Bellows allow air to be blown into the fire. This provides enough oxygen to keep the temperature hot enough to heat and work metal.
In September 1829 Archer’s diary noted that there was no charcoal, so one of the convicts who worked in the forge, Jenks, was out “burning with Ansel”. On the 4th of November it was noted that Jenks had during the day “mended a few small thins at the little forge”.