18 hours ago, North State said:

The pint like you used

Did you read the part about only using 1/4 cup out of a pint can? It's a too large rectangular forge, the one with the NARBS, 6" x 6" x 18". Two layers of 1" rigidized Kaowool and 1/2" of Kast-O-Lite 30. I I brushed the rigidizer on eyeballing the coverage before I put the Kaowool in.

Frosty The Lucky.

1 hour ago, Frosty said:

Did you read the part about only using 1/4 cup out of a pint can?

i sure did, but it seems like the smallest I can find is 5.5oz and I figure thats about a third of a pint. Just trying to not run short, thats all. 

17 hours ago, pnut said:

let Glenn or the mods know.

Yep, just hit the report post button top right and someone will handle it directly. That way everyone is acting as a moderator.

4 hours ago, North State said:

i sure did, but it seems like the smallest I can find is 5.5oz and I figure thats about a third of a pint. Just trying to not run short, thats all. 

A pint can holds less than 4 oz. by weight. Having plenty isn't a bad thing it' good for thickening things like glue and plaster. If you set up a propane forge factory you'll be set till the RR car load comes in. 

Don't sweat it, I'm more kidding you than serious though I'd rather folk who can't afford to not buy more materials than they really need. 

Frosty The Lucky.

21 hours ago, Frosty said:

A pint can holds less than 4 oz. by weight.

Did i mention that I am not a math conversion whiz either! Not sure how I got my figure... Anyhow, dont know what I would do without good advice from you guys on IFI!

That's 4 oz. of fumed silica by weight, says so on the can, no math necessary.

Sometimes my advice is good, other times my blood sugar is low and there's no telling. I rely on my friends here to give me a shout if I'm going off the rails.

It's a good place to hang, butter's not necessary.

Frosty The Lucky.

Ah, but buttering is

Sorry Frosty; just couldn't resist.

Pint=volume                                           ounce=weight.  It's easy to get vapor lock with such a volume of info.  it can be a weighty proposition sorting through it all.

Pnut

Ounce= weight except with any fluid except water. fl.oz. is a measure of volume but a fluid oz. of water weighs one ounce. 

Edited August 21, 20196 yr by pnut

Your wife probably has a measuring "cup"  in the kuchen (actual size is well over two cups large); it will have pint, cup, and ounce scales painted on its wall.

@ North State, I just read this thread and wanted to say that I built 3 forges before I got it right. I tend to build first and ask questions later, much to my chagrin. The guys here are quite knowledgeable and won't steer you wrong, but it's a bit of a gauntlet to the end. Once you fire up your forge and start using it, you will then go through another series of " I wish I did this and that". For instance, you'll find that your combustion chamber is probably a lot longer than you need it to be. Mine went from 18" down to 7".

Anyway, you seem to be a good fabricator so don't worry about it. It's all part of the learning curve. BTW, refractory "cement" will not stick well to anything. It has to have some sort of mechanical bond in order to stay put. I've used wire, bolts and screen to hold it in place. If you're going to pour a flat floor in your chamber after the cylinder cures, make sure you have something to hold it in place sticking out of the cylinder. 

After twenty years, I still think up at least two improvements while building each forge; usually just after it's too late to include them

Frosty, Mikey, Pnut & Ted thanks as always for the help. I will try to update asap.

Update from Eastern NC: We survived hurricane Dorian. Some areas endured major damage, but on average we didnt see near the effects as for Florence last year. Please continue to think and pray for those who fared worse than we did; the Bahamas, Eastern FL, GA, and SC. 

 

As for the forge liner re-do, I got the West System 406 Colloidal Silica. Following the ratio found in the refractory reference earlier, I mixed with yellow food coloring and sprayed the ceramic wool. Full disclosure, I used a 3M cartridge mask type respirator while mixing. I had read to do so by even with it on, i tried to measure amd mix with no airbourne   particulates. Let me say, Im glad i had the mask on! When the more experinced fellas tell you to do something, it is for good reason. That mess gets everywhere! I am currently waiting for it to dry so I can wash over it with the propane torch. I suppose I will add another layer of wool after I torch the current one. Wish me luck! As always, thanks for the advice.

You don't need to add another layer, since the food coloring plainly shows that you did a thorough job the first time

Oh cool, Mikey. I thought I had read somewhere on here that 2" was the goal in wool thickness. Mine is currently approx. 1" thick. 

Ups! I misread what your intent. A second layer is needed, and yes it is best to fire the first layer before hand

I build new forges to test my next round of mistakes. 

I don't think I've heard anybody putting yellow in the rigidizer. Was it a butter shot or something? I sure hope so I do SO like a subtle player. 

Frosty The Lucky.

Right, Mikey. Good to know!

Frosty, actually, i think it was PNUT or someone who has replied to this thread who suggested the food cooring so that you can tell which areas had been hit by the rigidizer and which had not. Pretty cool tip. The colloidal silica from West Marine is white powder and renders just a cloudy mixture when mixed into water. This would be extremely hard to tell being the ceramic blanket is white as well!

I like thw way you think though. A "butter shot" would be cool. Like going to the movies every time I fire up the forge!

I surely can't take credit for it. I read it on here somewhere but I think the suggested color was blue for some reason.

Pnut

Pnut, you know what they say, theres nothing new under the sun! As for the yellow, heres the deal. I looked in the wifes cake decorating stuff and the yellow one was missing the cap... So i dumped ALL of it in there! Maybe a couple drops would have done just fine. A little bit does a lot of good, a lot must do a WHOLE lot of good!

The die burns out during firing, so a lot is little different than a little.

In the name of an update, our HVAC went out this past Wednesday! Here in Eastern NC, it has been in the upper 80s! I hadnt planned on spending a few 'thou' on a new unit, but its always something. I hope to be installing a new system by the end of the coming week. I did, however, figure that if I was going to be hot, I may as well be productive, so I added the second layer of 1" ceramic. I found the blue food coloring this time! I am currently waiting on the silica solution to dry before i set it with the propane torch. See pic. Also, for those who have done it before, how "spongy/soft" should the wool be after rigidizing? The surface of mine sort of feels like hair thats been sprayed or moussed, but still has some give to it. Also, is there a good thickness to shoot for on my refractory? I liked the way it was before i had to start over, but if I go 2", it will make the fire box a bit tight, i think. Whata you guys think?

23 minutes ago, North State said:

Also, for those who have done it before, how "spongy/soft" should the wool be after rigidizing? The surface of mine sort of feels like hair thats been sprayed or moussed, but still has some give to it.

Good description of how it feels before firing.

I like to shoot for 1/2" but lots of guys go for 1/4": it usually boils down to how you feel things are going, while in the middle of the process

In other words, this isn't a "right or wrong" decision, but more of a "how does it look to you" moment.

Hey, North State....a bit off topic here...if your dead HVAC is a combined central unit with the A/C and heater in the same unit, and the blower is OK, try to take it out and save it before the salvage guy at the repair place gets his hands on it.  They make great blowers for the solid fuel smiths.  A lot of them are Dayton or Fasco.  I have a Dayton take-off on my coal forge and it works like a champ.

I don't know flip about gassers, but the blower might be useful for an aspirated(?) forge with a blower.

Plenty of gas forges are fan-blown.