Maintenance on an NC Whisper low boy forge

D

Daniel Krohn

Joined
Nov 23, 2004
Messages
44
Ever since I started forging tomahawks, the flux has been eating at the insulation and the floor. I often use a couple slabs of firebrick to keep the flux off the floor but they normally just get cemented down instead. Prying them out this past time I managed to get a 1/4 inch layer off the floor, too.

Anyway I haven't done forge maintenance before but I think my forge is ready for it. What all do I need and what should I know going into it?
 
I have been using some thin slabs of fire brick with clay (unscented) kitty litter on top of it. When the flux globs up on the litter you just scoop it out and put some fresh in.
ON a side note, I just built a pipe forge and have some extra insulation and satanite left. Ipm going to re line the NC and coat the insulation with satanite. I'm thinking it can't be too healthy to be working on a forge with that insulation exposed like that. I'm sure it's spitting out some fibers that I probably should not have been breathing for the last 4 years:rolleyes:
Ed
 
Daniel, I have the same forge, and the same problem... in the past I've just slapped fresh kitty litter or a thin coat of satanite in there but that's just a short-term fix. I know you can get re-liner kits for NC forges from places like Centaur Forge but they're kinda pricey.

Maybe Darren Ellis will chime in with a suggestion. Some of that flux-resistant castable refractory sounds like a good way to go.
 
I recently re-lined my Whisper Momma. I already had some of Darrens kaowool, and used it and satinite instead of the expensive NC liner kit. It works just fine now. The floor is a problem, but I think mine is solved with some stuff Darren sells called "bubble alumina". I've not done a lot of forgewelding on this stuff yet, but what's there didn't eat through it.
 
I reline the bottom of my whisper Low Boy with ramable refractory material.It holds up well.
 
Hi Derek and Daniel,

If you want, give me a shout on the telephone on Friday...we're scrambling to get ready to leave for Batson's hammer-in, otherwise I'd post some solutions to the problem...

:)

-Darren
 
Darren is the man to talk to.He can help you decide.He can tell you what is best,and sell you the materials.
 
One thing I have done when building forges is to drill a drain hole for the flux to drain preventing it from pooling up.A masonary bit works well if you have a hard floor such as rammable or castable.On the verticle forges I shape the rammable floor in a bowl shape with a 1/2" hole in the center of the bowl.It sure saves the wool walls from erosion. I Had a low boy and used rammable to reline it also.Impervious to flux but it will keep building up and is a PITA to break out .
 
I got a used NC Knifemaker forge and the bottom brick is mostly a mass of slag and flux (although some areas look like firebrick!;)).

I ordered a new bottom brick, but is the old one just set in and only held in by the old flux or is there some special trick to getting it out without bashing the rest of the forge's liner?
 
From my experience taking apart the whisper low boy. the floor is not held in by anything but excessive friction. It is hard to get out without massing up the fiberboard insulation. And in my forge the fiberboard insulation was all one piece. That said, I had it apart and put back together and everything is still in more or less one piece.
 
Well... crap. ;)

After further examination and chiseling, it looks like there are a succession of partly-melted liners sitting on top of the bottom brick of my used forge. Got enough of them out that the bottom may be useable as is without removal of the bottom brick itself (I'm not planning on making damascus/using flux in the near future).

That's the good news.

The bad news is I got all my replacement bits (connectors, hose and regulator) from NC Tools, and attached them all and did the soapy water test and got bubbles in two spots:

The tank fitting-to-regulator at the regulator threads (most likely my fault in setup and I'll try taping and installing it again), and at the rotating crimped connector on the hose at the regulator end.

I don't know that there's anything to be done for that but throw out a brand new hose. I don't feel like paying for postage and waiting weeks for a new one from NC, and it's the one thing I know I can buy at Home Depot.

Oh well, it beats blowing up.
 
More bad news/good news: The bad news is Home Depot didn't have a plain hose.

The good news is NC Tools is shipping me a new one and covering shipping on the returned one. Nice people there. :)
 
I just purchased a new body for my whisper low boy. I didn't need the venturi tubes. The forge proper was 300.00. I surfaced the floor around the fire brick with bubble lumnia along with the back wall. The rest I coated with ITC 100.
It seems like it burns hotter with less gas pressure. It heats up quicker.
There was no relining the first one I had. Five years of making damascus will pretty well destroy one. I thought the premptive coating mite prolong the life of the new one. N.C. makes a good forge. Fred
 
Thanks! I checked out that bubble alumina stuff. It seems like it's one of the best solutions, yet.
I'm probably going to stick with the current bottom brick or a drop-in welding liner brick for right now (just for a good clean surface); but when I finally start using flux, it looks like it will definitely be worthwhile to buy and slather some of that stuff in, instead. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top