How do you start your coal forge fire?

[MaxTheKnife]

I know, it seems like a lame question. But, everyone learned to do it in a certain way. I'm self-taught at this Bladesmith/Blacksmith stuff and had to find my own way. I was talking to another forumite about forging and the subject came up about how you get a quick fire started when forging with coal. Let's hear it folks. How do you do it in your smithy?

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M.Ogg

"It's better to be thought a fool and remain silent, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt"

 

[Roger Gregory]

Is it true that you can't get coke or smithy breeze in the US?

If so, this method probably won't work!

Dig a hole in the coke to below the tuyere, screw up a few sheets of newspaper, wrap them all in one sheet, light it, drop it in the hole, add some kindling in a pyramid over the top, turn on the air, start adding some coke, pile on more coke, cough a lot as the smoke spreads, control the air a little, go and make the tea while the fire gets hot.

Roger

 

[Rick Leeson]

Wad up one sheet of newspaper, drop it in the firepot, put some pencil size pieces of wood over the paper, pour on about 1/4 cup of kerosene,light, and turn on air. As fire burns start adding coal. As the raw coal burns down you get clean burning coke. Coke is what you will forge with. As the coke is used up keep moving more coal to the fire. Always make extra coke at the end of the forging session. That way you will always have coke on hand to start the next fire. Coke will start easier than raw coal.

BlacksmithRick@aol.com

 

[Centaur]

I've found that it will help tremendously if you start with coke. So when you tear down your fire from the previous forging session, make sure you've got enough coke to start your next fire.

I start with a couple of handfuls of small pieces of cardboard (about 1" x 2".) Twist or partially tear them into a butterfly shape. Put these in a mound on the tuyure. Then (like Rick says above) add some pencil sized pieces of wood kindling into a tepee shape over the cardboard mound. But I don't use kerosene. I don't use an accelerant, just plain cardboard & kindling.

Light the cardboard, and start a very slow air blast until the wood starts to burn. Slowly add coke until the fire shoots out between the pieces of coke. Slowly increase the air until a good fire is going. Then mound your coal around the coke. The coal will cook into coke. Keep adding coal around the coke, and pushing the coke into the fire.

Don't forget to break up and remove your clinkers, and dump the ash.

FYI, I do my forging at a local historic farm where I am sort of an Apprentice. The smithy is equipped turn of the century equipment. Tons of Fun!

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Glen AKA Centaur
"If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants."
- Isaac Newton

[This message has been edited by Centaur (edited 09-11-2000).]

 

[MaxTheKnife]

So far, you guys are doing great. It's nice to see that even a newbie can get some of the old heads to give some input. I really appreciate it. The reason I posted this thread is to see if anyone did it like me. Don't ask me what made me think of this method. I'm just always thinking and sometimes come up with a winner. Here's how I do it in my little smithy.

First, like centaur said, I separate out some coke from my last fire and clean the grate, and dump the tuyre before I do anything else. Then, I pile coal all around the grate as high as I think I'll need for the session I'm getting ready to start. I find a double handfull of coal chuncks about 1" square and place on top of the grate. It makes a pile about 2" high. Then, I cut a strip of cardboard 6" wide by about 12" long and make sure that the flutes or 'holes' in the cardboard are lined up with the 6" side for good air flow. Roll up the cardboard in a tight roll so you have a 6" long roll of cardboard about 2" across. Then set it down on top of the pile of coal on the grate with one end of the roll pointing up (while still holding it in a roll). Relax your hand a little bit so the cardboard opens up and creates a larger passage for air to escape from the tuyre. Put the coke around the base of the cardboard and pile coal as high as you can around the cardboard tube (really fine powder stuff works great!). It's kind of like a volcano. Light the cardboard with a butane torch and start your air to blowing slowly until you're sure it won't blow the fire out. Once it's going good, crank like hell and stand back! (I have a Champion 400 hand crank blower)

As the fire burns down into the pile of coal, it will ignite the coke and you'll have a roaring fire in about 10 minutes. The cardboard burns hotter when it burns from the top down. You wouldn't think it would work, but it does. I did alot of experimenting before I found this method. Try it for yourself and you'll see that it's about the fastest way. No wood, no newspaper and no kerosene. There's lots of cardboard out there to use. Let me know how it works for you. If you start using my method, you can send me a quarter. I need the money.
(I updated the size of my cardboard. It's 6" x 12")
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M.Ogg

"It's better to be thought a fool and remain silent, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt"

[This message has been edited by MaxTheKnife (edited 09-14-2000).]

 

[T. J.]

here's a usefull tip if your using a flat bottom forge with a grate level with the bottom. Make a ring about 6 inches around and 1 to 1.5 inches tall and center it around the grate, pile dry pine needles in it and coke on top, light and crank slowly. The ring will concentrate the heat and light the coke with much less kindeling to turn to ash and get in your eyes, and make life easier in general. Cut the top off of a coffee can to try it once, if it helps make one out of a scrap of heavy steel so it will last.

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Those who are willing to trade freedom for security deserve neither, and in the end, seldom retain them!