DennisCA

I read about something like that which is why I bought a kg of zirconium and bentonite. Said shop also had bubble alumina.

As for this piece of kiln shelf I bought, the shop really didn't specify what it was so I have actually no idea what I've ordered, perhaps it can be visually identified when it gets here?

So corderite would be a better material? I could just forego a floor at all and rely on the kiln wash to protect it. But I would like something as doors and such anyway.

The shelf was 250x20x13 mm which I think is 6x6x1/2" and 12 euros

It's a kiln shelf for a pottery oven, I figured it was. 

I bought the cheap stuff, in addition to 1kg each of bentonite, zirconium silicate and kaolin. Also a kiln shelf to serve as as a bottom for the forge and to make doors from.

I read ITC Is kaolin and zirconium, I can buy that on it's own from said shop. I think I shall buy some zirconium silicate while I am at it, and a hard kiln shelf might be good too for a bottom.

2 hours ago, Frosty said:

What's the name of the product you're asking about for coating the inside of your forge? Hard to compare without taking a look. ITC-100 wasn't formulated for what we need in propane forges it's a release agent so glazes and ceramic clay won't fire to kiln furniture. It scuffs off forge liners if you rub on it at all.

Frosty The Lucky.

The place I am buying from has no name for it, only a description of what it's made of. It's cheap though, 4 euros per kilo.

1 hour ago, Mikey98118 said:

I last bought ITC-100 twenty-two years back, and found it insufficient for my needs, without deliberate modification. At what they want for it today, it should be a better product than it is. Plistix 900 costs way less, and is a better product than  ITC-100, in my carefully considered opinion.

  Unless you want to spend a lot of time and expense formulating your own coating, you probably won't find anything better than Plistix 900.

Does not exist in europe and cannot be shipped. I have got these two products to choose from. I was hoping someone maybe knew enough they could tell from composition if the cheap product was suitable or not.

I haven't done a single bit of smithing in 2022... This year did not turn out like I had planned... 

I am attempting to get back up on the horse again. I got a pile of soft bricks still. I have found I can buy ITC-100 here, but it's 66 euros for a liter.

The other stuff is a few euros per kg and is made from a mix of aluminum hydroxide and kaolin. I think the ITC is probably a better, but that much better?

Man it's beyond frustrating how impossible it is to find black iron fittings or pipes here. At least online.

On 2/8/2022 at 8:10 PM, ThomasPowers said:

Does Glen ship to Finland?

I searched the forums and the answer to that was he stopped because shipping got too expensive. I used to buy a lot from american ebay in the past, until a USPS price hike in 2013, since then I've only bought a handful of items. But the shipping costs have only gotten worse. I am looking at local ceramic stores, I found some kiln shelves there, rated to 2400F.

I also found some protective coating meant for the shelves, comes in powder form and you brush it on after mixing with water. supposed to prevent glass from sticking to the kiln shelf, not sure if it's got a use on the firebricks or not.

Is it even worth making a soft brick forge without it? 

Are there any decent european alternatives?

If I cannot, is it worth even proceeding with a soft brick forge?

Maybe I shouls instead aim for a more conventional forge using ceramic wool insulation. I can get this, SuperWool Xtra, which is non-cancerous even after heated up. I can also get rigdizer for it. It's rated for 2640 F

Where can I buy some plistix, doesn't seem to be available in europe.

Well, I don't know where to get either plistix (plistex?) or a kiln shelf, so that's a setback for me.

Is this plistex stuff known by some other name or is this particular brand that's needed?

And what material is a kiln shelf made from, maybe knowing what they ar emade of will help me source something local.

Is plistex similar to rigidizer for kaowool / superwool?

OK so the plistix stuff is required to keep the bricks from degrading as fast I assume? What of the kiln shelf, is it to protect the firebricks from the bumps and scratches? I read in the other thread that the K26 firebricks where supposed to be tolerant of flux, but I guess they don't have much in terms of mechanical and abrasion resistance. 

Should there be a coating on the bricks or can you make do without? These bricks where labeled K26 for 2600F, but that's all I know.

On 4/15/2021 at 4:49 AM, Frosty said:

And the same burner easily brings these to welding heat in about 3 minutes. A number of our club members are bladesmiths and have stopped wanting larger.

Frosty The Lucky.

 

Sorry for the old thread, but do you happen to have some more photos of this? I think I'll be able to build it from just that photo but more angles would probably be helpful.

I bought some insulating firebricks last week (2300F rated) and am planning to build something like this. I believe I would have lots of use for a similar forge (right now my coal forge is buried in a meter of snow).

Might also be useful for heat treating parts.

Latest pics of mine. Still working on the roof. Not sure when I'll be able to fix the exterior panelling, when I find cheap enough wood.

To be quite honest, it's perhaps wrong to call this my smithy or shop. It'll be more a storage unit. It's actually BEHIND the shop I plan to put my blacksmithing stuff once the shop is finished. It'll be a leanto with a metal sheet roof and walls and the area will be a little smaller than the interior of the shop.

Reason is I gotta share this space with others in the family. And turning it into a smithy is not realistic or good for stuff I will store there, it'll also be easier to put a chimney in the roof of a simple leanto for the forge. And it'll be a little more secluded.

But for now, this winter I am gonna be moving my smithing stuff, anvil and forge into here temporarily. I got some old sheet metal roofing I am thinking I'll screw up on the walls around the forge area. But I dunno, maybe I need to drag it outside for any actual work since there is no chimney and a spark might be disastrous.

The beam is now in place

I later fitted diagonal braces as well

2 hours ago, Ted Ewert said:

Dennis CA, nice work so far. That beam looks heavy. I assume you get a fair amount of snow there. 

How thick is the floor going to be? Do you have a power hammer, or plan to get one? 

I am going to leave it with a gravel floor for now, but maybe in the future I will cast a concrete floor. I don't have a power hammer and no definite plans for one at this stage, will have to see how this develops with time.

I started lifting the beams into place on my shed/smithy. On my own and using hand power only. Made this ladder thingy:

Then I had to winch it across the diagonal boards and then I have to lift it on to the center post.

But I got it figured out, I got two winches and will make a simple crane to winch it in place. Tomorrow.

Mine doesn't have a flat side actually (scandinavian hewing axes usually don't), I find it works quite well without it, you learn to angle the axe and also how much you angle it affects how big a bite it takes.

I use two axes, the other one is a general purpose finnish forestry axe. I do the rough hewing with it, then the final hewing with thw hewing axe. 

Steps I take to hew a log:

1. Put on ground on some logs and scallop the underside so it sits flat
2. Mark out where to cut the log (I use a template and a level)
3. Use the marks to make a chalk line from end to end
4. Take a chain saw and make stop cuts every 5 - 6 inches along the log almost to the line
5. Start hewing

These steps can be seen in detail in this long and detailed video on medieval swedish timbering techniques:

Last roof beam is done for my shed/smithy, this will be the top beam and it's 6x7 inches, it's the smallest, the others are 7x8". But the top beam will have the smallest load on it.

Every log was faster to hew than the one before it. I was starting to get the proper swing and aiming accuracy more and more. Eventually I started getting the proper hewing pattern (by finnish standards anyway) with a relatively sdmooth surface and diagonal cut lines running along the hewn face. Part of the trick was to, as I swung the axe downwards, to pull it towards me as well to create a slicing motion.

Also I improvised a tool from some old squares to make a nice tool for checking I was maintaining the correct size on the log.

I managed to keep the final height on the top beam consistent to 1/8 of of an inch along the length, it might go up and down a bit.

May I recommend Oscar Duck for this list:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeRbUDXuFXY8iqnAbs0o1NA

He's got a small channel, only 2k subscribers so maybe people have not heard of him, but he puts out a lot of interesting and educational videos. Looks like high quality content to me so I figure he deserves some exposure.

Last video was making 800 nails

I got walls now

Thanks for the detailed walkthrough Frazer, though I haven't had any free time the last few days, busy framing walls right now

On 7/10/2021 at 9:36 PM, Frosty said:

That's a big kitty Dennis, what's he weigh?

He and his brother is somewhere between 5 to 6 kg which is a decent cat size.