Types of Forges
– Coal/coke/charcoal forge
– Gas forge
– Finery forge
– Portable forge
– Electric forge
Features of Different Forges
– Coal/Coke/Charcoal Forge:
– Hearth or fireplace designed to control the fire
– Tuyere for introducing air into the fire
– Bellows or blower for forcing air into the tuyere
– Fuel (coal, coke, or charcoal) placed in or on the hearth and ignited
– Adjusting fuel and air to maintain the shape of the fire
– Gas Forge:
– Uses propane or natural gas as fuel
– Cylindrical forge chamber with a burner tube
– Lined with refractory materials for insulation
– Air pressure can be increased with a blower or Venturi effect
– Easy to use and produces clean and consistent fire
Finery Forge
– Water-powered mill for refining pig iron into wrought iron
– Used in the production of wrought iron
– Utilizes water power for operation
– Important in the history of iron production
– Played a role in the Industrial Revolution
Forging Equipment
– Anvil: serves as a workbench for the blacksmith
– Hammer: used to shape and manipulate the metal
– Tongs: used for holding and manipulating the workpiece
– Chisels: used for cutting and shaping the metal
– Swage blocks: provide various shapes and forms for forging
Blacksmith Tools
– Hammers: various shapes and weights used in a blacksmith’s workshop, including hand hammer, ball-peen hammer, cross-peen hammer, straight-peen hammer, rounding hammer, and sledge hammer (used by the striker)
– Chisels: made of high carbon steel, hardened and tempered at the cutting edge, including hot chisels for hot metals and cold chisels for cutting cold metals
– Tongs: used for holding hot metals securely, with custom-made mouths in various shapes, including flat tongs, rivet or ring tongs, straight lip fluted tongs, and gad tongs
– Fullers: forming tools used for making grooves or hollows, often used in pairs with a bottom fuller and a top fuller, with the bottom fuller fitting into the hardy hole in the anvil and the top fuller used for finishing round corners, stretching metal, and spreading metal
– Hardy Tools: tools with a square shank that fits in a hardy hole, including hot cut hardy, fuller tool, bending jigs, and other types used for cutting hot metal, drawing out metal, making grooves, and bending
– Slack Tub: a large container filled with water used for quenching hot metal, cooling parts of the work during forging, and hardening steel, also used to tend a coal or charcoal forge, and in bladesmithing and tool-making, a quench tank is used with oil or brineSources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forge
