Forge Suggestions (Heating, Redesign)

[cautious_asparagus]

Multi-block structure and Accessories

Although not strictly necessary (or historically accurate) for many players, the forge should have the capability to be expanded into a multi-block structure. Adding an extra forge block would double your capacity for heating, and look much more impressive. This would also allow multiple smiths to work more efficiently at the same time, since tending one large forge could be the responsibility of a single smith, while the others are working. This might also allow for the capability to build your forge in a different way, such as adding forge hoods or chimneys.

Pictured: A chimney from an iron forge in Quebec from the 1700s

https://live.staticflickr.com/8438/7810344504_4c57cc8541_z.jpg 

 

This brings me to the matter of accessories. There are a handful of common accessories in coal forges, but the specific one I would like to suggest is a bellows. A bellows is a pretty common smithing implement used to introduce air into the fire. It's used to heat the forge faster and more efficiently, as well as start it.

https://blacksmithu.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/bellows5.jpg

They can come in many different designs, but they're all fundamentally the same. They're typically made of 2 wooden plates, with leather "accordioned" between them, to a create an expandable air sack. It could be placed on an empty side of a forge, to increase the maximum heat, as well as heat the forge faster. Why would you need something dedicated to heating a forge, when it's already so fast? See my next suggestion.

Changes to forge heating (Disclaimer: We obviously can't have things be 1:1 with real life, such as time and fuel consumption, so times are based on how rewarding I feel it would be)

I suggest that the forge should have a more detailed heating system. Instead of just adding a handful of coal, lighting it with a torch, and using it for a few hours, it should instead be a more involved process, with maintenance and cleanup.

The first change would be to add stages to the process.

Stage 1: Startup Stage

This phase involves cleaning out the excess ash and debris from the last heating cycle, and preparing to start the forge again. You would use dry grass or sticks to start a small fire in the forge, and quickly lay down coal afterwards. If the forge has already been used, a small amount of coke would be present in the forge, and can be used to start the forge quicker.

After starting the fire and igniting the coal, you can optionally use a bellows for airflow, to bring it up to temperature quicker at the expense of your own time. After the forge has warmed up (approx. 3-6 hours later), we enter Stage 2.

Stage 2: Work Stage

After Stage 1, we enter the work stage. In this stage, depending on the fuel, addition of a bellows, and the construction of your forge, it will be at the max working temperature. You are now able to add ingots to the forge, and heat them to a malleable temperature. This stage is identical to how the forge functions in-game, with one caveat: it lasts longer.

To offset the amount of time and work it takes to start and maintain a forge, Stage 2 can last for a much longer amount of time than currently in-game, while using less fuel. I think 1-2 hours per piece of coal would be fine. With regular maintenance and upkeep, you can forge for days on a single cycle.

Stage 3: Cooldown Stage

In this stage, the forge has run out of fuel and is slowly cooling down. The time it takes to cool down is dependent on the weather, temperature, and construction of the forge, but the end result is the same. A significant amount of ash and debris as well as a small amount of coke. This debris cannot be taken out of the forge until it has been cooled down.

At any time during this period, more fuel can be added to the forge to start it up again and revert to the work stage.

The leftovers

So, we now have a forge full of byproducts. But these wouldn't be useless, they would actually be one of the greatest benefits of having a forge.

Coal ash, also known as Fly Ash, is a byproduct of burning coal. Coal ash is an good fertilizer by itself, and it would be a very good replacement for the powdered charcoal in the Terra Preta recipe.

Brown Coal: 2 Coal Ash produced for every 4 pieces of coal.

Black Coal: 1 Coal Ash produced for every 6 pieces of coal.

Coke is the byproduct from heating coal in an environment with very little oxygen. It is already produced in larger quantities by the coke oven, but it is also a common byproduct in a forge. Coke produced by the operation of a forge will be very limited, as to not replace coke ovens. The coke produced by a forge will mainly be used to start the forge quicker on the next use.

Brown Coal: 1 coke produced for every 48 pieces of coal.

Black Coal: 1 coke produced for every 32 pieces of coal. (Numbers subject to change)

Misc Suggestions

Metal tongs would be a welcome addition to the game. I do not feel like wooden tongs are fit for the purpose after getting your first copper tools.

You should be able to place crucibles in the forge to melt metal, instead of making a rather pathetic campfire. A forge can already heat to temperatures FAR in excess of a campfire, so it's only natural that we should be able to place a crucible in the forge instead. This would allow the forge to both smelt molten metal metal AND allow metal to be worked.

 

In Conclusion,

I think these additions could bring a lot more complex and rewarding gameplay from smithing. 

I would love your feedback on these suggestions.

[Thorfinn]

I would definitely give your mod a whirl. The whole, "make charcoal, put 3 or 4 pieces in a forge and within seconds you are good to start forging" loop is way too fast and simple for something that IRL is vastly more involved.

I would also take away the feedback that gives exact temperature, and make you do what you would have to do if you didn't have non-contact infrared thermometers -- judge temperature by color. If you try to forge at the wrong temperature, you get an inferior forging, probably in terms of both durability of the forging and how much durability it takes from your hammer.

[Lollard]

Bellows sounds good. One that is manually operated at first and can later be connected to mechanical power, like the quern.