hit somewhat of a jackpot (I think...)

[ShortMagPirate]

Just ran into a stash refractory that they were getting ready to dispose of here at work. Apparently someone determined it was past it's shelf life. Not sure when it was bought but the powers that be decided to discard this lot and order more. I got the blessings from my boss to helpo myself,  grabbed 6 bags today, to take home and see if it is still good. 3 bags of Kastolite 30 and 3 of Econolite 90. There's quite a few more bags left if I want them, and if it's still any good. I know the stuff does lose it's properties over time, but there's always a chance this is still good... I work in a very dry climate at 11000ft so it's definitely been stored cool and dry.

Since I was still mulling over what to build, with this stuff I think I'll try a JABOD variation. I have an old electrical enclosure that will serve as my box, it's about 6x18x20" or somewhere around there. Not as big as I'd like but it will serve for now. It's even got a hinged lid to serve as a table while I'm working. I'll just use my old defunct grill for a stand for now. Even if the refractory doesn't pan out, it should be a good design with some sand/clay.

For air I have a 2 speed blower from a wood stove (England's part number AC-16.)  It may not be ideal so I'm prepared to steal one of the girls' hair dryers, if needed. We'll see what happens.

The Tractor Supply here had nut coal last week, hopefully they still have some left, otherwise I'll be using charcoal to start out with. (Just got off the phone with them, on order, 2-3 weeks. Looks like charcoal it is for a while.)

So now it begins. I have a hammer or two, anvils, some scrap steel to practice on and now the makings for my forge.

Pics will follow as I start putting everything together.

[ShortMagPirate]

Well, I found the direct charge slip... it's probably a lost cause but we're going to try anyways...

[Frosty]

Using that level refractory is WAY overkill for a solid fuel forge. You might want to let it slip you have that stash at the local smithing club meeting. I don't think there is a shelf life for what we do, commercially they use it to line furnaces you load with RR cars. 

Give it a test to be sure, mix up say 1/4 cup allow it to set and cure then take a oxy acetylene torch to it, bring it to yellow and let it cool a few times. If it takes that thermal cycling it's good for gas forges and it's valuable to other guys in your chapter.  

Frosty The Lucky.

[ShortMagPirate]

That's actually not a bad idea... 

My wife has toyed with the idea of getting into pottery and building a kiln, but I don't know if that's ever going to happen. I'm sure, if this stuff ends up being in good shape, that there are plenty of folks who could use it. I don't have any need for a whole pallet of the stuff, that's for sure.

[Buzzkill]

If it stayed sealed in plastic bags, (clean and dry) I'd personally grab every bag they'd let me walk out of there.  As Frosty says, do a small test run and if that looks good you have excellent material for yourself or someone else to build gas forges, kilns, etc.  It's not cheap if you have to buy retail and shipping can be costly as well.  You can't get better than free if you have a use for it.

[ShortMagPirate]

So my little experiment seems to have been a success... the sample set up nicely, although it seems to have some little beads that floated up to the top. Not sure what that's all about. Seen in the first two pictures. Maybe I just didn't mix it enough.

I don't have an O/A torch but with Map Pro and a TS8000 it got to borderline orange/yellow... the last picture is after a couple cycles of that. Doesn't seem to have affected it much, if any.

 

 

[Frosty]

The beads are the evacuated silica spheres. You used too much water but you always get some pump to the surface. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[ShortMagPirate]

9 hours ago, Frosty said:

The beads are the evacuated silica spheres. You used too much water but you always get some pump to the surface. 

Frosty The Lucky.

That makes sense. I thought maybe I added a little too much water. I was going for peanut butter but I shot right past to more like toothpaste.

Incidentally, Frosty, where do you get your coal up there? I know there are some seams in your area (Wishbone Hill, etc,) but I didn't think any were producing...

I worked up at Usibelli a while back and the coal there is sub-bituminous, and only about +/-7500 BTU. It usually barely adequate to heat a house, I would think it would be difficult for blacksmithing... I know there is at least one outfit that hauls coal from Healy down to the Valley to sell to the public.  

(Actually, that's where I got my interest in blacksmithing, but just I never had time to take the plunge while I was up there.)

 

[Frosty]

Yeah, Kast-O-Lite is kind of different to mix. Just stirring it doesn't work and you end up adding too much water. You want to kneed it hard like like bread dough. I have a large stainless spoon and mix it in a stainless pan that came out of a food service cart. I grab those every time I see them at garage/yard/etc. sales. The only mixing instructions I could find are on the manufacturer's web site and those are by the bag. They list a couple sets of data on strength, flexibility, temp ratings, etc. by the quantity of water. I don't need an industrial forge liner so I used their recommendations as suggestions like any recipe. 

If you mix it to their max value % the stuff is so think you have to hammer it in place. I used close to that dry to make the floor on my last (soon to be discarded) forge and went with a wetter mix for the walls and roof. 

What I did with the beads that worked out, they always do you know, is mix them into my kiln wash and put the silly little buggers back where they belonged. That's probably a bad idea seeing as silicates melt around 2,000 f. and a kiln wash needs a lot hotter.

Frosty The Lucky.