Farm Blacksmith

This information actually was printed in the 20th century but the information below is basics for blacksmithing on a farm. I'm simply including the work of building the right fire to use. Farm blacksmithing ©1921 by John Friese written because of the large number of agricultural students wanting/needing information about blacksmithing on the farm.

BUILDING A FIRE
THE first thing one who is going to do blacksmithing must learn is to build a fire properly. Place a handful of shavings or paper in the firepot. Light and give a little draft and throw some fine blacksmith coal over it. Let this burn well and then push it to the center and add green coal all around it. Green coal is nothing more than blacksmith coal thoroly wetted. As this coal changes to coke push it to the center and add more green coal around the edge of the firepot, until you have a fire that is much like that illustrated in Fig. 10.

The iron that is to be forged should be heated in burning coke, not coal. It should be placed in the fire horizontal as shown, and not toward the bottom of the firepot. The iron should have burning coke below, around and above it while heating.

A second fire is easier to build because some coke will always be left over. All that is required is to start this coke burning and heat the iron. The green coal is placed around the edges of the firepot so that the gas may be burned out of it and new coke continually be formed to take the place of that burned away.

A good blacksmith coal should be used Tho slightly more expensive than ordinary soft coal it is cheaper in the end, because of time and labor saved. Blacksmith coal has very little or no sulphur in it. While iron can be heated with ordinary soft coal and shaped, it is out of the question to try to do welding with a coal that has sulphur in it.