I've been workin on a two burner forge, and I've never dealt with kiln shelving, so I used a tub of what's shown in the picture, made a mold of exactly what I want on the inside, and it's been curing in a mold for two days...

 

It doesn't feel like it'll be a brick for something like a week at this rate. Did I use stuff that in the end isn't gonna work anyways? I figure someone's gonna say 'just go out and buy the brick,' which is fine. I'm just dealin with what's on the shelf.

 

Location is Derry NH.

There should be a temperature rating on the bucket. If it is something you bought from home depot, lowes, ace, or any other general home repair store then it is unlikely that it will hold up to the high heat of a forge. I could be wrong, make sure to find that temperature rating. If the stuff is made for cementing bricks together for a home fireplace then it wont work.

In a general iron working forge you need a temperature rating of 2000* to 3000*

Good luck

It's not likely to dry without shrink checking, it's intended to bond bricks, etc. with thin layers. Did you mix it with sand or other grog? Grog allows moisture a route to escape and helps prevent shrink checking it also allows it to expand and contract in use to prevent heat checking from thermal shock.

 

This may be an unfortunate failure, wish I had more confidence.

 

Frosty The Lucky.

Haha, so it is not dry after something like... two weeks now? I have no regrets, but the worst part is that the manufacturer did not have those heat ratings. When or if it dries within the next month... or year... I'll test it out and let you guys know how it burns. Probably not well...

 

You win some, you lose some.

I don't know if it's dry or how long it'll take. If you hang a light bulb in it that'll speed it up as will using your desk fan. On second thought you can kill two birds with one stone. Bring the forge inside and put it on the desk, then put your fan on the other side and position both so the air will blow through the forge and onto the computer. Win win.

 

Frosty The Lucky.

Well,  I myself have to experiment on occasion.   Most of the time,  I find that tradition is correct.   About 5 percent of the time, I make a new discovery.   Some times learning what doesn't work can also be valuable.  I look at the label on your bucket, and it says "cement"  and its recommended use,  probably indicates a thin layer.  It's kind of like trying to make a mold of something and using Mortar.   Mortar is for gluing bricks together.  Used alone  in a mold or form, and you end up with something that is very weak.  Mortar used alone will crumble and has very little strength.   

Hahahaha....aha...ah.... ah man.

 

So my paps insisted we let this brick thing dry for a few months, just to see what would happen. We ripped it apart today, and it was still gooey on the inside. A little softer, I could have put it back in the container and brought it back to the store. 

 

But the forge is working great

Hahahaha....aha...ah.... ah man.

 

So my paps insisted we let this brick thing dry for a few months, just to see what would happen. We ripped it apart today, and it was still gooey on the inside. A little softer, I could have put it back in the container and brought it back to the store. 

 

But the forge is working great

 

Wow! I didn't think it'd take THAT long to dry. Good thing you didn't try firing it, if it's still plastic wet in the center but the outside had dried to a hard shell it could've gotten really exciting. Hmmm, if you'd made it potato shape you might've had a steamspud explosion. Oh the possibilities. The STRAIGHT LINES! <sigh>

 

Finally, the wait is over. FORGE ON!

 

Frosty The Lucky.

There should be a temperature rating on the bucket. If it is something you bought from home depot, lowes, ace, or any other general home repair store then it is unlikely that it will hold up to the high heat of a forge. I could be wrong, make sure to find that temperature rating. If the stuff is made for cementing bricks together for a home fireplace then it wont work.

In a general iron working forge you need a temperature rating of 2000* to 3000*

Good luck

 

IMHO, you need well above a 2000°f rating, especially if welding is intended. While its
an extreme, I have a blown forge that will melt 2300°f
rated Insboard®. IIRC, steel melts somewhere above that temp. and although you may not want to weld, you want your material to get to forging temp in a timely manner.