First ... why don't I just buy some charcoal at the local store? Well, most of this is in a pressed brick form, and is not pure wood product. It is too dirty to use in a forge (among other things). If you are careful, you can get real wood charcoal for about $5.00 per bag at Walmart. This is what I have been using recently, but I live on 20 acres of land in the country, and I would like to be a bit more self-sufficient. I collected the following links, but have not been able to try them out due to a burn ban in Oklahoma. The burn ban was recently lifted, so maybe I can give one of the simpler methods a try.
Here are the links and ideas about charcoal making that I have found recently.
Discovery has a good educational article on charcoal's benefits
Backwoods Home: Makeshift Forge and simple directions for Charcoal
Making charcoal in a 55 gallon drum.
Making charcoal by re-directing the volatiles down into the fire.
BBQ Charcoal Making
Arkansas Charcoal
If someone tries this out, be sure to take pictures and share your blog link, or just add a comment here.
