Finaly got the forge fired up after a hickup with the fan and made my first thing today. Got the fire going after a few tries and stuck in some rebar. Kept burning it off but got a heart pounded out like Brian showed.
What you see in the pic is about 3 hours work with getting set up and the fire started. Tomorow we fire up agean and the kids get to try.
Mike R
Central Oregon
Great job!
Do you have an air gate to control the amount of air going to the fire? That fire looks pretty large in the photo. You'll find it doesn't take much blast to keep a good hot fire going, especially for smaller work, and with a little water you can keep a small fire that's incredibly hot. Going full tilt all the time will lead to melted steel and wasted fuel
You'll have an easier time starting a fire now that you have some coke ready to go. Green coal can can be difficult to get going. Controlling the fire will come with a bit of experience.
Good luck and be safe!
Jim
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cool!
JimB I do have an air damper on the intake side. The pic was taken as I got the fire going. I figured out to shut of the fan between heats and dampered down. I think I started with too much caol and too big a fire. I did start using a little water around the edges as I went along also.
As it burned down and got smaller it was easier to control but had some problem getting the long rebar to lay in the fire. I may put some thin brick in the bottom and make it shallower.
Mike R
Central Oregon
Great start, Mike!
Right on Mike.
Just be careful that you don't make the fire too shallow or you'll experience severe oxidation since the incoming oxygen doesn't have time to be consumed before it reaches the work.
Just make sure you keep raking fuel up onto the fire and pushing the coke into the heart of the fire. It's an ongoing process so it's best to develop a consistent method early and get in the habit of doing it.
Can't wait to see what you forge next.
Jim
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Hey dere;
That's a fine job I should start with one of them. Looking forward to firing up the forge as well.
all the best
Originally Posted by Mike Reinemer
Hey Horvic the hearts are lots of fun. My daughter enjoyed making one. Show a pic of how it goes. I got it from Brian Brazils how to pics on IFI by the way. I think he did a vidio on them also.
I have made a few more and seem to be getting a little better control of the hammer and the fire.
We got some time yesterday and I tried upsetting and made a ball on the end of digger chain. Anthony made a double hook as a something to throw. He stayed at it for about 2 hours so I thought that was preatty good for an 11 year old.
Thanks for the comments
Mike
Mike R
Central Oregon
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