new "forge"

[ncrobb]

Well, I don't have nice heat treat oven or even a propane forge but I wanted to step up from the Kingsford in an old grille fanned with cardboard that I used for a couple blades. So after surfing the net I ran across a couple articles about "brake drum forges". What the heck.....a buddy of mine had an old brake drum and I had the rest. I made a manifold for my air supply (an old shop vac with a rheostat controller in line) and a stand. I fired it up the first time a couple weeks ago just to see if it would work. Tonight I loaded it with some Cowboy brand coal to try and heat treat four blades that I had ready. That thing got pretty hot and I had to keep the blower turned down until it was almost off. I heated them individually until they where non-magnetic and gave them a minute or so beyond that and then quenched them in canola oil that was around 130F. They are tempering in the oven now. Anyway I learned a couple things in this little project. First no matter what you think or how much you try you cannot grind all the galvanized coating off the pipe before you weld. So be prepared to be sick. Second, and equally important, don't stick the telescoping magnet under your arm when you are in a hurry. Chances are you just checked the blade and it is still hot. Can anybody recommend a good burn cream?

On the serious side, how can I keep all the sparks from flying or is that part of the coal forge experience? I read somewhere about sprinkling water on the coals, what effect does that have?

Robb

[Steve Randall]

Robb it may be your coal. I am not familiar with that brand of coal but if it is coal not charcoal you need to make coke out of it first so it burns much cleaner.

Steve

[Spots]

Coke is coal that has the impurities burned out of it. These will show up in the form of large metal clinkers that make it impossible to have a good clean fire. Sprinkling water on the fire helps contain it and helps steam the impurities out of it. A good fire will be white hot, and smokeless. The sparks are just a part of it, but usually a good fire won't have any sparks unless its a clinker or other piece of metal in the fire burning.

[ncrobb]

I really noticed the sparks when I first lit it and then again when I added more charcoal. I grabbed the Cowboy brand because I had seen it mentioned as a good fuel source in other forums. When I get a couple blades ready I 'll light it up again and try sprinkling water on it. The first blade got too hot. It was a small thin profile and heated up a lot faster than I thought it would and now has bubbles on it. Once I got the air flow turned down the other three seem to have turned out good.

Robb

[metal99]

You should take a video sometime

[ncrobb]

I am waiting for you to brave the waters and then post a tutorial!! I only have one blade ready so far. I just haven't had time to work on anything.

[metal99]

Hahaha ya man I have never used a coal forge in my life XD it's something I will have to learn before ever thinking of a tutorial lol. I just have to fix the ash dump on mine and it's good to go.

[metal99]

The blower is from 1895 and sat outside for probably 50 years and still works like a charm. I just had to take the birds nests out of it and oil it up

[Imakethings]

I'm going to chime in as my first post here,

If you're going to do charcoal as a fuel source then I highly suggest making your own (it's easier than you think).
Here's a couple links for your investigation.
www.katanabuilders.com
instructable on charcoal

The reason I suggest doing your own is that you can control quality much better than in the store bought stuff. Having uniform characteristics to your fuel will make your life much easier, you can also use denser woods or wider grained woods depending on what you eventually decide you like. The other reason that I think this is a good choice is that there are always deadfalls and odd tree limbs somewhere that people want gone....

Next up in my commentary on heat sources propane:
The sidearm burner
You can build a small propane burner for less than $30 and it works very well, scroll down to the very bottom for the mini version. I've made 2 for smaller forges and they are wonderful.

Backyard Metal Casting Homebrew Refactory
Figure out a recipe based upon the mix listed on the above link, I tend to go heaver on the pearlite and add an extra dose of insulation for good measure.

Essentially I'm pointing out that you can build a propane forge (not including the tank) for less than $60 and won't have to fight with the sparks. Plus nothing really matches that nice roar that a well tuned propane burner makes.

[ncrobb]

Imakethings, thanks for the info. I watched a propane forge in action this weekend and its much cleaner than coal. I am really just starting and trying to figure out what works best for me so I appreciate the pointers. I have thought about building a propane forge. Maybe over the winter when things slow down I can make it happen.

Robb

[Imakethings]

Let me know if you have any questions, I've been poking about with propane burners for a bit.