timbrigham

I'm building a gad forge out of an old air tank. To get the size chamber I want (6 inch diameter x11) I have about 3' of insulation. I'm planning on castible refractory, one of the vermaculite / fireclay blends and eventually adding some itc 1000. It'll need about 1800 cubic inches overall. If I go with a 4:1 vermaculite fireclay blend how much will I need? Im just not familiar enough with the material to know.

Thanks gentlemen. I was thinking about potentially going both routes mentioned. If I do opt to use a single plate a few already have about 3/4 inch square holes I can use for a hardy. There isn't any issue in carving out some wood under there for depth on the hardy tool shafts is there? These plates are about an inch thick. Also I was thinking about forming a horn with one of them. Any insight?

I recently had the chance to get a number of railroad tie plates. Each weighs about 80lb. About 8x16. From my reading they are rolled steel comperable to 1050. Would stacking say 4-6 of these plates and bolting / welding them together provide an adequate work surface when mounted to a tree stump? What caveats should I be aware of?