Mini fireplaces for our tiny homes & shops

🪓 Phase 1: Metal Preparation & Layout (Blacksmith) • Decontaminate Stock: Burn off or mechanically grind away any industrial transport oils, zinc coatings, or rust inhibitors on the 3/16" and 1/4" raw plate steel before cutting. • Precision Geometry Inscription: Use a steel square and soapstone markers to transfer the exact 14" x 11" x 10.5" dimensions onto your flat plate stock. • Chassis Parting: Cut out the main panels (floor, top, back, side walls) using the plasma cutter or torch. • Aperture Punching: Burn out the 3" circular exhaust flue exit hole in the top/back plate and slice the center window cutout into the front door piece. • Edge Dressing: Bevel all structural plate edges to a 45-degree angle using a 40-grit flap disc on the angle grinder to ensure deep weld penetration. 🧪 Phase 2: Foundry & Component Casting (Smelter) • Pattern Stamping: Press the wooden or carved positive patterns for your bottom bottom-grate and your door frame into the oil/resin sand flasks. • Charge & Melt: Liquidize cast iron or heavy structural scrap in the furnace crucible. • Pouring Core Parts: Pour the molten iron to form the heavy-duty slotted floor grate and the perimeter door frame (including its inner gasket retention channel). • Shakeout & Cleaning: Extract the castings once cooled, shake loose the sand, and use wire wheels to clean away any surface slag or flashing. ⚡ Phase 3: Assembly & Structural Welding (Blacksmith & Engineer) • Squaring the Core: Secure the inner firebox floor, sides, and back plate using magnetic welding squares and heavy C-clamps to hold them dead-true. • Root Pass Welding: Lay down deep-penetrating structural MIG or stick welds along all interior joints to form a completely solid, airtight combustion box. • Baffle & Jet Tube Integration: Weld the 3/16" internal baffle plate at its forward angle near the ceiling. Mount the 1" secondary oxygen tube right beneath it, ensuring it ports out the back wall to draw external air. • Convection Jacket Wrap: Stitch-weld the outer 14-gauge sheets to the exterior, maintaining a uniform 1-inch thermal air gap around the sides and back. • Hinges & Latches: Align and weld heavy drop-hinges and an airtight cam-latch mechanism to the front chassis face. 📐 Phase 4: Finishing & Precision Fitting (Engineer) • Jet Porting: Drill the clean 1/8" oxygen ports spaced 1/2" apart along the internal secondary burn tube. • Window and Rope Packing: Seat the NeoCeram/PyroCeram glass into the door window frame using high-temp clips. Pack 1/2" fiberglass stove rope gasket into the cast door channel using furnace cement to lock it down. • Pressure and Seal Testing: Seal all primary intake sliders, run a smoke pen or negative pressure shop-vac test on the chassis, and check every welded seam for microscopic pinholes. • Refractory Lining: Cut and drop the 1/2" firebrick splits into the bottom floor and lower side walls of the firebox chamber. • Thermal Cure Coating: Wipe down the exterior shell and apply a uniform coating of high-temperature stove paint to protect the metal from future oxidation.