Working on my first gas forge

[BRad704]

I got 3 soft firebricks from a buddy yesterday and got this much figured out... The hole is about 2" round-ish, and goes all the way from front to back, so I can do longer blades if desired... The third brick will be my plug/backstop.

I know the red insul wire won't hold up, but at least it keeps it together until I get to the shop and use bailing wire.

The top of this hole is even with the top of the cavity

 

[murphda2]

You can pick up a tube of Rutgers cement at Lowes and avoid the bailing wire all together. It worked great on my little three brick forge. I did mine the exact same way you did.

 

[BRad704]

Hmm... good to know... I'll try and find some soon.

you can see where the upper right corner of the front face already broke off... and there is a spot on the back that did the same thing.

To cut the channel, I put the biggest drum sanding wheel (~2") in my drill presss and just ran the bricks back and forth until I got them where I wanted...

 

[murphda2]

I'm sure that worked alot smoother than my technique. I used my Mapp Gas torch to heat a bar of mild steel and hammered an edge on it then hammered it over the horn to create a gouge to carve the slot into the brick.

 

[Doug Lester]

I carved out the concave on my two brick forge with a half round rasp. If you get the Rutgar's cement to glue the bricks together you might want ot smear some over the inside of the cavity. The soft firebrick tends to break down after a while without something to cover it.

Doug Lester

 

[BRad704]

Thanks Doug.... If I get the cement, I'll make sure and do that.

The sanding drum took me about 6 minutes to do both bricks...