DIY Network

Coal Forge and BBQ Fork A blacksmith student crafts a BBQ fork. From "Trade School" episode DTRS-302

Blacksmith student Randy Parker hones in on his skills in traditional blacksmithing by crafting a large two-tined BBQ fork featuring a ringed handle.

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Tools and Materials:

forges (coal and gas)
hand-crank blower
horizontal band saw
punches
blacksmith hammers
anvil
tongs
set of hardy tools
table vise
chisel
oxyacetylene torch
jigs
top tool
drill press
power hammer

1. Blacksmiths use a wide array of special tools to create objects out of steel. Chief among them is fire. To harness the power of fire, modern blacksmiths often use a gas forge. But to become a well-rounded blacksmith, Randy must learn the intricacies of the traditional coal forge. Although the coal forge is a challenge to light and maintain, it offers the advantages of an intense, localized fire.

2. Lighting and maintaining a successful coal forge is really a matter of multitasking. Randy piles coal on the hearth of the forge, and then lights a wad of newspapers to get the fire going. He then adds pieces of pure carbon, called coke—a clean-burning byproduct of baked coal. To intensify the fire, Randy uses a hand-cranked blower (figure A), which gives him direct control of the air supply. To tend the fire, he shovels coal around the fire to create a crater of slow burning fuel. Properly built, this fire should burn all day.

3. With the fire going strong, Randy uses a horizontal band saw to cut a sizeable piece of bar stock for his BBQ fork (figure B).

4. After measuring and marking the handle end of the fork, he strikes key areas with a punch (figure C) to create fireproof marking. Now he's ready to manipulate the metal.

Figure A

Figure B

Figure C

5. Randy's first technique is to draw out and arc the metal along the shaft of the fork. He places the steel in the fire allowing it to get red-hot and malleable. Working quickly with tongs and a hammer, he repeatedly and deliberately strikes the steel against the anvil (figure D) to stretch the metal out. For most blacksmiths in training, each stage of manipulation requires several heats before the final shape takes form.

6. Randy continues heating, hammering, and manipulating to draw out the handle end of the fork, forming a long taper (figure E).

7. Once he's created a long enough taper for the handle, Randy forms a basic ring shape by striking and wrapping the red hot taper around the horn of the anvil.

8. To true up the ring, Randy uses a cone mandrel hardy tool. Blacksmiths use a variety of hardy tools to form different shapes. All hardy tools are fitted with a sturdy square shank that fits directly into the square hardy hole of an anvil. For this process, he fits the red-hot loop over the mandrel, and then strikes repeatedly until the ring is forced into a perfect circle (figure F).

Figure D

Figure E

Figure F

9. To finish the handle, Randy adds a personal touch to the red-hot steel by creating decorative indentions with a hammer and punch (figure G).

10. For the business end of the fork, Randy uses a combo square to mark the tines. To add a fireproof mark, he uses a center punch to indent the steel. After heating this end of the fork, he secures the fork in a vice, and then uses a hammer and chisel to cleave the metal apart (figure H). With several heats in the forge, he continues spreading, drawing and shaping the tines to complete the fork (figure I).

Figure G

Figure H

Figure I