Fire brick online purchase

As the google archive should tell you if you ask the right question, (nearly) any pottery supplier. How hard did you really try asking it? Several online ones easy to come by, one physically local to you would save on the bother of shipping. Check the yellow pages for refractory and pottery supplies.

Not having anywhere in particular in ohio to look, here are a couple from the first page of yellow-page results looking for refractory in ohio that have web pages. Many don't have web pages. One may be in your town...

And just to give you what you asked for, here is a pottery supplier (not especially near ohio) that definitely does on-line and phone sales, and has bricks. I've pointed you at the soft bricks, which are the easily bored out style.

Kaowool and a tin can also work. They have the kaowool, the tin can you supply.

I asked the wrong questions. :)

I would just buy locally, but as far as I can tell it's atleast an hours drive in a gas guzzling pickup.

Thanks again, I'll search a little more asking the right questions too.

Matthew ohio

I have read the other posts so far and I suggest that you get the fire brick locally. Shipping firebrick is going to cost a lot more than a one hour's drive in a gas guzzler. Also, you can be more certain of getting the right stuff. Tell the folks at the brick store that you will be heating things to as high as about 2600 degrees.

Firebrick is not as efficient as kaowool would be. Consider it for the sides and top of your forge.

You may find that the Fleet Farm firebricks (which, I bet, are only 1" thick) are not "high temp".

Pete Stanaitis

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MatthewK wrote:

You would have to state Celsius, so you will get a K26 at least, a K23 is okay, but the more temperature your appliance can handle the better (imo).

Regards Charles

spaco wrote:

Getting the 2600 stuff locally is a problem, I should have specified that originaly. Regular firebrick, thats easy. :)

Anyway, talking to Alvin at rec.knives, I decided that the coffee can forge is a better option for me. I want to forge, but I'm more concerned with heat treating right now. Seems the one brick forges give some trouble in that regard. At least with the coffe can forge, you can keep direct flame off the parts your heat treating.

I'll most likely order the materials I need tonight.

matthew ohio

If you just want to heat treat, then the coffee can or one brick will get the metal to the critical temperature (non-magnetic). A small hand torch will do the same, however this requires a little practice ;-)

To temper the blade a toaster oven will do the trick, but a heat sink may be required depending on what your blade requirements are. You could also use your electric stove top, or use a small hand torch once again. There is a danger in using the stove top... the wife might catch you doing it :-D

Regards Charles

MatthewK wrote:

Yeah, figured it be better for heat treating since the temperature would be more-even over the length of the blade?

But later he'll be forging so why mess with two of them?.

That's what I use for my knife blades. :)

-with a mercury-type Taylor-brand oven thermometer.

That's what I use for my slip-joint springs. :)

-At night.

-In the dark.

Easy to see the coil begin to glow and shut it off... or adjust the knob so the dumb thing shuts itself off as soon as it starts glowing. :)

Turn on the light and watch the colors run and when it turns a pretty watch spring blue... get it off there and air cool it.

Sand it and do it again. (had one break once, do'em twice now)

She packed her shit and left. Yiipppeee! :)

Alvin in AZ