6 replies to this topic

[Robert Simmons]

Greetings,

I am casting my first forge with castolyte in a 30 gallon drum that i have converted to a forge. I made all the forms and prepared the castolyte and to my horror I found that i didnt have enough castolyte to finish the job. I can run to the store tomorrow but what i am wondering is if I can pour new castolyte on top of already dry castolyte and still have a good bond between the two pours.

Thanks

[welder19]

More than likely it should be ok, just leave the surface rough where the second pour would contact the first, even jagged and uneven as well.

welder19

[Phil Krankowski]

Could scratch it with some wire like old school plaster and lath was done for the base coats.
Phil

[monstermetal]

I can tell you what I would do... that is drill some small holes in the set side and put some inconel wire in there to span the seam... kind of like rebar...

[Nakedanvil - Grant Sarver]

It's just a forge! Not the Taj Mahal. Wham, bam, thank you Ma'm! 30 gallon! Wow, you can make a pretty good forge in a 5 gallon bucket!

There is no other answer unless you want to knock it out and start over.

[Robert Simmons]

Nakedanvil - Grant Sarver, on 29 July 2010 - 01:44 PM, said:

It's just a forge! Not the Taj Mahal. Wham, bam, thank you Mam! 30 gallon! Wow, you can make a pretty good forge in a 5 gallon bucket!

There is no other answer unless you want to knock it out and start over.

I trimmed off the bottom and top 4 inches or so, leaving the ribbed section in the middle for rigidity and to hold the castolyte in place. I will post a photo when done. The work area of the forge is essentially a 9" diameter circle that has been squared up on the bottom to make an arch providing a 9" floor for hard bricks if I want. The length is 18" and there is enough for three burners and a ceramic blanket inside if I want less volume and more heat. All of the inlet pipes for the burners are cast with a half an inch flare so I dont have to use flares in the forge. The roof and side walls are 4.5 inch thick castolyte.

Should be pretty impressive in heat. I think I might just use insulated fire brick for the doors though.

[chyancarrek]

Larry and Grant are on it - just put a little something in there to bind it all together and go for the second round - I've done it a number of times on casting furnaces - some times it's a little slap-dash but it'll hold heat and do what ya want.