[TheForge] firebrick forge

Sat Aug 23 07:57:00 2003

Your forge sounds interesting Ralph.  Have you any pictures of it that we
can see?

Thanks

Harry Foster
Rusty Dog Forge

-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]]On Behalf Of Ralph Sproul
Sent: Saturday, August 23, 2003 7:36 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [TheForge] firebrick forge

        Bob,   I use a brick floor and brick walls in the forge I designed.
They work great.  The top runs up and down with a jack, and is stainless
formed sections that hold a sheet of Kaowool M board for the ceiling.  This
allows you to reconfigure the firebox to any shape and height you want.
I've got it pretty wind proof now, so it can be used outside on my acorn
tables (which is where you need heavy heat more often). In fact the burners
are so nice in a light breeze that I'm thinking of using them plugged into
the table with bricks to isolate the heat from the table and not be moving
large objects in and out of the forge.
      When I get guys like Doug Wilson and David Court buying them.........I
figured it was a decent enough unit.  Doug's had his for three years and
David's run his for two.  People that have seen the forges at their shops -
have come to me to have me build one for them.  I've sold nine of them so
far and made a set of plans up so I don't have to become a propane appliance
manufacturer ............which was not my goal in life at all.
        I first liked the idea of a pile of bricks in Clifton Ralph's tapes
where he had a burner log set up to stack bricks for odd shapes in his shop.
I'd seen a Johnson Forge with the spring loaded floating top at Pete
Happny's a few years back, and decided I wanted something that had that
three sides open, a moveable lid, and I wanted it naturally aspirated(no
blower - for power failures and not buying the safety valve), and the flame
to come from the top.  So I guess it is technically a furnace not a forge
where the flame doesn't come from the bottom.
        I'd thought about three sided  and clamshell designs, but what I've
come up with  seems to fit the bill for general work, feeding a power
hammer, long heats, it has an idle to save fuel, and irregular shapes aren't
a big deal any more.  I hated finishing up a huge scroll or rail section in
a coal forge or with a rosebud.  I find placing two of these side by side
offers sheet and plate work to become easy, and when you place two of them
end to end, you can get a 48" heat to wrap something large if you want to.
Moving heavy items in and out becomes a problem with one guy even though I
have a ceiling crane.......So, that is why I'm headed in the plug in the
"new and improved" burner, and pile the bricks direction.........just like
Clifton used to trigger the idea in the first place.
        All in all, I'm happy with it, I've sold over 30 sets of the plans -
which six people that have actually built them have said they really liked
the design, versatility, and efficiency of them.

        AND,  YES, this forge takes a while to warm up..........but for all
the other good points, I find this to be a very small down side to the unit.

Ralph
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bob Smolen" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, August 23, 2003 12:40 AM
Subject: [TheForge] firebrick forge

> Several years ago, I made a forge using stacked firebrick. The forge had a
> blower and got very hot but took a while to get to temp. Has anyone used
> firebrick for an atmospheric forge(no blower)?
> I did not use mortar so I had to keep a flat top and this had coldspots.
> Anyone used bricks to their satisfaction?
> Thanks,
> Bob
>
> _______________________________________________
> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/theforge
> theforge mail list group photo site is
> http://www.photoaccess.com
> Login:  [email protected]
> password:  anvil
> ___________
>
>

_______________________________________________
http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/theforge
theforge mail list group photo site is
http://www.photoaccess.com
Login:  [email protected]
password:  anvil
___________