New slanted welding forge needs anti corrisive liner.

[Fred.Rowe]

This is the second rebuild on this forge. This one was done with the forge body inclined a bit. I replaced the old burners with a single 3 inch ribbon burner and a dual stage control. This forge will be used for welding only; does anyone know of a temporary liner that can be placed in the bottom of the forge that would allow the hot liquid borax to flow to the escape hole that shows in the lo
wer right of the picture. Nothing holds up to borax long so easy replacement is my thinking. Any one try cutting a vitrafied clay pipe in half and lining it with some anti corrosive?

 

[A C Richards]

Getting Borax to flow through any hole for more than a few minutes is a pain. What I did when I was using borax a lot was lined the bottom of the forge with Missou the set a 1 liter bottle in the wet refactory. This made a reservoir to catch the borax. When it filled about 1/2 way I would scoop out the borax and continue. The Missou holds up great and I only rebuilt about once every 2 years. Now that I am mostly dry welding I no longer have to worry about the borax. I do use a littie now and then for a bit of added protection but is peels out of the bottom of the forge on cool down. That is if it accumulates too much.

 

[Fred.Rowe]

Getting Borax to flow through any hole for more than a few minutes is a pain. What I did when I was using borax a lot was lined the bottom of the forge with Missou the set a 1 liter bottle in the wet refactory. This made a reservoir to catch the borax. When it filled about 1/2 way I would scoop out the borax and continue. The Missou holds up great and I only rebuilt about once every 2 years. Now that I am mostly dry welding I no longer have to worry about the borax. I do use a littie now and then for a bit of added protection but is peels out of the bottom of the forge on cool down. That is if it accumulates too much.

I've tried this through the hole thing before and found the hole would plug up fairly fast. This forge has a three inch "drain" hole where the borax exits which may work better.
I have some of the Missou clay and understand it resist the corrosive action of the hot borax better than most. I'm going to try the Missou lined vitrified clay pipe cut in half and line it with the clay. I'll post the results.
I don't use borax much anymore, I also do a lot of canister welding as well as hydrocarbon solvent; but when others get together at my shop I want the option of using borax. Many smiths still use the stuff.

Thanks for posting AC.

Fred

 

[insanity]

The higher the alumina content the more flux resistant the material will be.

 

[Rick Marchand]

I am thinking a stainless steel liner/tray. Something that can be removed, replaced, cleaned when necessary. You could channel it to drain the majority through the hole... but when you could just remove it and knock out the flux, why make a hole in your forge?

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Rick is describing what I do.

I made a poured refractory tray ( Kast-o-lite 30) and put it in to catch the slag. It worked OK, but cracked after a few uses.

Then I was going to make a stainless pan and pour the refractory in it to prevent the cracking. It occurred to me that the stainless alone should work. It did. I took a piece of stainless sheet from the scrap yard and beat the edges up a bit to make a shallow lip. This sits in the forge and catches the drips. After the forge is cooled, take out and bang with a hammer to remove the slag.

The forge floor is poured Kast-o-lite 30, BTW. Bubble alumina also works well.

 

[Fred.Rowe]

The higher the alumina content the more flux resistant the material will be.

I have some bubble alumina from a previous project and am considering mixing it with the Mizzou to pour a removable pan.

I am thinking a stainless steel liner/tray. Something that can be removed, replaced, cleaned when necessary. You could channel it to drain the majority through the hole... but when you could just remove it and knock out the flux, why make a hole in your forge?

The hole was present when I started this rebuild; it was the exhaust hole in its previous life. The forge was flipped 180 degrees.
I do have some thick walled stainless tubing that might work for the floor. The slope is probable 20 degrees or so for the trough; this may be enough to cause the liquid to "run" towards the exit hole. We'll see.

Rick is describing what I do.

I made a poured refractory tray ( Kast-o-lite 30) and put it in to catch the slag. It worked OK, but cracked after a few uses.

Then I was going to make a stainless pan and pour the refractory in it to prevent the cracking. It occurred to me that the stainless alone should work. It did. I took a piece of stainless sheet from the scrap yard and beat the edges up a bit to make a shallow lip. This sits in the forge and catches the drips. After the forge is cooled, take out and bang with a hammer to remove the slag.

The forge floor is poured Kast-o-lite 30, BTW. Bubble alumina also works well.

I like the idea of being able to remove the "pan" then tapping the solidified borax from its surface and replacing it in the forge. Nothing last too long with borax.

I rebuilt the Vulcan's Chariot forge the same time the welding forge was put together. I will never put borax in the chariot again. Too painful. I love that forge.

Thanks for your input guys, Fred