refractory cement for lining forge

H

hidn45

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Jan 18, 2006
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I figured this would be the place to find out if this idea I have will work-
I have a tub of refractory cement from a woodstove project & wondered if it would work to line a piece of well casing I have to make a propane forge. Will this work? Have any of you used this stuff? How thick should I apply it (it's an 8" dia pipe)? Will it stand up to borax flux when welding?

We took some & plastered some firebricks together, & when we put heat to it the refractory seemed to puff up- almost like expanding foam. Anybody seen that happen?

I'd be interest in any insight you folks can give to this project. We're hoping this will make a nice, efficient forge for damascus blades & mokume.

Thanks.
 
IG built me a forge at the HI last year and I love it. I believe the standard is to line the walls with Kaowool and coat that wool in Satinite. IG made my forge floor from a single hard firebrick with a mixture of kitty litter and satinite around it.

I think you could probably cast something, but I have no idea on the details on how to do that. I'd also check what type of firebrick you have. I believe soft firebrick is used to reflect heat while hard firebrick will absorb heat (someone correct me on that if its inaccurate)

As for flux, I do not know. I havent done any damascus in mine, but IG's forges see a ton of flux and he says he's never had problems. Check his site. He has a full tutorial on it.
 
I'm a novice so take this advice for what it's worth.....

Even if the cement you want to use will hold up, the real problem you'll have is that it won't insulate the forge. As it's was explained to me when I was proposing an all-satanite cast forge: you'll end up using a lot of fuel to keep the heat up and the outside of the forge will be very hot.

I ended up going insowool/satanite/itc100 route.
 
The cement will take longer to heat up and will hold the temp long when you shut it down. Checkout my site for the tutorial. If you have any ??? just give a haller.:thumbup:
 
Hi IG
I just finished building the forge on your site and coated the KAOWOOL with 3000 deg. refractory mortar and it has done what you just said. It has gotten a bit popcorn looking but has not separated . I guess time will tell . I wasn't able to find any satinite in my neck of the woods. The guy I got the refractory from said "it is meant to hold bricks together with a small seam and not as a coating, but everyone does it".
 
Thanks, all, for the kind assistance. Sorry I haven't been back sooner, but my home computer's in the shop & it's hard to get a chance to get on a terminal at the library or whatever. You don't appreciate what you got 'til it's gone....

Anyway, sounds like we'll be good with kao-wool under the cement. IG- can't wait for the snow to leave so we can get this thing together with your burner. We looked at some other propane burners, but yours looks a lot more low-tech, low-precision- just what we need!

Again, thanks for all the help. We couldn't do it without you.
 
hidn45 said:
Thanks, all, for the kind assistance. Sorry I haven't been back sooner, but my home computer's in the shop & it's hard to get a chance to get on a terminal at the library or whatever. You don't appreciate what you got 'til it's gone....

Anyway, sounds like we'll be good with kao-wool under the cement. IG- can't wait for the snow to leave so we can get this thing together with your burner. We looked at some other propane burners, but yours looks a lot more low-tech, low-precision- just what we need!

Again, thanks for all the help. We couldn't do it without you.
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No problem Bubba.:D That is why all us Ole A$$holes hang around here for is to help.:D :D
 
I'm hidn45's son Joe. This was originally my question since I didn't have a way to post it myself I had my dad put it up for me.

IG I was wondering what CFM blower you had on there. As was said earlier this operation is kept at a minimum of gadgetry so I was wondering if I could use our existing blower (old vaccuum cleaner used for the charcoal forge). It would be nice to use what we already have on hand.

Thanks,

Joe
 
I do not know. If it doesn't have enough cfm's it may be good for forging but welding ????. The blower's that I use are on $18.99 + S/H= $25 I have one that I have be using for 8 years.
 
SheepishLion said:
IG do you ever have any trouble with excess scale with the blower?

Thanks,

Joe
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You can cut down on the scale by adjusting the gate valve and opening you the needle valve. This makes for a richer mix with less oxygen.
 
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