Here are some pictures of the forge build I'm currently working on! It's a motor shell insulated with ceramic kaowool blanket and coated with refractory cement. I'm just waiting on the cement to dry so I can coat the whole thing in itc-100 and fire it up! I've included a not so great photo of the burner I will be using in it as well. I'd love to explain it but it's one my dad built years ago and hasn't gotten around to showing me how to build yet. Let me know what you think! 

 

Thanks for reading!

Spencer Dirks

I know I don't have to tell you this but please use with excessive ventilation during the winter!  Re-running previous exhaust through the burner will spike CO levels and you are way to far away for me to get to an estate sale!

No worries about that I always have the overhead door open and I have multiple gas detectors in my space. No estate sales in my near future! Knock on wood

What is the temperature rating on the furnace cement? It's easy to safely speed up the drying process by hanging a trouble light in the forge.

How well does the burner work?

Frosty The Lucky.

The temperature rating on the cement is 2700° f and the burner works beautifully I've had many an alloy up to welding temp with this burner in the past. I also have a riel burner but prefer this one. I'm not certain as to whether this one is a copy of something but I'm pretty sure my dad designed it excuse my lack of knowledge!

Sounds like you have a solid performer of a forge, the ITC-100 should protect the cement form fluxes if the cement is a typical recipe. Most are NOT high alumina and so vulnerable to hot borax.

I look forward to seeing it in operation.

Frosty The Lucky.

Thanks frosty! I'm looking very forward to putting it into service. In regards to the Flux issue I'm also considering putting bricks along the bottom to serve as a platform for my workpieces al well as negating impact damage to the refractory coating and kaowool.

How thick do you put that refractory cement on? It looks to be light and easy to work with, does it just stick to the roof part without sagging? Do you think it is as good or better than say Kast-O-Lite?

I put it on maybe 1/8th inch thick possibly 1/4 at the most. The refractory was very thick and hard to work with to begin with but I added some water to make it more malleable. It may take longer to dry but it made the process much easier! The kaowool is actually pretty rigid plus the fact that its cut and packed in there very tight helps a great deal. I've actually never worked with kast-o-lite so I can't really speak to it but the consistency before the water was somewhat akin to gum.

 

Spencer

Kast-0-Lite comes as a dry mix (looks similar to Portland Cement) and you add water to the desired consistency.  Frosty has some instructions for how he mixes it to get the tuffest result.

Let me know if I can help you.

Wayne