My 2 brick forge
- Thread starter jojo
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Just an update for y'all - I got the bricks and I managed to get some fire cement stuff from B&Q - though they did not have what I expected.
Picked up a tube of winther browne fire cement. - this seems to be a sealant more than a cement but it is rated to 1500 degrees C - so hopefully it will do a reasonable job.
http://www.dealclick.co.uk/product/13501744/Winther-Browne-Fire-Cement.html
with any luck it will be sufficient to fill the gaps.
I also managed to cut the inlet hole wrong so that will need filling too.
Andy
Picked up a tube of winther browne fire cement. - this seems to be a sealant more than a cement but it is rated to 1500 degrees C - so hopefully it will do a reasonable job.
http://www.dealclick.co.uk/product/13501744/Winther-Browne-Fire-Cement.html
with any luck it will be sufficient to fill the gaps.
I also managed to cut the inlet hole wrong so that will need filling too.
Andy
just finished naking our brick forge, great tutorial mate, simpleto follow, although...hats off for making the chambers using a table spoon, we used old wood chisels, two of us!! and mallets and it still took half the day!!!
The aluminium top and bottom? is it for insulation, if so i was thinking of wrapping the whole thing in heavy duty tinfoil, then bracing it ( strategically) with roofing batton, before securing it with steel wire. What do you reckon?
Pics soon to folllow when GregorScott gets his act together
The aluminium top and bottom? is it for insulation, if so i was thinking of wrapping the whole thing in heavy duty tinfoil, then bracing it ( strategically) with roofing batton, before securing it with steel wire. What do you reckon?
Pics soon to folllow when GregorScott gets his act together
securing it together is a good idea mate - I'm not sure how I'm going to secure mine at the moment.
I'll be firing it up in the next day or two. - just waiting to finish a good run of blades for heat treatment.
I'm quite excited tbh.
Andy
I'll be firing it up in the next day or two. - just waiting to finish a good run of blades for heat treatment.
I'm quite excited tbh.
Andy
I secured mine simply with gardin wire, not the plastic coated one though. It's probable the bricks will cracks when you fire and heat it. The wire is ther to hold it all up together. You could also use some chicken wire fencing stuff. I put the alumunium asheet around it to add to the solidity of the whole thing. The bricks are quite fragile and the aluminuim adds a bit more protection. But even if you don's use the aluminium, I'd advise to use the wire at least.
Mine now has a lot of little cracks, it does not affect the use at all, the fire cement has a couple of cracks inside but none of them are a problem. Hope that helps.
Mine now has a lot of little cracks, it does not affect the use at all, the fire cement has a couple of cracks inside but none of them are a problem. Hope that helps.
I wonder if that's a result of using the 23G stuff? Probably not but it's a thought. Seems to be working well though.
I'll let you lot know how my one gets on. - It will only be rubbish phone pics though I'm afraid.
Atb
Andy
I'll let you lot know how my one gets on. - It will only be rubbish phone pics though I'm afraid.
Atb
Andy
That wire isn't galvanised is it Jojo? - you had better remove it sharpish if it is. It is deadly stuff if it burns.
Hi guys - fired mine up a wee bit this evening and it was a dramatic failure.
I didn't get the ranging inferno as seen in jojo's pics. - just a hot spot opposite the flame.
I don't see anything obvious that I've done wrong. - the hole is near the front and even if I angled it no heat seemed to get anyway near the rear of the forge.
I was just using a bog standard butane blow torch - just not up to it?
Do you get a hot spot opposite your torch Jojo? Do I need to get it going and leave it to warm up or what?
Andy
I didn't get the ranging inferno as seen in jojo's pics. - just a hot spot opposite the flame.
I don't see anything obvious that I've done wrong. - the hole is near the front and even if I angled it no heat seemed to get anyway near the rear of the forge.
I was just using a bog standard butane blow torch - just not up to it?
Do you get a hot spot opposite your torch Jojo? Do I need to get it going and leave it to warm up or what?
Andy
Well, I think it is, iit does get warm on the outside of the forge but not hot enough to burn the wire.
I use a bog standard, propane, blowtorch too. I can adjust the gas pressure, although too much and it blows itself out. Have you made a hole at the back? And how big is the cavity inside?
There is a bit of a hot spot, yes, rightr in front of the torch, but it pretty much get almost white hot in there after a while,but I leave it for a few minutes before using it.
There is no reason why yours should not work, it may need some adjusting, but it will work!
Ahhh.. I just realised you said you use butane? I think that's where your problem could be, I believe butane does not burn as hot as propane.
I had a quick google, and it seems this is the case that propane burns hotter than butane. Also, you can get MAPP gas, which is hotter than either the propane or butane, although I have no experience of using it. It may also be that you only use a small torch?
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hmm maybe - i think I'll have a go with the other torch down at my dads unit.
I didn't realise you had to leave it for a while. so I'll try that too.
there is a whole at the back and the cavity is about the same size as yours. - must just be my ignorance.
Andy
I didn't realise you had to leave it for a while. so I'll try that too.
there is a whole at the back and the cavity is about the same size as yours. - must just be my ignorance.
Andy
6 months down the line now.
I tried the propane torch and it works a treat. I Ht'd a great big batch of stuff shortly after my last post.
My bricks cracked too, and I had real issues with imperfections in the brick itself when I was carving out the cavity. I filled it with the fire cement I mentioned earlier.
This really is a cracking wee forge, perfectly even heat in the billet.
I figured I'd post a wee update and make more people aware of it.
Who else has made one thanks to Jojo's great tutorial?
All the best
Andy
I tried the propane torch and it works a treat. I Ht'd a great big batch of stuff shortly after my last post.
My bricks cracked too, and I had real issues with imperfections in the brick itself when I was carving out the cavity. I filled it with the fire cement I mentioned earlier.
This really is a cracking wee forge, perfectly even heat in the billet.
I figured I'd post a wee update and make more people aware of it.
Who else has made one thanks to Jojo's great tutorial?
All the best
Andy
That's pretty much the same as my experience of it now. The fire cement inside has cracked and some has peeled and fallen off, but it works just as well. The only thing I'd change to it is to place the blow torch hole more in the middle and slightly off centre to make the heat circulate more in the chamber, but really, for the price it's a nice bit of simple kit.
Ignore my stupid question the whole idea of using fire cement? Is it only to keep the heat inside the mold or purely to stop the soft bricks from cracking and breaking aparts. If so why not covered the whole of the bricks with fire cement., bake in the oven at 100 c then wrapped up with wires and aluminium plates. Would that make the forge any stronger or weaker? Just an idea.cheers the interceptor boy.
Awesome, I see Country Workshops in the USA will be using something v. similar for their (now full) Hans Karlsson tool-making classes!
http://www.countryworkshops.org/Toolmaking.html
http://www.countryworkshops.org/Toolmaking.html
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