After several attempts at making a forge I finally made a forge that works.
This is a coal fed furnace in which I tried to melt copper, it didn’t work but it is
good enough to melt aluminium.
Although melting metals is not my intention, I gave it try.
There is nothing new to add to the forge making process or melting metals.
There are so many many videos on that subject.
However, I ran into a lot of roadblocks while making this forge.
So I thought I should address all of that.
Everything looks simple on a video but when tries to make it when reality pinches you
Let’s skip the making part…for all it
is a stacked brick with angle iron for support.
I will try and cover a few important points here which I think will be relevant for this
context.
First one is the refractory brick.
There are many kinds of them available in the market.
I think this is made with clay and other refractory materials which I am not aware of.
This thing is solid and real hard.
It can take a beating and drilling holes through was a pain.
Why did I choose this material in the first place?
My intention for buying these bricks was to build a rocket stove.
And I had bought it when he lockdowns were partially lifted.
I had to travel 20 kms to get these and while I was there, I thought of getting refractory
castables for the forge and bricks for the rocket stove.
I ended up using the refractor castables for the rocket stove instead and I was left with
only the brick so I thought I could use them to make a forge.
I have made forge before.
One was in clay and the other was with plaster of Paris and sand mixture.
Both of them did not last long because I didn’t make an outer shell to support the material.
I’ll get to that in a minute
Once I had planned the structure I wanted to build, the next challenge was to cut these
bricks
At least a few of them.
You could ceramic tile cutter or diamond-tipped blade, but that would be an additional expense
so tried something else.
I used a regular cutting wheel to score ridges on the brick.
Then a discarded knife can be placed on this ridge and a few gentle taps cut the bricks.
Not perfect but it is workable.
Now for the outer shell of the body, if I was using castables and had poured the concrete
mix into a mold of sorts, there are fewer chances of gaps.
But since we are using bricks, if by any chance these are gaps between the bricks, the outer
metal shell could get very hot, get damaged or melt in worst cases scenarios.
That brings up another challenge, the mortar to bind the bricks.
One kG mortar was around 2000 rupees and I was not going to buy it.
Anyways, I improvised and broke a brick and crushed it back to power.
I made a mix of refractory brick powder, cement, plaster of Paris and sand.
When I applied mortar onto the brick, It absorbs all the water instantly like a blotting paper.
Even when I dipped the bricks in water for a minute, It was still doing the same.
Somehow I made sure that the gaps are filled.
This structure is in no shape to hold itself together.
Instead of using a complete cover, I am only making a corner structure with angle iron.
This way even if it cracks, or If any gap appears,
I can still, repair it.
It took me almost two hours to make a one-inch hole for the air inlet pipe.
This material is almost like a rock and very dense.
I Broke two drill bit trying to do it.
Then I used an old chisel to make the hole and I had to be slow and careful not to break the brick
That’s also the reason why I didn’t make the lid
but I am going to simply cover the top using a spare bricks
I have nothing against these bricks. They are good,
they can withstand up to 2000 degree centigrade. Super durable.
Just that, this is way too complicated for something that can be done easily in half
a day with just 200 rupees.
If this was a fixed forge, these bricks are really good but that is not my goal.
Somehow this is what it has come to be Does this forge work or in other words, was
it worth the effort..
Let us test it.
This is where I realized how important a lid for this forge is, and A SPEED CONTROLER FOR
THE AIR BLOWER I filled up the crucible with copper wire
stripped from electrical cables.
Covered the forge with brick and ran it for about an hour and
refilling charcoal now and then.
With great expectation, I pulled out the crucible.
When I pulled out the red hot crucible with aluminium inside, the top part was filled
with charcoal.
When I tried to pour it into the mold, all of the charcoal and slag slipped out too.
While I am not proud of what I have made here, I am still happy that this is the first time
I made an aluminium ingot.
Tasting success and knowing this method works, I melted it again.
The container was big enough to accommodate more aluminum scraps.
Practice makes perfect is what they say.
Sorry about the camera angle but this was a near perfect pour.
And there I have got a beautiful looking ingot.
Before we wrap up, here is a pointer.
If you looking at melting aluminum , just get a stainless steel kitchen container.
It’s more than enough.
This cost only 40 rupees.
The crucible is not large enough and cost around 500 rupees.
I hope you got something out of this video.
I enjoy adding something to already present knowledge through my experience.
Hope I did my part.
There are more video I am planning to make on ironsmithing
Just trying to push me a little more.
Give your support.
I need it.
Please don’t forget to subscribe.
I will see you soon.
Bye.