Coal forge help please.

R

R.H.Clark

Joined
Aug 23, 2007
Messages
771
Hello everyone
I'm trying to build my first forge.I'm going with coal for now because I can get coal free and I can tell I need a lot of practice.My hobby money is tight so it seems a good way to learn a little.

I've searched the web and found a lot but still have a few unanswered questions.I went to the junk yard and found a large heavy metal table.I got a piece for the fire pit that I intend to set into the table top.

My fire pit piece is made from 3/16 thick steel and looks like a large metal hat box cut in half if you can imagine that.It will make a trough that is 9" wide and 20" long and 10" deep.I intend to fit a black iron air pipe into the bottom.

Do you think my trough will work? I thought it may be a little deep and planed to put a couple fire brick into the bottom.I am concerned about it burning out.Do I need to add anything to the sides like fire clay? I've never worked with fire clay so don't know if it will harden or even stay in place.

Any advice ar suggestions for a different fire pit trough would be appreciated.

Thanks
Randy

PS
I picked up a piece of fork lift fork for an anvil. It has all the vertical part that attached to the fork lift and about 10" of the fork forming an L shape that must weigh over 120 lbs. Will this metal work for an anvil or is it too hard or whatever?
 
My first forge had a similar problem being to deep. One solution is to cut out a "U" in the end to allow you to slide your knives in and out. You don't really want to have to push your knife into the top of your coal bed once you get a crust. Free Coal AWSOME.:thumbup:
 
My first forge had the same problem. I modified it, put a shallow "bin" instead of deep one and put some iron bars around just like :
281738266_1a76f08e01.jpg


Now I'm a propane user but I cannot tell I don't miss the days I forged on my charcoal forge, making my own charcoal and returning home covered with ashes and coal dust, making my mom scream :p
 
How wide,deep and long is an ideal fire bin? what is the best material and thickness to make one?

If I cut down or build up the bottom of my 3/16 thick metal trough and use it for now,how long do you think it will last before burning out?

Thanks again for any help
Randy
 
R.H.Clark said:
How wide,deep and long is an ideal fire bin? what is the best material and thickness to make one?

If I cut down or build up the bottom of my 3/16 thick metal trough and use it for now,how long do you think it will last before burning out?

Thanks again for any help
Randy
Click to expand...
My bin was about 5" or 6" deep. You build a coal mound about same height. So the hot spot will be around at the level of the forge platform. When you slide the stock in the fire it will be somewhere at the middle, this way it is easier to heat the workpiece, without holding it with an angle...
I used thinner steel stock to make, I'm not sure how thick it was but I'm pretty sure it was thinner than 3/16. I used that forge more than a year, it was still usable when I built my propane forge, but I recycled the material to make some other things, I'll measure them and will inform you tomorrow if you want... Happy forging...
 
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PS
I picked up a piece of fork lift fork for an anvil. It has all the vertical part that attached to the fork lift and about 10" of the fork forming an L shape that must weigh over 120 lbs. Will this metal work for an anvil or is it too hard or whatever?
Click to expand...

It should do fine IMO. As far as I know it has some what same hardness of a normal anvil...
 
A cast iron fire pot works best, like in the above photo. But if you must build one, use a rear brake drum from a 3/4 or 1 ton truck, already has a hole in the bottom and they work pretty good.
 
I used a brake drum for my first forge worked great I made a table from angle iron and 1/8 steel plate . make sure that your useing soft coal not hard coal
 
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