Home made Charcoal for forging

[Cicatriz]

A question for all the charcoal using hand forgers.

What type of wood is your favorite charcoal?

I make charcoal as a side project and am wondering what people would be interested in.

Right now I sell it in an easy start bag for BBQ.
Actually, right now I am making and selling none as the drought is bad, fire danger high and burn bans are implemented.

When I was about 19 I used very old, dry juniper and a big rock to anneal and later crudely heat temper a rasp for my first long dagger.

I guess my question is multi sided.

Why do you like what you like in charcoal?

What are the heat differences in types of wood?

What kinds of prices do you pay?

So far all of the local makers I know/meet use gas.
And the traditional forgers I have run across use coal...

Opinions?

Thanks

 

[jawilder]

I started with charcoal. I baught it at the grocery store or walmart as lump charcoal. I think it was $5 per bag or something of the sort. Eventually I made my own out of oak b/c that's what I had on hand. If I recall, most charcoal users prefer pine. It doesn't burn as hot but it is very even.

I think I would prefer coal to charcoal, but went to gas instead. It's a lot easier to get my lp tanks filled than traveling to buy coal or make charcoal.

 

[Will Leavitt]

I just started using charcoal again, still will use my gas forge but got back to using solid fuel because of a large project. I buy a bag or two of lump charcoal from the local store for about $5.50 a bag. I "char" pecan as I forge, then rake the charred wood into the fire.

I hate coal because of the smells of coking green coal.

 

[javand]

I generally just use the "Royal Oak" brand stuff from walmart (which isn't necessarily oak), since it seems to have a relatively low mesquite content, and doesn't spark like crazy. I think I remember Tai Goo saying he likes mesquite, but I don't think he has to worry about setting the mountain on fire like I do..

I've read a few things from professional blacksmiths who use charcoal primarily, that favor pine, since it burns much hotter. I've been thinking of building a gassifier charcoal maker myself, since you can generally get free stock from the cutoffs of a build site. Just as long as you avoid the pressure treated wood.

I burn through about 10# a night at the moment.

 

[mete]

As far as wood stoves go the denser the wood the more BTUs it has.

 

[lonepine]

A question for all the charcoal using hand forgers.

What type of wood is your favorite charcoal?

What are the heat differences in types of wood?

What kinds of prices do you pay?

So far all of the local makers I know/meet use gas.
And the traditional forgers I have run across use coal...

Opinions?

Thanks

IMHO the best wood for making charcoal is FREE wood.

I make my own charcoal for heat treating, not forging, by getting a pile of it burning in my Coleman steel fire thingy, and at what I decide is the appropriate time I put the lid on it and let it cool down for a day.

I don't know if pine makes better charcoal or not, but I think it is easier to make pine charcoal than, say, oak charcoal.

I began to use "free" charcoal because it costs less than tanks of propane. End of story. Cheap is the only thing it has going for it in my opinion. It holds no special magic to me.

As I said, I only use it for heat treating, not forging. I would rather use gas and I will when I can get in a better situation. Better yet for heat treating would be an electric kiln.

- Paul Meske

 

[Tai Goo]

It all burns a little different. I used to get mesquite here that came up from Mexico, for $8 dollars per 40 pound bag. Can't get it anymore at that price. With mesquite you need to build up a large fire and let it "cherry out" first so it doesn't pop and spark when you give it a blast of air. Then burn it down, stop, build it back up and let it cherry out again.

The harder woods tend to burn hot and tight, but softer woods like pine give a large fluffier fire because air circulates through it better. I usually use recycled construction lumber for heat treating larger blades and just convert to charcoal in the forge. With the softer woods, just a controlled draft is usually all it takes to get the heat you need for HT.

Depending on what you are trying to do and what kind of fire you want, they all seem to have their place.

If I could only have one fuel source, it would be wood/charcoal, but it does take some practice and experience to get the most out of it.

 

[Cicatriz]

That's good info y'all!
I know how the different charcoals burn in the grill, but not for smithing.

Whatever I put into my kiln I can convert to charcoal.(as long as it's not too big)

Thanks for the input! Anybody else is encouraged to post their opinion too.

Here's what that early file got turned into.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9423338@N02/5683410735/in/photostream/

The tempering isn't right, the blade is too hard...
But it worked well with my reenactment gear.

Fire cured wild cherry handle, threaded rat tang, brass guard and pommel, mirror polish on the blade(has oil stains from the sheath,gives it charm...)