Help With My Forge Insulation

D

Dillion Grant

Joined
Oct 10, 2016
Messages
17
Hey guys I am sorry if this has been covered on another thread but I was wondering i know how everybody always says to use ceramic insulation for the lining material but I was really wondering is this, could I use fiberglass inssulation like they use to insulate houses, as long as I seal the outside like with ceramic insulation?
 
If fiberglass is distanced or insulated enough from the heat source it would work. But if what I envision your desire is right, Fiberglass will melt. Its glass afterall.
Actually it probably wont melt, but as its stabilizer is burned away, it will usually fall to a powder like mix.
 
You need inswool, kaowool, or some other mineral fiber or ceramic blanket insulation. High Temperature Tools and Refractory (hightemptools.com ) carries everything you need. They also have great FAQs on all the materials telling how to use them.

You need at least 1" of the wool blanket as the insulation liner of the forge shell (I prefer 2" of wool), then a coating of refractory over that. The refractory almost everyone uses is called Satanite. You put between 1/4" and 3/8" of this over the wool blanket and cure the refractory slowly. Once the satanite is cured and fired, you can use the forge, but for better performance and life, a thin layer of ITC-100 over the satanite is a good idea. This coating is about 1/8" thick.

The stickys has info on forge building, and a search with the custom search engine ( also in the stickys) will find lots of forge building info.

Just a question for curiosity, but how old are you?
 
Well, Stacy I hope this doesn't make y'all stop being so helpful but to answer ur question I am 16 right now but honestly I know I am kind of young, but I am still going to be doing this so I figure either I will ask people like you that know how to do everything, or I will struggle on my own so please still help me.
 
Dillon,
Saving a few dollars when it is on the things that make a forge good or fair isn't good economy. I posted a good bit of info on the other thread on forges running right now. Take a look at that info, too.

Thanks for giving us your age. It make a difference what advice we give. There are also some issues with minors that we have to be aware of. However, it doesn't make us not want to help you.

Have your dad/mom send me a PM or email. I might be able to help you a bit.
 
ITC-100 can be nice, but is indeed expensive and is not necessary. Satanite is a great product, and works better than whatever stove mortar you can buy locally. Plus, it's pretty cheap. You'll need at least 5 lbs. to do a new forge of decent size.
The important things are to have a burner that is reasonably efficient and runs smoothly, and a forge shell that is adequately insulated. I usually use 2" of 2400f inswool in an 8# density, installed as two layers of 1". This, with a strong burner and a bit of Satanite on the top, will make an efficient forge that may want to run welding heat at all times unless dialed WAY back.
 
Is satanite better than sairset? A local refractory supplier sells sairset, and I've used it for differential hardening and my last forge. I'm building a new forge, and would I be better off getting satanite over the sairset I already have?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top