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Visited the old ironworks museum in Pittsburgh and saw their coal forge setup
They had a working replica of a 19th century forge with a hand crank blower. What got me was the tuyere, the pipe bringing air into the fire. It was set at a 15 degree angle down into the coal, not straight in. The guide said it pushes the heat forward and makes a hotter, more focused fire for drawing out stock. I tried copying that angle in my own shop and it really does help with heating long bars evenly. Has anyone else used an angled tuyere, or is there a better trick for heat control?
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amy_bailey866mo ago
Honestly, people get so deep into this stuff. It's a pipe at a slight angle. I'm sure it works fine, but @caseyc30 comparing it to a coffee grinder is about right. It's just moving air, not rocket science. My uncle's old forge just had a hairdryer hooked up to some stovepipe and he made plenty of decent stuff. Sometimes a simple fix is all you need.
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caseyc306mo ago
That's the kind of small, smart design choice you see everywhere once you look for it. My coffee grinder has a similar angled chute to stop grounds from clogging. Good engineering is just solving the same basic problems over and over.
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