backyardsmith Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 i have read a lot on Fireplace Mortar being used to line forges and i have a few qustions 1 is it suitable for a coal forge that will be used for welding and will it shatter or crack if the water i use to help the coal to coke up hit the hot mortar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocDrew Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 I used some 2700 degree fireplace mortor to line my gas forge-- thinned it with a little water, then smeared it over the kaowool. It seems to work pretty well, a little brittle because it doesn't have a solid backing. It's also not resistant to liquid borax, that put a hole in it pretty quickly, though with a thicker layer, it might work pretty well. It's a xxxx of a lot cheaper than ITC, though I have been thinking of lining my forge with the ITC for it's reflective quality, to increase the heat in the core. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_sandy_creek_forge Posted October 28, 2006 Share Posted October 28, 2006 Backyard smith, I am assuming with this post that you are talking about the actual mortar and not castable refractory. When I lined my forge I got the firebricks from a local supplier. They carried hard brick, castable refractory , and firebrick mortar. The mortar was relatively cheaper than the castable refractory, so i mentioned just using the mortar to line the forge. Their recommendation was to not use the mortar because it doesn't have the structural integrity that the castable refractory has. Instead I ended up just getting the hard brick and lining the forge with that (no mortar or castable). It has actually worked out better with the loose bricks, because I can rearrange them to deepen the fire, and if the crack or break and need replaced, i just pull it out and put a new one in (once it's cool off course ) All the mortar is designed to do is bond two firebricks together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody Posted October 28, 2006 Share Posted October 28, 2006 My Canady Otto rivet forge had the bottom of a 55 gal drum for a fire bowl when I got it. It was just lined with a clay like soil called gumbo that is prevelent in Montana. I relined the bowl using hard fire brick and fireclay. It worked fine except for the fact that it took 2 men and a boy to move it around. I fianlly made a new fire bowl using the bottom of a pressure tank from a water well and I left it unlined. While I don't use my coal forge on a daily basis, the unlined steel has not suffered greatly from the effects of the fire. If it eventually does burn through, i sill simply toss it out and make a new fire bowl. I figure it is easier and cheaper to do that than to mess around with a bunch of brick and clay or mortar. Woody Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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