[Sca-cooks] Charcoal forge suggestion ;-)

[marilyn traber 011221]

> I remember trying to use a clay flower pot saucer to hold charcoal 
> for a period pewter casting demo at an event but the heat cracked 
> it. And I only used a few chunks of hardwood charcoal. I think part 
> of my problem was not using enough since I wasn't getting enough 
> heat. I thought I needed a bellows then, but I think just more 
> charcoal. And that might have reduced problems with expansion and 
> the clay saucer breaking, but I think I'll go with a different 
> container next time, anyway.
> 
> Stefan

Stefan,

Of COURSE it cracked- a flower pot just isn't up to the temperatures you 
generate when you're operating a forge. And the brake drum is not "just to 
fill up space", it's there not only to handle the temperatures that a forge 
can generate, it's to shape and direct the fire, so that it's controlled. I 
suspect that if you proceed with your cat litter intentions as you stand, it 
will work for a few uses, and then the entire thing will burn up, because the 
litter will crack, catching the shell of the barbecue on fire, or maybe 
melting it, if you're lucky- cat litter just isn't designed to deal with 
those temperatures. Myself, I'm lusting after some castable refractory I've 
found that's good up to 3000 degrees Fahrenheit, for the forges I want to 
build.

Fire brick will work, too, although for higher temperatures, you want the 
light weight stuff, that feels like a bit of foam, almost, when you lift it, 
rather than the heavier fire brick that feels sinilar to building brick- 
again, the lighter bricks are resistant to higher temperatures.

The thing you need to keep in mind that if you'll be using charcoal for your 
fire, you want a fire that's deeper than you'd have for a coal fire. Part of 
what you're doing is focussing the fire with the blower and the shape of the 
fire pot, rather like what you're doing with a glass lens when you focus the 
sun's rays to catch a bit of paper or wood on fire- you can get forging 
temperatures by burning your house down too, but that much fire is a bit 
difficult to get close enough to use, never mind being a bit inconvenient, 
when you try to go to bed that night ;-)

Phlip

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