single brick forge

M

m. amos

Joined
Jan 28, 2008
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Has anyone used these before? I heard about it in $50 knife shop. I'm trying it right now and it's already been about 45 minutes. How long should it take to heat up?
 
:confused: uhm how long does what take to heat up? could you be more specific as to what you mean? As far as I can tell from your post, you have a brick and your waiting for it to heat up... how are you heating it? can you post pics to show us your rig? GAHHH! :eek: . . .:foot::p
 
Well Mr. Carter, :mad: if you read the book too, I assume this gentleman is trying to heat his one brick forge with a bernz-o-matic style torch.

To the poster, Sorry, but I do not have an answer for you. I came here for an answer myself.

anyone?
 
i'm using a bernzomatic propane torch and a fire brick but it hasn't done much. In the pictures i've seen before people get it to glow from the heat, but mine has had no progress in the past hour. anyone have advice?
 
Do you have the correct type of fire brick? The hard bricks will not work effectively for this type of forge. You definitely need a soft refractory brick. The hard bricks won't reflect enough heat back into the forge chamber. Also, are you using the JTH-7 torch? If not, you probably won't get enough BTU's into the chamber. Also, make sure the torch is positioned a few inches outside of the hole fire hole so it has opportunity to mix with O2 as it burns into the forge.

This type of forge will work to heat treat simple carbon steels like 1084 and 1095 and a few others, but don't expect it to be much use for forging heats.

--nathan
 
I have the right brick, but i've been using the brass torch instead. I hope that's the only problem.
 
MAPP gas would probably. I've had good luck with it, but it gets very expensive very fast.
 
i have been using this type of forge. the first one I made had the chamber a bit too big, and it didn't heat up to quick, the next one I carved exactly as the book says, and it works fine. but i am building a bigger forge because the one brick can only handle small knives.
 
It's not the limitation of the propane that's keeping you from getting to welding temps, it's the limitations in the thermal properties of the brick (i.e. heat loss) as well as the limited amount heat produced by most commercially available torches. I don't know of a better alternative to the JTH7 that is readily available for this type of forge. Most forges are using custom atmospheric/venturi or blown burners to get those temps. You can probably get to low-mid forging heats with a properly set up one brick forge without said burners, but you'll spend a chunk of time each time you have to reheat to get back to temperature. It may work for small blades and learning to forge a bit. But I don't think you'll ever see welding temps without the right setup.

--nathan
 
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Actually, mine heats up in a hurry. Usually by the time I get everything together - a few minutes - it's plenty hot enough to HT small blades. I have more trouble limiting the heat, which I do by moving the brick behind it and adjusting the torch. Sorry, I never thought of taking a picture.

I have a bunch of hard fire bricks that I set up under and all around the soft brick. I use a flexible hose propane torch and direct the flame toward the top of the chamber as best I can, hoping it'll swirl around in there. It really does get plenty hot.
 
just a question, but where is the torch tip? if it's inside the chamber, it wont burn properly, (at least mine wouldn't) it's gotta be flush or even a little back from the inside chamber, to create the right air flow and atmosphere (.....................eeeh i think?)

andrew
 
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I'm not a one-brick fan, but you have to play with the torch position. It is sort of like adjusting a venturi.
Stacy
 
J.S. Carter said:
:confused: uhm how long does what take to heat up? could you be more specific as to what you mean? As far as I can tell from your post, you have a brick and your waiting for it to heat up... how are you heating it? can you post pics to show us your rig? GAHHH! :eek: . . .:foot::p
Click to expand...

He said he had a single brick forge, not a single brick. He also gave the source of his instructions for building one. Come on...

To the OP: The one brick always too me a long time to heat up. I switched to MAPP gas when I was still using mine. If I were going to build a small affordable forge I'd go with a very small blown one like this:
http://www.rayrogers.com/miniforge.htm
 
Hey that's a really cool little forge! Thanks for the link, I think one like that might be in my future.
 
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