Here we go again, you might say. However, before I go on about the kono grill, a thought has struck me. The government is considering summer schools to allow kids who have fallen behind to catch up a bit on their school work. I know it's only for 2 weeks, but that's going to impact their parents' summer holiday plans and I wonder how many of those who complained about schools being closed will now complain that their holiday plans will be affected by summer school, which is far more important, as a couple of weeks in Benidorm is an education. It's bound to happen with a small section of the population.
This is rapidly turning into an exercise in spending vast amounts of money with which I could have bought a pukka kono / yakitori grill from Japan and had it shipped over. It's a learning exercise though, however expensive it turns out to be, and I'm enjoying the process immensely, even if Hay isn't.
Took delivery of the various pre-cut lengths of firebrick (which resembles slabs of fibreboard both in texture and weight), but realised the base would be too narrow, so I ordered another piece to form the base. That piece was slightly too large, so I had to cut it down slightly with my rotary saw, which was just like slicing plywood. This left me with a couple of thin strips of what looks like wood, which I thought I'd use to play a trick on Hay's dad, who is notorious for scrounging any old bits of off-cut for his wood burner. I left the strips lying around outside, with the intention of him finding them and snaffling them, only to find they don't burn, which will perplex him somewhat and cause some head scratching.
Anyhow, I was left with far more firebrick than I needed - twelve 9" x 4" slabs, to be precise, as shown in the loosely assembled photo above. It wasn't too expensive, so no matter as I'm sure I can use it somewhere else.
Then it came to the vent hole, which needs a sliding damper of some description. I looked all over e-Bay and Amazon, finding all manner of circular ones and the sliding, louvred types that were simple too large. I finally found exactly what I was looking for, but it's made in America - the land of the BBQ, naturally. Given I want it to look good, I but the bullet and ordered one, with the postage costing almost a much as the damper itself. All told, £68; however, there's bound to be some additional customs charge. No point in spoiling the ship for a ha'porth of tar.
They're not too difficult to fabricate, by the look of them, and if I make more grills then I may try my hand at making a few Heath-Robinson ones. The intention will be to staple it on with an industrial sized staple gun I have.
I then wanted some drop-down handles - the same type as on the original with a handle grip that resembles a spring, as that ensures the heat it dissipated efficiently.
I found loads of spring hand grips, but no handle for them to go on. I decided in the end to go for case handles, like you find on music equipment cases - next best thing. £10 for two, so they won't break the bank.
Then it came to the aluminium for the retaining cage. Now I thought 1/2" angle aluminium would be fine, but I hadn't factored in that the firebrick board is 1" thick, requiring something more like a 2" angle to bracket the joins. Back to e-Bay and another £57 was spent and I await its delivery.
I'm still not sure how one cures the firebrick, which seems too delicate to be used in its raw state. I have read various threads maintaining, on the one hand, that it needs to be fired in a kiln before actual use with charcoal, but others that neglect any mention of this. My sister in-law is next door is a ceramicist, so I do have a kiln available. She is, incidentally, busy decorating the perlcrete MkI and giving it an impermeable glaze.
I was going to use fire cement to seal any joints on assembly of the MkII, but it's brittle and I've read good reports about rope seal glue, which is used to fix fireproof, glass-fibre door seals to wood burning stoves and is good to 850 degrees C, so I've ordered a couple of tubs. Actually, thinking about it, I may use the staple gun to staple the box together across the joins after applying the glue and before creating the aluminium cage, which will cover the staples - using the approach of belt, braces and the string favoured by tramps and old-time farmers. I can test whether the staples will hold the firebrick, or split it, on one of the spare slabs.
A few large clamps wouldn't go amiss to hold the box together while gluing and caging - will have to keep a lookout in Lidl for suitable devices. I did wonder if I should make dovetail joints as the firebrick is so easy to cut, but my wood butchery skills are rudimentary, to say the least.
I do like the look of that though, for £48.90..... However, after looking at the video, it does look a bit complex.
Watch this space....
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