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Posted by Charly the Bastard on February 21, 2006, 9:23 am
Please log in for more thread options John wrote:
> The time has come to retire the too small, 35 year old Sears 3/8" thick
> aluminum gas grill. Too many parts to replace yet again to make it
> worthwhile. But I just can't bring myself to throw the thing away. So
> I've been thinking...
>
> ...What about turning it into a coal forge? Presumably if I line it with
> fire brick and/or refractory, with the addition of some steel pipe with
> which to cobble a draft and tuyere, it should work, right? I figure
> that the center portion would be the forge and the extreme right/left
> sides would serve as coal store and/or slack tub.
>
> Or am I going to find a molten mass of aluminum at my feet?
>
> Anybody ever done something like this with such an item before?
>
> Thought I'd ask first.
>
> Thanks,
>
> J.
Chould be okay if you make the refractory thick enough. Aluminum becomes
'dimensionally unstable' at about 350 degrees, meaning cylinder heads start
to baloon at that temp. I assume that this Al tub is roughly rectangular.
I'd go with at least a four inch thick layer, with an overhang to cover the
'edge' of the aluminum. Aluminum grows more than steel with heat, so you
might have problems sealing the air inlet. Think about a flange mount with
the bolts trapped by the castable so they become studs out the bottom. Make
the bolt holes in the flange about a thirty-second oversize to allow for
creep at temp. Just keep the fire off the aluminum.
Charly
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