Home made hearth tools

[kevinmoelk]

Okay, well I'm a newbie. I'm wondering how many folks have made their own hearth tools. Are there more tools involved than just the standard brush, poker, pan, log roller? Please excuse my lack of proper terminology. Any pictures?

I've got some 1/4 bar stock lying around. Ideas?

-Kevin

 

[Roospike]

Here is an easy to build , no welding ash / coal rake.

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/4439/

 

[kevinmoelk]

Cool idea Roospike, I may just have to steal it. This is going to sound very ignorant, but what is the rake used for?

 

[Elderthewelder]

no welding
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/4439/

man, that takes all the fun out of it!!

 

[GVA]

no welding
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/4439/

man, that takes all the fun out of it!!

I'm sure you could leave it in the coals for a bit, then run some silver braze round the joints if ya wanted

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Both of my pokers are homemade.

 

[Roospike]

Cool idea Roospike, I may just have to steal it. This is going to sound very ignorant, but what is the rake used for?

I made the project for a school and they cant weld the project so i came up with this.

The question is not what a coal / ash rake is used for , the question is "what is a poker used for" ?
Do we really need to "poke" our wood ? no , not really .

The coal / ash rake is for when reloading your stove and you pull the hot coal to the front of your stove.

and or

pushing the coal to the back of the stove and pulling the ash foward for #1 to pull into the hole of the stoves ash pan system or to pull ash foward to let you scoop out ashes.

And then pull the coal back to the front and then reload with wood.

Modern wood stoves dont need the wood poked so the poker is kinda of a pointless tool for me anyway.

Check out my film loop of the PE Summit ash pan system in my Signature wrenchmonster ----->

(broken link removed)

 

[Roospike]

Alright , pic for all you log pokers and wood hookers ...............................
(bet you were never called a "wood hooker" before)

I make these all the time for the stubborn group that cant get away from pokers and hooks.
I make these out of 1/2" , 3/8" & 1/4" round cold rolled steel , grind the tip and O/A the ends.
24" is about standard for a modern wood stove and 32" for the bigger old timer tank stoves and fireplaces and 4' and 5' for them ole' out door wood boilers.

*sorry , no welding here either* :long:

(Pictured is 32" )

 

[kevinmoelk]

Okay. Well that makes sense Roospike. But now I question the usefullness of the broom thingy. Seems to me that would be a useless tool, especially one that did not have a 90 degree turn. If there is an ashpan (which I'm not sure about my new stove that, um, I pick up tomorrow ) then I also question the usefullness of the mini shovel tool. Seems to me the rake tool would be the only one you need. Maybe a poker.

 

[Elderthewelder]

*sorry , no welding here either* :long:

thats ok, at least you used O/A

 

[wahoowad]

wrenchmonster,

I made my own. I posted them before but can't find it now. I also built a matching ash shovel but no pic. Shown is a poker and ash rake. They work great and I'm really, really pleased with the heft, grip, balance, length and all that. I hope to keep and use them forever.

 

[Roospike]

Okay. Well that makes sense Roospike. But now I question the usefullness of the broom thingy. Seems to me that would be a useless tool, especially one that did not have a 90 degree turn. If there is an ashpan (which I'm not sure about my new stove that, um, I pick up tomorrow ) then I also question the usefullness of the mini shovel tool. Seems to me the rake tool would be the only one you need. Maybe a poker.

The broom thingy is the coal rake , the flat end is for ash.
Unsure what you mean 90° turn? the end is 90° to the rod ................

*sorry , no welding here either* :long:

thats ok, at least you used O/A

****** ;-) ******

 

[Elderthewelder]

Wrench

no ash pans on Country stoves/inserts

 

[kevinmoelk]

Sorry Roospike, I'm probably not using the correct terms. I was refering to the standard fire place set available for sale at hearth shops. There is one attachment that is a broom or brush, all straight handle. If you had a straight handle and head, then it would seem to me like the tool would not be too effective at cleaning the back of the firebox since the handle might hit the top edge of the door opening.

 

[Roospike]

wrenchmonster,

I made my own. I posted them before but can't find it now. I also built a matching ash shovel but no pic. Shown is a poker and ash rake. They work great and I'm really, really pleased with the heft, grip, balance, length and all that. I hope to keep and use them forever.

I remember the post , just couldnt remember who it was that made them , ha . Now we know. You'll have to keep the pic for next years "homemade tool " thread.

What did you use for the end ball? I made some fancier ones than i normally make and used ball bearings for the end. I went back with the loop end for the request to be hung.

Again wahoowad , great tools brother. good job.

 

[kevinmoelk]

Thanks Elder. So I guess I'll need to have a shovel tool then.

 

[kevinmoelk]

Maybe Craig can cast some aluminum handles for everyone.

 

[Roospike]

Sorry Roospike, I'm probably not using the correct terms. I was refering to the standard fire place set available for sale at hearth shops. There is one attachment that is a broom or brush, all straight handle. If you had a straight handle and head, then it would seem to me like the tool would not be too effective at cleaning the back of the firebox since the handle might hit the top edge of the door opening.

I got-cha now ...... I think the broom you speak of is to sweep the hearth and not normally used for the fire box. I use a 14.4 black and decker hand vac to clean up any ash that may get on the hearth , i used to use a dust pan and hand brush but it made ash dust in the air so i went with a had vac.

 

[Shane]

Hey Are those tools UL Listed & Approved!? Your all going to burn your houses down The whole lot of ya!

 

[Burn-1]

I figured I'd resurrect this thread than start a new one. After watching the Canadian wood burning videos I called around local hearth shops looking for an ash rake. No luck at all. So with the storm going pretty well in Central NH I thought about how I might make one myself and I'm a 6.5-7, (basically a D-), on the handiness scale. After looking around for what I could find I made this one.

Parts list consists of rusty old ash shovel, a small hacksaw, a pair of wire cutting pliers, two sheet metal screws, and a brake made from sticking two firebricks together. It works great in the Vista but I think one might need a longer shovel for other stoves. A pretty fun 15 minute project.

 

[Jimbob]

The first 2 are home made. The poker/hook was made by my wife's family, probably ~ 40 years ago. The ash rake was made by me last week.
The shovel was bought from the hardware store about 6 years ago.
The metal plate on the wall was from our woodstove pedestal, removed to put in the ash dump option. Keeps the hot, dirty tools from touching the wall.