one brick forge question

The lengthwise opening (the tube the blade sits in), yes. The cross ways opening for the torch, no; just intersect with the lengthwise tube. I suppose one end of the lengthwise tube could be left closed, or a partial plug could be used, but I didn't do mine that way. Wayne Goddard's original instructions say to drill the lengthwise hole all the way through.

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Occasionally I've blocked the back opening with another fire brick. This brings the temp up dramatically, and puts a LOT of flame out the front...careful!

Dave
 
I'm playing phone tag with the only local refactory in this area and have my O-1 on the way for my first try at a blade. What is/are the tool(s) I should best use to make the holes in the brick. The only fire bricks I'm aquinted with are not those that take kindly to being drilled or milled into. I do understand from reading some posts that the refactory (or insulating) bricks are softer.

Thanks for any good feedback. I'm truely ignorant about this stuff.
 
Why not buy 5 bricks and some fireplace mortar? Drill a hole in one brick for the burner, mortar the bricks up with the sides about 1/2" apart for the cavity and leave one end open.Looks like that would be alot easier than boring a hole thru a brick lengthwise and since the walls would be thicker, it would be more heat retentive.
 
rlinger, Michaels idea sounds workable but meanwhile I just used a spade wood bit to drill through the soft fire brick.

Dave
 
I think I like the idea about just building a small forge with a few bricks, as you suggest. If I can get the refactory brick locally though I would like to do that too so I could have something portable to take to the camp and back. This is gettin fun already and I haven't done a thing yet but peck on the keyboard and make phone calls.

Thanks
 
I finally got hold of the refactory guy that's here local. Unless I get advise against it, I'm going with some stuff he bragged about: Refactory Castable. Mix it with water and poor into a mold. He says its rated to 3000 deg. F. by the vendor. I'm concidering ginding a grid pattern into the face of one insulating fire brick and mold it into the floor of the forge. This, I hope, will serve as a grill to lay the blade on while heating. He told me these fire brick do not hold heat well at all; so I'm figuring it won't sink the heat away from the blade as it lays upon it. I'm going to Harbor Freight this week to pick up one of those 'weed burner' tourches. Now if I can find a easy source for a type-K thermocouple I should be dangerous.
 
The castable refractory is supposed to make an excellent forge. Ed Caffrey has plans for one for about ten dollars or so. The price for the refractory is considerably higher than a single soft fire brick though. The hard fire bricks don't hold heat nearly as well as the soft, I'm told.
 
There's been some discussion regarding the HF weed burners, the upshot was that they're not likely much good for our purpose. I haven't tried one myself.

For my one brick forge, I just stick my propane torch tip in the small hole and it works like a champ. For a larger forge, check out Ron Reil's burner designs. I recently built one, and if I can do it anyone can, believe me.

I use my one brick forge all the time. It's one of the best knife making tools I have and wouldn't even think of trying to get by without it anymore. The freon tank mini forge was a natural outgrowth of that, and it's changing the way I look at my craft completely.

Dave
 
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