Binesman

Has to be fired so it binds to the blanket

You don't necessarily what to let the rigidizer set you wanted to soak through the blanket and then you need to fire it to cause it to melt

Guessing by the description of "sticking bricks together" you have a refractory cement. That is used to hold refractory (like fire bricks) together. It can not handle direct flame contact and will crumble crack and fall away. You need a hard refractory (kastolite 30/misou) not a refractory cement.

You are correct its ceramic fiberblanket (kaowool to be specific) im old and call thimgs wrong....soon it will be thingymabobs and watchamacallsit

Wayne the genrleman above me sells everyrhing you need im still new to damascus and most times its more of a blob then something useable. However the forge i like to ise for an attempt at damaacus is 2 1" layers of 8# blanket ( wayne sells it at 9 per 2 sq feet) a 1 1/2" thick casting of kastolite (this is thick it takes a while to get to temp but once there it stays nicely and heats metal quick wich for damascus is good. Wayne sells kastolite at 15 for 5#) i then coat it in a matrikote kiln wash to reflect heat better(wayne sells at 20 a pint) the internal chamber size is 5"×5" 10" long so a 3/4" burner has no issue bringing to fprge weld temp.

Temporary fix: kiln wash (matrikote/plistex) More permanent: take the forge outside preferably on a windy day. Wear ppe!!!! Gently knock out any "crumbly" areas that are left so that you are left with a solid base and pour a 1/2 cast of kastolite for the entire forge then kiln wash.

well first waterglass melts at around 1900 so your forge will fall apart on you using that as the binder. Perlite doesnt hold heat for crap so you will go through a lot of fuel in order to get your binder to melt and your forge to fall apart. I speak of these things from experience dont feel bad i listened to the youtube "experts" and built a perlite Waterglass forge before coming here and gettimg advice from people with actual practicle knowledge. Since then ive built a lot of forges because i like to tinker. What works best for one application doesnt work best for the next. Also each persons own forging style i assume also makes a differance on what build type is best for them. What every forge i build has in common is they all use 2 1" layers of 8# fiberglass blanket each one ridgidized also every forge i use has a coating of matrikote as a kiln wash (i have made several without matrikote for testing purpose and there is 0 reason to not use it and a lot of possitives to using it)

First the good. Your burner flame looks great (at least to what i see mikey may give some advice to reach perfection but it's pretty darn good now) now the bad. Perlite is a horrable idea. Search for wayncoe artist blacksmith. He has forge plans you can follow and sales all the supplies you need to build a forge for reasonable prices.

Yeah sorry i post frommy phone most of the rime and i got fat fingerslots of typos

Frosty and wayne covered it prerry well. Read forges 101 it will answer tour questions. Waynes website has a set of plans you can follow. The one question you asked i feel requires a direct answer insteadof guidance to an area that has the answer. No!!!!!!!!!!! You must ridgidize your blanket. Use either commercial ridgidizer or a mixture of fumed silica+water and make sure to realy get it deep down in the blanket.

Waterglass as a ridgidizer...never tried that...i have done the waterglass/perlite refractory and it didnt work well. For a ridgidizer just used fumed silica+water much cheaper and tested and verified by many members on these forums.

Out of curiosity why are you using waterglass?

Ive never built a reil style burner however blacksmith 450 on this site has been making and showing very good results with his version.

Have you chosen the type of burner you intend to use or are you open to suggestions? If your open id say go with T burners. Im sure frosty would help you convert the 3/4" plans to 1". Thats assuming that the information isnt already in the T burner pinned section (its been a while since i read it i know the info to convert to 1/2" is in there)

Manual says its good for 0 to 40C.

Years ago i worked at a company that made tillage tools. All the furnaces had a foot opperated vertical door. Maybe look for some photos of commercial furnaces and just scale down.

Forges 101 here on the site also wayne coe has a set of forgw plans on his site. Ridgidized is important and i cant find a good youtube video on how to. (maybe something for one of the toutubers who frequent these forums to consider) You will nees fumed silica+water+food dye+2 spray bottles (one clean water and one with ridgidizer mix) note you can also use paint brushs if youd like or hvlp guns or a super soaker if you feel inclined. Mixturei use is 1cup silica per 1 quart of water with a few drops of food coloring. Make your mixture first. While wearing a good resperatory take out your blanket measure it and cut it to size. Place the first layer of blanket in the forge shell. Spritz it down with the clean water doesnt have to be soaked just moist. Then spray it down withthe mix. The food coloring will allow you to see where you have gotten and how deep its penetrating. Get it all and get it good. Let it sit and penetrate in. (personaly i just come back the next day but i th8nk a couple hours to soak is more than enough). Now you need to fire it so the fumed silica will "melt and harden the blanket. I use a weed torch. When your down the blanket should be fairly stiff (its a blanket it will still compress but you should have to use some force to make it happen). If it is not hardened repeat process. If it is hard put in layer 2 and repeat. Remember if your touching ceramic blanket wear a resperator. Bug eyes and rubber gloves are a highly recomended plus but a resperator is a must.

Motomike it wont increase length but yes im at work andnspacy outsid edimensions will be 10×10×12 requiring about 6 square feet. Good catch amf ty for the correction.

Inside dimensions 6x6x12 is 432cubic inches fornthat you will meed 2 3/4" burners. For insulation 2 layers of 1" 8# blanket each layer ridgidized. Followed by a 1/2" layer of kastolite 30 once cured put a coat of matrikote on it. You can purchase all of this from wayne coe at his sight. Youll need 4square feet of wool (2 linear) probablt 10# of kastolite and 1 pont of matrikote.

Sorry frosty. I turn in to a giant troll behind in december. Not a good time to be a mailman. Blacksmith-450 I apologize. ive actualy contemplated that as i like building forges and have sold a few to acquaintances however im not sure i want to deal with the liability issue.

You pay shipping and ill sell you forges all day at that price. The prices i listed are for a beginer paying single build prices. I have devoleped relationships in my area and pay considerable less for things. I get entire 25' rolls of blanket at 35 and 55lb bags of kastolite 50 i buy my matrikote by the gallon at 90 and i can make a linear burner for under 10. So yeah you want 100 dollar forges sure thing. Even buying single build prices i showed you a forge for 120. I would link the amazon page fore the regulator but its not allowed all i have to say is search amazon you will find it 13.99 prime eligable meaning free shipping. I do agree building is not for everyone. But please keep in mind the majority of the production forges out there are not ready to use. A lot of them come with only 1" of blanket wich means you still have to buy blanket. The majority of them come unridgidized wich means you still have to do that. I have not seen a single one that comes with a refractory hardface wich means putting in the kastolite. Now even if it did have a kiln wash on it youve burried it and have to put on a kiln wash. So in essence you spend 300+ for a shell/regulator/burner and then still have to build the rest.

Shell (3/8 wall 10" OD irrigation pipe) 10 6 square feet of blanket. 27 5lbs kastolite. 15 Pint matrikote 15 Shipping for all of that from wayne 20 0to30psi regulator with hose 14 from amazon brand new free shipping. Burner >20 follwoing frostys plans to make a t burner So you are correct 121 not 100

Reliable recipe is posted at wayncoe along with low priced material. For <100 you can have a forge up and running.

Because he has no forge to forge anything. He can however fabricate knives. 304 is a good alloy for fabricating since you dont need to heat treat it

Seeing the process is a plus but the chances of mild steel hardening without superquench is pretty slim