Fire Brick Furnace

[RobWilson]

Hi Lads

Here is a furnace i built and used in my early 20s ,, very easy to construct and use , the design is from Foundry Work for the Amateur by Terry Aspin . this book is still available, and is the book that got me started in casting . The furnace consists of loose fire bricks held in place by a steel rapper .

First off are a few shots of the old furnace , melting cast iron using coke as a fuel and a #8 graphite crucible . Happy days






The cast parts ,x2 of each ,, 6" Flywheel and water jacket for odds n ends hit and miss engine ,, two 1 1/4" bore cylinders for marine steam engine with steam chests , covers and heads ,,, the aluminium base was also cast using this furnace.

[RobWilson]

I build another one a few years back to use as a test rig for a burner idea i had ( idea failed )
The old furnace just uses loose fire brick as a sort of lid and this works fine ,,, this one i had a bit castable left over so i decided to use it upon this build .









And that it ,,,,,,,, at the end of the day all you need is a stack of FIRE bricks and a steel rapper ,, 1/2 a brick will do for a crucible stand if you using gas / oil as a fuel ,,,,,,,,, if your using coke a fire grate is fitted and air is blasted in under the grate .


Any questions fire away :s


Rob

[DaveH]

Rob,

On this furnace how was the heat produced?
And what is a steel rapper?
DaveH

[EdK]

Rob,

I didn't realize you could melt iron with a home metal casting furnace. I figured you'd need a whole lot more BTUs than you could get with a home built furnace. I guess you proved me wrong. ;)

Thanks for posting the pictures.

Ed

[ETC57]

Very cool Rob,

Thank's for showing us your work.

So is the heat loss bad with that loose brick design?:)

Jerry.

[RobWilson]

Thanks Lads

Dave ,,, the furnace can use all fuels with forced draught , the steel rapper is what goes around the outside of the brick and done right it will pull them all together nice and tight .

Ed ,,,,,,, so far i have melted iron with coke , gas and oil ,,, nether are the most efficient/cost effective way of doing it ,,, but for small projects there OK ,,, the real tool for melting iron is a Cupola furnace ,the subject of my next thread



Jerry ,,,,,, its probably not the most efficient furnace ,, but for home use it really gets the job done ,, there is not allot of heat loss through the brick joints , if used to melt cast iron the hole lot will fuse into one mass .

Rob

[ETC57]

Thank you Rob I find your furnace info quite interesting

Jerry.

[Highpower]

Anybody here in the states know what the going price is for a firebrick?
I've never bought any so I don't have a clue. I would like to get a few for a base to heat parts on with the torch set.

And where would be the best place to buy them?

[ETC57]

I don't know Willie, but I'll be headen to the fireplace store hopefully this weekend

when I find out I'll let ya know.

Jerry.

[Highpower]

OK Jerry, thanks. I'm just curious. There is a material supply company not to far away from me, but I've never got up the ambition to drive over there yet to ask. Thought it might be a good idea to get a clue first so they don't try to hose me.