Side draft forge hood for the coal forge - an overview
There have been numerous questions regarding my forge hood. So lets take a look at the side draft forge hood and why it works. Its Christmas eve here in the blacksmith shop as I film this, so here is wishing everyone a very merry Christmas, even if you don't watch this until mid July.
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www.piehtoolco.com/
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Blacksmithing and related activities can be hazardous. These videos are not a substitute for competent professional instruction. Your safety is your sole responsibility. Always use appropriate safety equipment including eye and ear protection when working in the shop. Follow manufactures safety guidelines for the use of all equipment. In the event something shown in one of these videos seems unsafe, it is up to you to make the appropriate changes to protect yourself.
Make something. I like that. I always look forward to those words at the end of your videos. Peace.
I'm a hobby novice blacksmith. My hand made forge sits outside because my shop is an old small shed. I was always under the impression there was an exhaust fan. Great video! Merry Christmas!
I have seen forges with "draft inducers" which are inline fans, but I think a well designed chimney and hood won't require the extra fan.
Thanks for this post. I plan to make one of these side draft hoods in my new shop when my son gets it built on to my old shop. I will be using a vintage Champion forge thanks to my very good friend Steve. Thanks for explaining how you built yours. It looks like your forge is about the size of the one I will be using. This video post will be a lot of help when I get started. Thanks a lot, Terry from South Georgia.
Like always, it is pleasant moment to lessen and learn from you♥️🙏
Thank you for taking the timer to make this video!
I love my side draft. The one i made is super simple. I made mine out of a 55 gallon drum. Works quite well.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and merry Christmas to you and your family from Sweden
Thanks for the great video!!!
great video
Thanks for the video, now to sketchup and a design. Your design will fit perfectly in my shop.
a big Merry Christmas to you and your family and a happy new year so love to see what you have planed for the new year mate so keep it coming love them all from Colin from Down Under
Thanks for another great video. I hope you had a merry Christmas
Yes we did, thank you
Merry Christmas. Thanks again for all the great videos this past year!
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas to you and yours and a very Happy New Year!
Thank you, merry Christmas
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year ................. I look forward to the next video
Thank you, merry Christmas
Thank you for the video and merry Christmas!
John, it looks like the height of your coal forge 'table' is about the same height as your anvil. Is that right?
Very close, mostly by accident, but it has come in handy as a work stand or when something on the anvil needs to swing over the forge. Merry Christmas
I really recommend the Super Sucker hood. It's smaller and super easy to fabricate and works awesome.
Check with Restaurant supply places for an old kitchen hood... or just hope you see a restaurant that is going out of business, and can talk someone into selling you the kitchen hoods.
Nice vid keep them coming and have a merry christmas
Thanks, Merry Christmas
Happy christmas to you and your family. All the best for 2018
Thank you
Merry Christmas! My hood is top draft. Which helped me move to gas! I intend to modify the hood ASAP. Thanks for the videos!
I am glad this was helpful.
thank you so much! this is so helpful!
you're welcome
Sounds like it could be bearings or bushings. It could also be the vanes of the impeller brushing up against the housing.
Thank you for making this video and sharing your knowledge and experience. I believe it is a huge boost for the craft/trade.
Just 3 days too late, just built a top draft ;). Thanks, for your informative videos, happy holidays!
Sorry about that.
Black Bear Forge, no worries I should have gotten more info before I rushed into this project. I'm now looking for a way to adjust my fumehood too a side suction type system like yours. Btw, what is the box on top of your chimney just before it goes trough the roof?
You have a very nice forge setup,i built the super sucker side draft hood with a 10" flu pipe and it works amazingly well though i imagine it would be even bettr with a 12 or 14" pipe,it pulls the flame right into the hood. Thanks for sharing this with us and hope you amd your family have a wonderful Christmas!
Thank you, merry Christmas
Sweet
Great video! Can you do one on the proper way to shut down and stop the forge? Thanks as always!
Hello John, I use a side draft side blast forge myself (I also have a video of it on my channel). It has a 8" pipe as a chimney, with the hood extending all the way in font of the fire and also a little bit over it. I´ve found that a side blast forge tends to spread the heat more sideways than what an under blast forge does. One also has to shuffle the piece you want to heat up around a bit, every now and then, in order to get an even heat over the entire surface of the piece. This is of course since the heat comes mostly from one side due to the construction of the forge. Merry Christmas!
Thanks, that is all good to know.
Good information! The keys to any hood, (side draft or overhead), working properly are: 1) The closer to the fire the better. 2) Enough diameter/volume in the chimney. 3) For every inch of diameter, you need at least 1 foot in chimney height. 4) For every inch in diameter, you need at least an inch of clearance from the top of the pipe/chimney to the cap/China hat. 5) You need at least 3 feet of chimney above the roof line. This is the best hood/chimney combination I have found. It works very well!! Thanks for the video...
Thanks, thats some good information
Did you make a charcoal forge? New to your channel.. I’ll keep searching your playlist haha.
Cheers John, as I forge outside I don't have a chimney at all, which is just fine once the fire is going well (as there is no smoke), but I must admit having something to take away the smoke on start up would be nice, rather than getting a face full when the wind changes direction!. Side draft looks like a good idea. You mentioned you would like to eventually move to charcoal. I started with charcoal in my forge, (even straight wood at times, when I hadnt got around to making the next batch of charcoal) for about the first 6 months then moved to coke when I found a source. I use probably 1/4 of the volume of coke than what I used to use in charcoal. (I've never used coal). You have to be all over managing a charcoal fire as it burns so quick, both in shutting down your airflow between heats, and in keeping enough in the pot to get a decent heat zone without to much scale formation. For me I can make all the charcoal I like on site from dead trees and storm damage each summer, so its not really an issue, just a matter if finding the time - but I wouldn't want to have been paying for the amount I was using, it is about a dollar a kilo here!
I have lots of wood that needs cutting that could be used for charcoal. Plus coal and coke are getting harder to come by in my area as well as just more expensive. While the constant feeding of the fire is a bit of a pain, charcoal also allows fresh fuel to be added right in the fire, where as coal must be coked first.
we have had a big coke shortage here, just have not been able to get it for about 6 months. Before the drought, it was costing me $100 Australian ($70 US) for a 44 gallon drum. Now if you can find it, it is about $250 a drum (Go figure, cant buy coke in Australia, one of the biggest producers in the world, but it all goes overseas), so I have made myself a gas forge, and use that where possible, using my remain coke sparingly. But if the price doesn't drop I will also be going back to making my own charcoal, might even have to get serious about it. I was just making open fires, when it got a good bed of coals I would just rake it out and wet it down. Then to fully dry out the charcoal, I was hanging it in onion bags under my shed roof. Worked well, but I probably only got 1/4 of the charcoal I would get if I cooked wood in some sort of tight drum.
As industry switches to gas or electricity I suspect that coal and coke will only get more difficult to find. Charcoal my be a good bet for lots of smiths but probably not everyone.
Enjoy the videos keep up the good work, off topic I seen a paper towel holder in one of your videos that you forged can you give a better pic of it I can’t remember what video it was I want to make one for the kitchen
I'll try to include that in the next video or even do a short video on how it's made
That would be great I want to make a paper towel holder, a holder similar to it for my fireplace tools along with making the tools and a toilet paper holder, thanks for the great videos again
If you want to see a cheap n easy side blast forge, check out my dirt box forge build. It could be built in a day, and used in about a week when dry. Been using both for years.
Looks like a reasonable solution.
I am preparing to install my side draft hood, that is quite similar to yours. My shop is laid out in such a way that the hood needs to be taken straight through the roof. The hood itself is all steel, and the “pipe/stack” is 12”x12” steel as well. My ONLY concern is heat. What sort of temps can I expect? Just trying to decide what sort of flashing to use and how far away other materials should be. Btw- I almost exclusively watch your videos. They have been the most informative and easy to follow.
A building inspector would probably want something rated at 2,600 with a 2" gap to any combustible surface. Forge chimneys aren't really subject to the risk of chimney fires. But the better the structure is protected the lower the risk.
is there a blower in the chimney or is it just natural chimney effect. have you ever come across any chimneys with blowers built in, I would think having even a small venturi effect would be beneficial, especially at start up Thanks, Fixer
This chimney uses natural draft and can be a bit smokey at times. A larger 12" chimney would be a huge improvement. I have seen several ways to induce draft in a chimney. There are industrial draft inducers available. They install in the chimney. Make sure it is meant for that purpose. A cheap fan would be destroyed in the hot smoky environment. Another option would be a small inlet on the side of the chimney to bring another air source into it. I have seen people take a small branch off of the forge blower or an air line from an air compressor. Ideally you will never need any of that, a good hood and chimney should work without, but there are options.
Merry Christmas john!! in regards to your blower and rheostat, that's a great set up! i have the same buffalo set up identical to yours except mounted to a different forge and unfortunately there is almost no information on these units anywhere, but i see no reason why you couldn't rebuild it again mine has been rebuilt and painted a couple of times im the 3rd owner. Anyway they made those blowers from the early 30s until about the 50s as far as i can tell, your motor should have oil cups on both sides of the armature, according to the brass tag on mine the cotton plugs inside the oil cups should be kept moist with oil. does yours have oil cups?
Mine has the oil cups, but it seems like when I had it re built they said they replaced the bearings with ball bearings. Since I can't remember for sure I oil it anyways
Souds good, hopefully that will help keep it going for a wile, there should be felt in the oil cups to help regulate the flow of oil but for some reason the felt is always missing on old stuff so i always put some in, now some guys are gonna laugh at me but i use felt from an old hat! i just cut some off and shove it in as long as it is wool felt it seems to hold up just fine.
Do you happen to know which blacksmith Journal you got the plans from?
I'm afraid I don't it was probably close to 20 years ago
You said that you plan to go to charcoal? Any particular reason? I recently used actual coal for the first time and it seems like it's waaay hotter... in fact I burned more metal that day than I managed to forge!
My main reason for wanting to use charcoal is because coal is getting harder to come by but we live on a piece of land with lots of overgrown trees that have to be cut and would make good charcoal. It is also a cleaner fuel than coal
Where did you get the sheet metal to make your forge?
The same metal supplier in town I always use. Any full service dealer will have a variety and can probably cut it for a price.
My forge is under a shed with no walls, would a side draft hood work outside?
If it's not windy I think it would work, but you might want an overhead with a sides that will double as a wind block.
So i need to ask.... is your hood powered by a fan? Or just by the heat and draw of the chimney? I am setting up a smithing area and was wondering how to attempt this, I have an axial inline exhaust fan but didn't think it would handle some of the heat that the forge would put out, could you please help with my setup,im worried that the heat will be too much for the fins on the fan .
Natural draft
I'm watching this in Oct 2019, are the Chrimbo wishes still valid? :)
Chrimbo wishes?
@@BlackBearForge Sorry, Brit slang for Christmas; in the description you write " Its Christmas eve here in the blacksmith shop as I film this, so here is wishing everyone a very merry Christmas, even if you don't watch this until mid July." Love your channel btw, learnt a lot and could listen to you all day. Regards.
Thanks man
Why do you want to switch to charcoal?
Coal is a limited resource and is getting more expensive and harder to get year by year. They used to mine high grade coking coal near here for the steel mill. But the steel mill has gone to electric induction and no longer buys coal. Those mines are now all closed and out of business. The coal that comes through for the power plant is junk by comparison. On the other hand I have 40 acres of over grown trees that need thinning due to the ever increasing fire danger in our area. Converting what we cut into charcoal makes use of something that is other wise wasted.
i made a forge that is v shaped (like the Whitlox) and i have 5 areas that are airated as i adjust the air flow. Usually i just use 2 areas for the forge. however, i've got neighbors bitching about it (dicks) so i'm putting it under my deck. however, i need to finish making a hood for it. ive got scrap hardy plank, lots of metal siding scrap. I made rings to buffere the hardy plank and i'll layer the metal on the side near the forge. my forge is almost 4 feet long and about 1.5 feet wide. i'm worried about the chimney cuz i don't want the deck to be burdened weight of the chimney, when it's windy.
i am using an S vent to get the hot air to the chimney. do u think that would help with the backdraft? plus i'm going to allow the chimney to hand over the S vent so that fresh air also climbs wit hteh chimeny venting
Sounds like an interesting forge, having the ability to make a long fire would be nice. Careful with make shift chimneys, I would hate for you to burn down the house. An S vent should slow any down draft, but may also cause some turbulence in the air flow. The more straight pipe you can have the better,
I hate it but honestly not to be to much of a patriot but I consider your set up all American classic and unique to old style American blacksmith and I am partial to your design myself
Actually the earliest example of a side draft chimney I have seen was colonial, and since the colonies were British, I suspect that the side draft chimney originated in England
sounds like the blower needs new bearings
Why would you want to use charcoal instead of coal or coke ?
That will be the subject for a couple of videos, but the short answer is. it's cleaner, no smoke, renewable resource and I have 40 acres of overgrown trees that need trimming just waiting to be charcoal.
Black Bear Forge so you are not talking the charcoal from the store for grilling steaks ?
You can use lump hardwood charcoal sold for grilling but not the charcoal briquettes. Charcoal is the oldest forge fuel and still used in many parts of the world
I'll be eager to see your information on do-it-yourself charcoal production. Out there in Colorado, what species of trees will you be using for your charcoal?
Mass flow rate of a fluid will decrease as it flows from smaller diameter to larger diameter, in a closed system. Converse is true also. Restrict the nozzle of a water hose with you finger and the water will speed up, causing it to shoot further. It’s been 35 years since I took fluid dynamics, so that’s about all I remember. 😄