 

[Caballo bueno]

the industrial blower / extractor

[ThomasPowers]

All I see is a hose and the side of a box which tells me nothing about what is inside the box.  (I've see a blower/extractor that you could walk through the motor windings---it cleared RR engine fumes from a tunnel under the Rocky Mountains.)

[natkova]

23 hours ago, Charles R. Stevens said:

Side blast forges don’t have the slag forming on top of the tuyere (grate) and if the fuel is blowing out of the forge, I would suggest you turn down the air blast. 
charcoal needs much less air than coal, but it takes a shallower fire with side blast than a bottom blast forge burning charcoal. 

Well i had problem with charcoal that side blast forge literally blown up my fuel, bottom blast don't do that,  i am speaking about charcoal and i am using regular bellows they tend to blow up charcoal to side.

saw that with my smith too, he use wet rag on some rod to cool down embers of charcoal that fall to sides. And he pack it up.

I asked him why he do that with rag, he said it is because i don't want to waste fuel on purpose. He just  somehow wet it so it don't burn around fire and he maybe make it little bit heavier.

 But depth of his firepot is no lower than 4 inches.

And i think your fire might be too shallow.

 Caballo bueno

[Charles R. Stevens]

If you are blowing the charcoal out with bellows reduce the weight on top or pump slower. Restricting the outlet may help as well. 
I do have fire fleas from welding fires but no fuel blowing out. You do have to chase the embers some when I move stock in and out but that is what the rake and shovel are for

[Caballo bueno]

The hole from the air to the fire is 22 millimeters. I believe that the crater is not deep enough since in relation to the nozzle, it is only 8 centimeters deep from the crater.

Here in Spain we always moisten the charcoal on the sides of the stove, so that it burns just enough.

[Rojo Pedro]

I would put a waste gate in that hose to regulate the air. Worked for my first forge, bottom blast and hair dryer burning charcoal. 

Have fun!

[ThomasPowers]

I tend to modify the firepot so I have more of a trench fire and so not have charcoal that is not actively contributing to heating the metal.  Saves having to keep wetting it down to keep it from burning.

Many people try using charcoal in a forge designed for coal and wonder why it's not working efficiently.  Sort of like using gasoline in a diesel engine and wondering why it's not working right!  If I need to use lump charcoal in one of my coal forges I put in fire bricks to convert the firepot to a trench fire and turn the hand crank blower much slower.  With an electric blower I'll prop open the ash dump to lower the amount of air going through. Bellows have already been discussed. 

[Caballo bueno]

I use mineral coal. I have seen what you have put in the tube and the depth that the crater must have in relation to the size of the tube. How do you know the width of the crater in relation to the tube?

Are there bellows as powerful as the motors we usually use for our forgings?

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

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