redbate Posted March 28, 2017 Share Posted March 28, 2017 Hi fellas I'm building a propane forge for the upcoming winter time and was wondering if this would work fine. I plan to wrap the outter most lining as kaowool and coat it with slight bit of satanite so I get minimum amount of airborne ceramic fiber hopefully and between that and the actual chamber a layer of ceramic fiber board. For the floor a piece of firebrick. Would this be fine? I can't find any ITC 100 here in NZ nor any other stuff like that... I have got someone willing to sell me kaowool rigidizer but I don't know if that's better or ceramic fiber board is better. Thank you in advance fellas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WayneCoeArtistBlacksmith Posted March 28, 2017 Share Posted March 28, 2017 Check out the attachment Build a Gas Forge on the Forge Supplies page at www.WayneCoeArtistBlacksmith.com for instructions on how I like to build a gas forge. ITC-100 is about $75.00 a pint here in the US, Plistix is about $15.00 a pint and Metrikote about $20.00 a pint. They all do the same job Let me know if I can help you. Wayne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoodnMetalGuy Posted March 28, 2017 Share Posted March 28, 2017 Redbate - As I understand it, if you coat with the rigidizer, you would still want to put on a layer of refractory (like satanite) to toughen up the interior and protect from dings from your work. However, I believe you can skip the rigidizer and just use satanite for both purposes (encapsulation and tough coating). That's where I am on my forge build and is the plan I'm going to follow. If someone thinks different, now would be a good time to chime in. Regarding the fiber board on the interior, I don't think you need that. Just the kaowool lined with satanite. However, I will be using a piece of ceramic fiber board as a movable back wall in my tunnel-type forge to allow me to reduce the chamber volume for small work. And I expect that a smaller volume will be the general case. I have a piece of kiln shelf for the floor, but I expect fire brick will work for you there. -- Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redbate Posted March 28, 2017 Author Share Posted March 28, 2017 Okay thank you guys that cleared up quiet a bit for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzzkill Posted March 28, 2017 Share Posted March 28, 2017 You only need one or the other - ceramic board or ceramic blanket. The board is more durable, but not flexible. In either case you would want to coat the interior of the forge with something like satanite or kastolite to protect it from mechanical damage and/or flux from forge welding. Both the blanket and the board are highly insulating. I've had a piece of one inch thick fiber board glowing hot on one side and able to hold my hand on the other side without being burned. It wasn't comfortable, but it wasn't damaging. For a box shaped forge I'd probably lean towards the board. For any forge shape with curves my choice would be rigidized blanket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redbate Posted March 29, 2017 Author Share Posted March 29, 2017 It's box shaped but I think I'll still use the wool because it's cheaper... if it REALLY dosen't work out I'll replace the inner lining with boards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chevell69 Posted March 9, 2019 Share Posted March 9, 2019 My question is then If i was to use old bbq grill for a forge do i need to like it with kaowool fiber then use kaowool board or will kaowool fiber work just alone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 9, 2019 Share Posted March 9, 2019 If it's a solid fuel forge you want NO insulating refractory. A few inches of compacted clayey soil will make the fire pot and table to hold and shape fire and coal/charcoal. No insulation necessary, the clay liner is to distribute heat evenly not insulate. Spot heating sheet metal or cast iron can warp the sheet or crack the cast. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey98118 Posted March 10, 2019 Share Posted March 10, 2019 On 3/28/2017 at 9:35 AM, WoodnMetalGuy said: if someone thinks different, now would be a good time to chime in. If you use colloidal silica rigidizer (fumed silica in water); then fire it. Your ceramic fiber blanket will stiffen and become adequate support for the finish coat. The finish coat protects the fiber insulation; but rigidiziing the insulation supports the finish coat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chevell69 Posted March 11, 2019 Share Posted March 11, 2019 On 3/9/2019 at 1:42 PM, Frosty said: If it's a solid fuel forge you want NO insulating refractory. A few inches of compacted clayey soil will make the fire pot and table to hold and shape fire and coal/charcoal. No insulation necessary, the clay liner is to distribute heat evenly not insulate. Spot heating sheet metal or cast iron can warp the sheet or crack the cast. yeah but i dont get what u mean clayey soil and it be with propane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 11, 2019 Share Posted March 11, 2019 If you wish to make a propane forge a BBQ is of limited value other than a stand it put the forge on. The subsection "Forges 101" covers how many of us build propane forges. Ceramic fiber refractories how to treat it and how to armor it with a hard refractory is covered pretty well. A number of proven designs are discussed at some length as are some failures. It's a good place to do a little reading so you'll know what to ask and understand us when we try to help. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chevell69 Posted March 11, 2019 Share Posted March 11, 2019 I AINT stupid but i ask u what you mean by clay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted March 11, 2019 Share Posted March 11, 2019 chevell69 first off welcome and you need to read this to get the best out of the forum. READ THIS FIRST It covers how to search and using the quote feature along with other tips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 11, 2019 Share Posted March 11, 2019 1 minute ago, chevell69 said: I AINT stupid but i ask u what you mean by clay I did NOT call you stupid. I pointed out you haven't done enough BASIC research to know what kinds of questions to ask nor interpret answers. I'm not spending my time to save you from opening a dictionary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chevell69 Posted March 17, 2019 Share Posted March 17, 2019 On 3/28/2017 at 5:00 PM, Buzzkill said: You only need one or the other - ceramic board or ceramic blanket. The board is more durable, but not flexible. In either case you would want to coat the interior of the forge with something like satanite or kastolite to protect it from mechanical damage and/or flux from forge welding. Both the blanket and the board are highly insulating. I've had a piece of one inch thick fiber board glowing hot on one side and able to hold my hand on the other side without being burned. It wasn't comfortable, but it wasn't damaging. For a box shaped forge I'd probably lean towards the board. For any forge shape with curves my choice would be rigidized blanket. thank buzz for answering my question Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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