Virtual BBQ - 2 Brick Forge WIP

You will also do better with the burner hole about 3/4" higher. You don't want it right in the middle. It works best if it's at the top so the flame can swirl around the chamber.

Is that the super-soft foam type IFB? I got a sample of it and it was almost too soft to use. If it is, make sure to get a good thick layer of cement in there to protect it.

Charles
 
Well I used it before coating the inside and while it was cooling down the brick ended up cracking with the propane hole.

 
Bricks crack, that's always gonna happen. The trick is to keep them tied together so when they crack they are still usable. Put them inside a 1/4" steel walled square tube and they can crack all they want and still stay in place. Hardware cloth works, also.
 
Wow thanks for sharing this build along, I was just curious how long does one of those torch bottles last?
 
It completely depends on the torch. A 30k BTU burner like mine will use 1.38 lbs. per hour at 20 PSI. You might get 2 hours out of a 2 lb. bottle at 75%. A smaller blow torch might get 6-7 hours.
 
I know this is a pretty old thread. Hopefully you will reply First and foremost though. Thank you Atlas for all of your information! I've learned a great deal by reading your posts and replies. I have just a quick question if you don't mind as I am building my 2BF for heat treating next weekend. I noticed you have the hole for the torch nozzle in the back. Everything I read though, suggests putting it in the front angle towards the back. which way do you suggest? Thank you again
 
Yeah, front pointing back, bouncing off the rear and heading to front is more efficient. The gas gets roughly twice the time inside the forge to combust.
 
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Thanks for replying! The bricks with shipping were kinda expensive. So I would like to do this once.
 
I was about to put mine together this evening...

Does it make any difference if you use screws versus four bolts?
 
No, it's OK to post on the virtual BBQ threads, that's why they're there.

Screws, bolts, doesn't matter as long as you don't crush the brick.
 
Hey, I found this thread through google and i see that its pretty old, so hopefully you will reply still.

I was looking into building this, and its looking like the best option as to it only costs about $80

I just had a couple questions. 1) If i just turn full bricks sideways, would it still be able to have enough heat with such a wide hole?
2) Or could i just add more half bricks to the front, to make it a little longer on the inside?
3) About how big should the exhaust hole be in the back, and should there be any specific spot that i put it?

Thanks for the help buddy!
 
AJ6817 said:
Hey, I found this thread through google and i see that its pretty old, so hopefully you will reply still.

I was looking into building this, and its looking like the best option as to it only costs about $80

I just had a couple questions. 1) If i just turn full bricks sideways, would it still be able to have enough heat with such a wide hole?
2) Or could i just add more half bricks to the front, to make it a little longer on the inside?
3) About how big should the exhaust hole be in the back, and should there be any specific spot that i put it?

Thanks for the help buddy!
Click to expand...

1. Well, if you're making a battle axe, I suppose that would work. Otherwise, your knife only takes so much room and you don't need to waste gas heating up unused space.
2. Four half bricks gives a 9-11" chamber, which is plenty big for most knives. If you want to make it bigger, go for it.
3. 2" x 1/2" seems to work well and allows most blades to pass through the rear.
 
The bottom of the rear port should always be even with the forge floor so a blade tip can slide out it.
 
Also tagging on to this post. My goal is heat treating of O1 and 1084 type steels, small blades. I am considering an Atlas Burner paired with either the 2 brick forge made from the soft bricks ($30 for 4+ more DIY)or this premade coffee can forge on ebay $63. Here is the ebay link

Any opinions?
 
For heat treating, I am using a very simple two brick forge that has about a 2.5" cylindrical chamber that I cut with a hacksaw and scraped out with a metal spoon. I was using a Bernzomatic TS4000 torch with propane then MAPP/propane. I originally only had a 2" diameter chamber which worked with the handheld torch, but when I enlarged it to 2.5" diameter, it struggled to reach the proper heat. Once I got Charles' Atlas 30k BTU burner, it was like night and day, quick and easy to reach HT temperatures and more even heating inside.

The coffee can forge is a little short for the types of kitchen knives I'm making, typically 6.5" to 8.5", but if you're only HT smaller blades, it seems okay. I prefer to use the firebricks so that I can make the chamber whatever size I want, but that's just me and the way I think.
 
Plaster and sand make for a poor insulator, but it will get the job done if that's all you have. Two insulating firebrick will make a great forge when paired with the right burner, and a 20# tank of LP will last about 14 hours. As I've said countless times, you can't beat the efficiency of the Atlas design. Despite the dozens of tweaks and improvements to the metal shell over the last seven years, the same 4 half brick chamber design is almost untouched.
 
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