Big Ol' fire screen

[app-ironworksllc]

This is a decent little job, an arch top fire screen.

48-1/2" wide x 48-3/4" tall x 1/2" thick.

Frame is 3/16" x 2" h.r. flat bar, double layered with the screen sandwiched in the middle, all riveted together.

32 rivets all set by hand, my arm was spaghetti when I finished. Now I truly understand why welding is easier than riveting.

Frikkin heavy. It still needs handles and feet, both will probably be hand forged in the ol' coal forge.

There'll be 2 sets of feet, 2 go into the fire place, 2 point into the living room. The 2 that face out will get antique finished brass casters to make getting at the fire easier.

I'll probably be making a grate to go behind this, too.

So the customer likes the look of the mill finish. Any suggestions on how to make the joints look like the mill finish instead of nice and shiny where they were ground flush.

I'm thinking heat and oil, but I'll listen to any suggestions.




This thing is kind of large, huh?


Had to beat the tar out of 32 of these buggers.


Test fitting the two halves before adding the screen.


So here's the shiny part that needs to be brought back to a mill finish, or as close as possible anyway.

[rlitman]

Heat and oil will blacken the areas, but the grind marks will always be there (where everywhere else, it will be more smooth).
You may want to consider using a belt sander to put a uniform brushed texture everywhere, and then apply heat and oil to everything. Its just a little difficult to evenly heat the entire piece in a way that doesn't appear splotchy, but that's not always bad.

Try a few options on some scrap first though.

[wintermute]

I'd wonder if just media blasting the whole thing and then grey parkerizing it would get pretty close to the same look?

Good work by the way, that's a really nice looking fireplace grill. I like the heavy wrought look of it.

--Wintermute

[weldbead]

those curved top arch pieces were cut from plate ?

[app-ironworksllc]

Originally Posted by wintermute

I'd wonder if just media blasting the whole thing and then grey parkerizing it would get pretty close to the same look?

Good work by the way, that's a really nice looking fireplace grill. I like the heavy wrought look of it.

--Wintermute

Thanks,
Hmm, that is an interesting possibility, the biggest draw back I can see is the need for a tank (pan) big enough to dip this screen, I wonder if the chemicals can be wiped or sponged on with any success.

Originally Posted by weldbead

those curved top arch pieces were cut from plate ?

No, they are 3/16" x 2" h.r. flat bar, bent "the hard way" on a Hossfeld #2 bender.

[wintermute]

I don't think you'll get an even finish doing a cold wipe on parkerizing. If you can find a big flat stainless steel pan, I think you'd be able to do a hot parkerizing over the whole thing pretty well though.

--Wintermute

[weldbead]

Originally Posted by app-ironworksllc

Thanks,
Hmm, that is an interesting possibility, the biggest draw back I can see is the need for a tank (pan) big enough to dip this screen, I wonder if the chemicals can be wiped or sponged on with any success.



No, they are 3/16" x 2" h.r. flat bar, bent "the hard way" on a Hossfeld #2 bender.

shock is mine.. i wouldnt think you could bend thin stock in that plane without it getting all dimple-y

[app-ironworksllc]

I finished this one up right before Thanksgiving. The Customer sent me some "in use" pics.

Yep, I'd sit there with a cup of "bailey's" coffee right now. It's frikkin cold.

'Reckon I'll clean my own fireplace so I can go sit in front of it.

I ended up using the heat and oil method, once at all the joints that were ground, then again over the whole thing. Customer's loved it.

I ended up making them a grate from some 3/4" hot rolled square bar, too. I was so happy my Hossfeld could bend it cold, I didn't think it could. Sure saved a bunch of time and gas over heating, then bending, or cutting and welding (then grinding).

[jreynoldswelding]

You got the cold part right! My ears already hurt.

Nice firescreen!

[Broccoli1]

brrr 67˚ here today

[app-ironworksllc]

Originally Posted by Broccoli1

brrr 67˚ here today

thanks Ed.

It was cold enough for flurries this morning, now it's just b.a.c.* rain.










*butt azz cold

[forhire]

Brian, Thanks for the action photos!

That is an interesting fireplace... is it really as shallow as it appears?

[PapaLion]

That is a beautiful screen, I always like your posts very inspiring for me. Quality work shows.

Broccoli that is cruel, it is not nice to tease our brothers who slog around in ice, snow and cold all winter wishing they were at your house or mine... it was about 75 here today. another tough winter is coming on.

[eliteiron]

Very nice work. I just logged on to your website,you should be very proud of your accomplishments in the last two years. Your blog about starting up your shop showed your integrity and vision for what you create and want to in the future. I have been grinding it out for five yrs. now and have seen alot of shops come and go, especially in the last two. Your passion for your family, business, and community will propel you to that next level for yrs. to come. Keep up the great work and congrats.

[Monica]

That's a nice screen. Looks like you got it finished too. A quick question though. Is there some space or barrier on the back of that screen to prevent the heat transfer from the fire to the metal to the walls of the house?



About the parkerizing, I don't think I'd attempt to hot park that large a piece. You'd have to have a big and broad enough heat source to keep the entire area of the pan up to temp. Park can be finicky (especially homebrews) and a big item would be a good challenge.

I didn't know there was a cold parkerizing method. Is it any good?

[app-ironworksllc]

Thanks,

Originally Posted by forhire

Brian, Thanks for the action photos!

That is an interesting fireplace... is it really as shallow as it appears?

Yup it is that shallow. It's a "Rumford" fireplace.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumford_fireplace

What's funny is my house has one like it. Smaller with a square top, but shallow and angled like the one seen here. I'd have never known it's a Rumford unless I took this job.

It does do a good job of throwing the heat out into the room, but you have to keep the fire small, high and to the back to keep it from smoking the room.

Originally Posted by eliteiron

Very nice work. I just logged on to your website,you should be very proud of your accomplishments in the last two years. Your blog about starting up your shop showed your integrity and vision for what you create and want to in the future. I have been grinding it out for five yrs. now and have seen alot of shops come and go, especially in the last two. Your passion for your family, business, and community will propel you to that next level for yrs. to come. Keep up the great work and congrats.

Thanks for the very kind words.

Originally Posted by Monica

That's a nice screen. Looks like you got it finished too. A quick question though. Is there some space or barrier on the back of that screen to prevent the heat transfer from the fire to the metal to the walls of the house?

About the parkerizing, I don't think I'd attempt to hot park that large a piece. You'd have to have a big and broad enough heat source to keep the entire area of the pan up to temp. Park can be finicky (especially homebrews) and a big item would be a good challenge.

I didn't know there was a cold parkerizing method. Is it any good?

Thanks, no there's no barrier. The screen is free standing so you can place it off the wall if you need to, though after building about a dozen different screens, most of them fastened to the masonry, I don't foresee any trouble with heat transfer, seeing as none of the previous ones have had any problem.

I looked at the parkerizing only briefly, too costly and impractical for this job. And it really isn't the finish we were shooting for on this one.

[DSW]

Fire places like this were often used with coal because you didn't need as large a firebox as with those that burned wood. Often you will find the anchor points where a cast iron face was installed on the fire box. As you have found they radiate heat very well and much better than many "standard" designs. The down side, as you found, is that the small box can have some issues with larger fires.