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Posted by spaco on January 27, 2008, 11:41 am
Please log in for more thread options The reason the most firepots have air coming from the bottom is so the
air has to go a long distance before it hits the workpiece. So, since
you put the work on the top, the bottom is farthest away.
Also, gravity is going to make the ash and clinker go DOWN, so DOWN
is where you have to get rid of it FROM and that's why most firepots
have cleanouts in the BOTTOM. It is fortunate then, that one can
install a clinker breaker in the center of the tuyere to keep all the
coal from falling through, while still using that same opening to drop
ash and clinker through to the outside world. I am sure that you know
that most firepots use a "T" under the tuyere, with the air coming in
from the side and a closure at that bottom for ash, etc to drop out.
Don't mimimize the need to intermittently clean the clinker out. It is
a constant process with a coal forge. With the design I mention
above, it is a simple matter to do the cleaning without loosing the
fire. With other designs, you can loose the fire while cleaning and
then have to start all over again. I always clean the fire before
forge welding, and then again every 15 minutes or so when I am welding
continuously.
I have a large old forge with an adjustable length firepot that I have
been trying to get rid of for years. It has a moveable casting in the
bottom of the firepot that would allow one to have a short fire with a
short tuyere at one time and a long fire at others. I don't know how
they held the coal up when the fire is "long" but they must have had a
way. I'd like someone to to take this away. You could use it as a
thought provoker.
Personally, I like rectangular firepots better than round ones.
"Deeper" (at least 2 or 3 or more inches)is always better. I hope you
don't plan to make the firepot itself from the 1008. It won't last very
long. Cast iron is the way to go. I'd save my money and buy a ready
made firepot if I couldn't make it from mild steel that's at least 3/8"
thick. Even then, it won't last too many years if you use much coke.
The 1008 will be fine for the forge table.
I'm sure you have already googled "coal forge" and "blacksmith firepot"
and read some books on the subject.
We have used at least a dozen of these firepots in the past several
years to refurbish worn out forges:
http://www.centaurforge.com/prodinfo.asp?number=CENTVULCANDP
Pete Stanaitis
---------------------
Prometheus wrote:
> Hello all-
>
> As payment for one of the knives I made, I've got the services of a
> very talented welder to help me make a new forge from the ground up.
>
> While it can be a simple job, I think I want it to be able to forge
> the length of a sword blade- I don't have any particular plans
> regarding smithing a sword, but I may want to do it some day, and I
> like to plan ahead.
>
> So, the question I have been asking myself if whether it would be a
> better idea to make a coal forge with a standard round firepot, or to
> design a air channel and manifold that would allow me to blow air
> along the length of a longer pile of coal/coke all at once.
>
> Per some previous posts on this topic, I think I am going to be making
> the forge table from 7 ga 1008 hot-rolled steel, rather than going
> with stainless steel, with the firepot or manifold mounted under the
> table and a grate for the coal to sit on- but I am not set on that
> design.
>
> So, if you were able to make a "dream forge," what features and design
> would be the best to include? Complexity is no barrier in designing
> it, I am just trying to make sure that I make the best one I can- if
> that includes a lot of extra parts or design time, I am fine with
> that. I've got the use of the laser cutter, brake presses, and
> whatever else might be necessary, so it can be fancy if there is any
> reason for it to be- even including things like making multiple air
> channels that direct the air so that it blows in from the side rather
> than the bottom, or using tuyeres rather than a firepot. The main
> thing here is useful design, not ease of construction, so go nuts with
> the suggestions- I am just not experienced enough with a coal forge to
> believe that I know everything that could be involved.
>
> Any suggestions?
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