MEtal for fold flat firebox

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Winston

Member
Jun 5, 2010
18
0
Preston
Hi everyone,

I’m looking at going motorcycle touring in Scotland later this year with my good lady. I want to make a fold flat firebox, based on nimblewill's Nomad.

I have mocked it up and am happy, but I’m confused with the thickness to use. I’ve never worked with sheet metal before. What’s the best thickness to use in terms of mm's and gauge...

Any help greatly appreciated.
 

durulz

Need to contact Admin...
Jun 9, 2008
1,755
1
Elsewhere
I used 0.8mm stainless steel for my nimblewill stove.
Cutting stainless is a right swine - it was one of those jobs I wished I hadn't started, but was really pleased I had once completed. The nimblewill stove is not only one of the best pieces of kit I have, it is made even better by the fact that I made it myself. I made mine slightly wider than the plans provided.
Cutting mild steel is easier, but it will rust quickly, especially after firing. Stainless won't.
I got a good sized sheet of stainless steel from a local sheet metal worker - it was an off cut and they let me have it for nothing.
If you don't have the tools for cutting stainless then you will have to buy them, at which point it may be just as cheap and easy to buy a Honey Stove.
Anyway, the simple answer to your question is to use thin (0.6-0.8mm) stainless steel. Don't be tempted to use mild steel - you'll regret it in the long term.
 

craven

Forager
Jan 13, 2008
146
0
52
devon
hey mate, i would avoid ali as it tends to warp, stainless or titanium is the prefered choice for most wood or multi fuel stoves, it is a git to cut but worth it, as for thicness, depends on what kind of use it will have, for a square wood burner i would go for 1mm, as an average, no lower than 0.7 because of warping, no higher than 1.5mm because of weight. hope that helps, i operate a water cutter for the engineering industry and have made a couple of flat pack fire boxes in the past:D
 

wandering1

Nomad
Aug 21, 2014
348
2
Staffordshire
thats simple i built a collapsable firebox (im working on the hikers lightweight mk2 at mo) i made mine ages ago showed it off at the wilderness gathering and got some very positive reviews
but ideally 1.0 mm Galvanised steel is ample

cutting is easy (with a 4 inch angle grinder)
 
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rancid badger

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Unless you have access to laser, water or plasma, cnc type cutting machinery, I'd give the "diy" a miss on this project. I suppose you could maybe do it with a band or coping saw type thing but your best bet would be to dodge the hassle and go for one the following:

http://www.songofthepaddle.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?13653-Yukon-amp-Nomad-Fireboxes I've got one of these, had it for a few years now. I believe it's just a nimblewill anyway, made with the benefit of access to industrial cutters. The plates etc are perfectly cut, as you'd expect with a cnc machine but the bit's that aren't made on a machine are frankly a bit pathetic, being simply round stainless bar for the pot rests and bent stainless wire for the securing pins, with very little thought put into how they actually work. The pot rests tend to slip off the sides of the box in use and the securing "pins" are far too loose a fit. I made a set of pot rests from stainless hexagonal rod, with 90* bends on the ends to stop them sliding around and replaced the supplied bits of bent wire with stainless split pins. It's a good piece of kit but only if you add your own modified bits.

Then there's this version:
http://www.songofthepaddle.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?35243-New-Firebox If I were going to be buying a new flat pack stove, it'd be this one I'd go for this time around. I've no idea how good this one actually is, it just looks a better bet than the Yukon.

I wouldn't go for anything less than 1mm thick in stainless, I've got a firebox made by a member on here which is excellent in use but a lot thinner and it's quite badly warped, particularly the hearth plate. It's not possible to dismantle this one now, though that's not an issue as I only use it in the garden or if I'm in a vehicle with plenty of storage space. Regardless of that though, my Yukon is apx 1.5mm stainless and that's quite warped too. To be honest, it goes with the territory, repeated heating, cooling, occasional quenching etc will lead to almost any woodburner warping, I'd imagine even titanium would probably bend and flex with the heat, though I've no experience of that.

Alloy, going off my experience, will melt if you get the same sort of heat I get with my Yukon. It regularly glows to orange heat and You'd need to go to something like 2mm (or more) in alloy to have much chance of avoiding melting.
 
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wandering1

Nomad
Aug 21, 2014
348
2
Staffordshire
there is a way to reduce the warping/ some of the buckling.....obviously steel will deform when heated and eventually becomes unstable..... i actually got around this problem when designing mine and it is sooooo siiimmple

if u can get some steel box section ideally with a 1mm wall thickness say 3/4 inch x3/4 inch and get it welded into a square or whatever shape u want....mine is 18inchx 12 inch and use that as a base to fix the box to this way u can get away with using 0.8 mm galv
 

Everything Mac

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Nov 30, 2009
3,112
83
36
Scotland
hey mate, i would avoid ali as it tends to warp, stainless or titanium is the prefered choice for most wood or multi fuel stoves, it is a git to cut but worth it, as for thicness, depends on what kind of use it will have, for a square wood burner i would go for 1mm, as an average, no lower than 0.7 because of warping, no higher than 1.5mm because of weight. hope that helps, i operate a water cutter for the engineering industry and have made a couple of flat pack fire boxes in the past:D

Water jet cutter eh? How thick can it cut?

As as for the op I agree with the quote above. :)

all the best
Andy
 

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