Cast vertical forge

J

Jason Fry

Joined
Jun 5, 2008
Messages
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I just poured the castable on a vertical forge. Used plibrico brand, 2400 degree rated. They have a 2700° I would’ve gotten if I had known about it. Internal diameter of the chamber is going to be about 7 inches, height 9 inches, calculated at 298 cubic inches. Rectangular door openings on each side, so I can pass through a long piece if I need to. Burner opening at the bottom. I cast the lid as a separate flat piece.

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Got the molds out and then poured the bottom. Likely let it cure a few more days, then do a few lower temp test fires before starting the real work.

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I've got a 3/4" venturi I plan to use until I get a blown burner built. I'll use it for test/curing fires at least.
 
I’ve heard of guys running a single light bulb inside to help with a bit of heat. Although now with all the “weird” bulbs that aren’t incandescent anymore, that could be on the way out... Cool forge by the way.

Jeremy
 
Put a 75 watt light bulb in the chamber and let it sit there for a week or more. Stick a piece of 1/4" round stock between the shell and lid to keep the cord from getting squeezed, and to allow an up-draft convection.

Too late now, but the bottom should be cast separate like the top. You want to be able to take the shell off it for changing the kitty litter and other tasks.

Looks like you set it up for 2" insulation, which is good.

It would have been better to use the 2700° type, but the 2400° will hold up fine.

I personally feel that a coating of ITC-100 is beneficial, but that may be just my opinion. Fire and run the forge a while before doing the iTC-100. It can be added at any time, anyway.
 
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I built my horizontal forge with a Venturi burner first without ITC-100. It had kaowool with some refractory cement over it. I got some of the cones from the ceramics shop to see if I was getting to welding heat. I wasn’t. I got some ITC-100 and put a thin layer over what I already had in my forge and tried again with the firing cones and was up over the temp. The ITC-100 clearly made a difference in my setup.

Jeremy
 
What was the actual name of the refractory you used? Do you know it’s weight per cubic foot?
 
I built a foundry for casting bronze with Pli-Cast KL 3000 KK and the only drawback is that it takes a lot of BTU's to bring it up to useful temps but it does hold the heat well once you are there. I plan to convert it to an oil burner before further use because it eats propane.

On the plus side, it's hard and can take abuse - also good at resisting flux. I made a plinth out of it, which still looks good after many heats.
 
I have some Metrikote on the way from Wayne Coe, but even before that, this forge held welding heat well with a 3/4" Mikey burner. Welding heat doesn't look like much in full bright sunlight, but this billet stuck just fine. Hopefully the IR coating will make it even better. I have a blown burner built, but the blower I had is too weak to work.

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