Tuyere

Here's the definition from Wikipedia... (they say it better than I can ;) )

"A forge of this type is essentially a hearth or fireplace designed to allow a fire to be controlled such that metal introduced to the fire may be brought to a malleable state or to bring about other metallurgical effects (hardening, annealing, and drawing temper as examples). The forge fire in this type of forge is controlled in three primary ways: 1) the amount of air, 2) the volume of fuel, and 3) the shape of the fuel/fire.

Over the thousands of years of forging, these devices have evolved in one form or another as the essential features of this type of forge:

Tuyere -- a pipe through which air can be forced into the fire
Bellows or blower -- a means for air to be forced into the tuyere
Firepot or hearth -- a place where the burning fuel can be contained over or against the tuyere opening.
In practice, fuel is placed in or on the hearth and ignited. The bellows are worked to introduce additional air (oxygen) into the fire through the tuyere. With the additional oxygen, the fire can consume more fuel and burn hotter."

Here's a pic...
 
I am not sure that I understand why you are asking that question. If you are using a standard tuyere that pipes the air from beneath the firepot, you should have no worries, as the coal/coke should never be lower than the grate, and heat rises. I have a tuyere that is on it's third pot, and a cast iron firepot (lower melting point than steel) can last 12-18 months of daily use.

However, if you are using a side blast forge, you need a jacketed tuyere, and you need to make sure that your fire doesn't burn towards the tuyere. Many of the side blast forges that I have seen have a watertank on the back that can be used for controlling the fire as well as cooling the tuyere.

Hope this helps
Ken
 
Think of it like the grate in a fireplace. It doesn't melt or burn up unless you let the coals pile up below it. The tuyere will be fine as long as you dump the ash and clinkers from the trap. As far as melting, you have no fear of that,It will get hot,though. If steel is exposed to continual heat above a certain point,it slowly burns up.Water (which quickly rusts out burned steel) will make the process faster.The water used in a coal forge is used to coke the coal and to control the heat .It should not be used to extinguish the coals.
The reason you line the forge with fire clay is to keep the steel shell from burning out too fast.Properly maintained,a forge can last a very long time.The other enemy of your forge is too big a fire. You are only heating a small piece of steel bar up.You don't need a fire that would smelt iron ore.Many good smiths can forge all day on a bucket of fuel.Hardwood charcoal can be made in a simple 55 gallon drum setup.

BTW ,since you are new at all this, there is coal - and there is coal. Same goes for charcoal. The coal used for forging is not the coal used for heating. The charcoal used for forging is not the charcoal used for BBQing.Many makers who visited Bill Moran's shop liked his coal pile outside the back door. That was for the stove. The forge coal was kept dry in a trash can inside the shop.Used properly 100 pounds can last a long time.

On another tangent, you can make a good small forge from a truck brake drum,which can often be gotten free.Plans are readily available on the internet.Like this:
http://www.anvilfire.com/21centbs/forges/brkdrum1.htm
Stacy
 
and its pronounced, "tweer" ...you know, like IG's buddies down at that bar he keeps raving about... :eek: ;) :D
 
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