MelloPax Posted July 19, 2019 Share Posted July 19, 2019 Hello everyone, I've read through a lot of the beginner stuff and haven't seen this covered yet. I'm working on the "Weber grill forge" thing for my first forge and I was going to buy refractory, but then thought, "Hey, I work in a foundry. If the green sand can survive liquid iron, it should survive steel heating temperatures ok." The sand is bentonite bonded silica sand (with some extras) that I could obtain for free. I planned to wet it and slap it into the grill to keep it from burning through. Forge details: I plan on feeding it through the bottom of the grill with a hair dryer and a shopvac hose I am thinking I could create a regulator for. Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 19, 2019 Share Posted July 19, 2019 Just plain dirt or creek clay works; so it that mix has the consistency to not crumble in use it should be ok. Remember design the forge so you can stick workpieces in HORIZONTALLY not at a steep angle! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted July 19, 2019 Share Posted July 19, 2019 (edited) Might I suggest you peruse the jabod threads? I am on the third incarnation of my jabod and have to say I have been impressed with the effectiveness of Just A Box Of Dirt. I've learned something else from each modification and since it's just a box a pipe and some creek clay you can experiment all you want on the cheap. You can mix green sand with the clay to prevent shrink checking/ cracking as it dries. If I remember correctly it's one part sand to two parts clay. I could be wrong of course. I'll have to look at my notes when I get home. If it's wrong I'll repost the correct ratios. Pnut Edited July 19, 2019 by pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 I was wrong. After consulting my notes the correct ratios are 3 parts sand to 1 part clay. These ratios are for sand and bentonite clay. I used one part sand to two parts clay from the woods near my house as there was already some sand content. I haven't tried green sand only playground sand like for a child's sandbox. You may want to try a few test batches. Perhaps someone with first hand experience will chime in. Good luck and let us know know how it goes. Pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted July 22, 2019 Share Posted July 22, 2019 Traditinal adobe or cob works just fine. The original JABOD forge used a rich clay soil from the bottom of fence post holes on my property. As the fire bowl vitrified and slag from old nailes in the home made charcoal (pallet wood) stuck to the vitrified clay like glue I think a leaner mix would work better. Some were in the 30% clay and 50%+ sand range as used for cob and adobe, especialy if you plan to put it in wet. Richer mixes put in wet crack and leaner mixes can have problems with the sand melting and becoming slag (sand in the coal is what melts and forms clinker, so to much sand will cause you problems with your forge. I have found that plain cheep cat litter works well, if kept dry and the cats are kept out if it. You do have to remake the fire bowl more often. Traditinal side blast forges in England were filled with ash (fly ash from burning coal) and cinders (clinker/slag). Remember tho, just plain old mineral soil (either as a pit dug in the ground or as a structure made of or lined with adobe/cob) has worked real well. Like the rest of you I tend to over complicate things. Why use somthing I have to buy when I can simply have the grand kids make mud pies? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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