Forge building ?: 2 layers of 1" wool or 1 layer of 2"

T

Travis Fry

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Jun 11, 2010
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Title says it all, really. I'm fortunate to live in Houston where, apparently 8# 2300deg (or 2600) inswool can be had for ridiculously low prices and no shipping. I have the option of getting 1" or 2" wool, and 2300 or 2600deg. The cost between them all is negligible, so it's a question of what would be best. I plan to coat whatever it is in satanite and ITC 100. The floor and ends will be Insboard, also coated. This will be a horizontal forge for general forging, not for welding (I'll build another dedicated welding forge later).

Thanks in advance...
 
It seems that the 2" would build faster as you would not need to worry about layering it. Perhaps, if you are forge welding the 2600 degree might take the increased heat better.
 
Doesn't matter - use what you can get and get it fired up! The overall improvement from multiple layers vs a single thick layer will be negligible. Use what's easiest for you.
 
If using the Hi-Z wool, then you have to use two 1" layers. The regular wool ( which is perfectly fine) comes in 2" thickness, and is easier. The Hi-Z is nice for a dedicated welding forge, but not necessary for most forges.
 
Both the Hi-Z (HTZ is what this company calls it) and the regular are available in 1 and 2 inch, in 50sqft rolls (24"x 25'). The 1" and 2" work out to about the same price by volume. The HTZ is about twice the cost of the regular, but still not that expensive.

My inclination was to get 1" and do a full diameter layer, then put insboard down for a floor (on top of layer 1), then put another 1" layer that arched over and met the floor on both sides. That would give me 2 inches all around (approximately) and a flat floor. Does this sound like a reasonable plan? It'll be my first forge build, but I've been reading up on them for years now.
 
I used two 1" layers - my thinking was that 2 layers allowed me to stagger the location of the seams and not have a potential leaky strip in the insulation. Of course, if the seam on a 2" layer was below the floor piece it probably wouldn't be an issue.
 
Two 1" layers will lay flatter reducing any wrinkles. The 2" will wrinkle more as you curve it making it more difficult to coat evenly.
 
+1 to the comments about staggering the seem. Also, often when you reline the forge (and you WILL have to at some point), you will only need to reline the fire side layer, and not the entire lining. :)
 
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