firebrick failure, has anyone had this happen

[Frosty]

9 hours ago, J.Leon_Szesny said:

Bentonite kitty litter clay, made it into powder and tried it but...it was, not very good...
it would crack, flake/peel itself off and float around in my forge. 

Above is a good example of what happens when you use too much water. Bentonite is proof in cupola steel melters, when used to plug the tap hole. but it's going directly from tooth paste consistency to a 2,800 f. + environment. It behaves differently when air dried. 

When patching or using as a refractory liner, the more water the worse it works. Seriously only JUST enough to compact when you beat the stuffings out of it. Bentonite has a plastic limit around 13% H2O after which it WILL crack, flake and peal as it dries. You have to be patient with bentonite and give it time to temper properly. There is NO need to powder the granules in kitty liter, it is in fact a bad idea. Moisture will distribute itself more quickly in granules than powder. This is the reason kitty litter is granular.

If you make ANY clayey soil plastic that's even a little malleable it WILL shrink check as it dries. This is an never ending  fight with road contractors who want to dump the water on fill when they compact it. Too much water is the ENEMY.

We've covered refractories I don't know how many times, making something special for a solid fuel forge isn't necessary, just damp dirt works a treat. Using some home brew refractory is like buying a dump truck to take your kitchen garbage to the dump.

Frosty The Lucky.

[BillyBones]

One note about soil usage. Burn some before making a whole forge from it. I needed to patch a small spot next to my tuyere, so out in the yard i went. When i fired the forge it stank to high heaven. The only thing worse was when a cat left me a tootsie roll in my coal pile i did not catch till it was burning. Trust me that is a smell that no one should experience. 

[Frosty]

Did you miss the part about using MINERAL soil Billy? 

Frosty The Lucky.

[Les L]

I’m glad I don’t eat candy, I’d think about BILLY every time I went to eat a tootsie roll and have to chunk it 

[Frosty]

You don't eat brown gravy or thick soup / stew? 

I know it's a scene from a movie but a Baby Ruth candy bar floating in a public pool is a hoot once it gets noticed. It was an oldy before the movie, probably since the candy bar was invented.

Frosty The Lucky.

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Yep, Caddyshack with Chevy Chase what a classic.

Quote

The “candy bar in the pool” scene was based on an actual prank that the Murray brothers played in their high school’s swimming pool.

http://mentalfloss.com/article/58494/15-fun-facts-about-caddyshack

[pnut]

That smell is the difference between high organic and high mineral content soil. High organic content soil will actually burn whereas high mineral content soil will vitrify.

Pnut

[BillyBones]

Not that i missed the mineral soil thing, just needed a small patch about 1 cubic inch. So i figured a little handful of dirt would be alright. Worked but stunk. 

I love tootsie rolls. Especially the fruit flavored ones. 

Caddy shack is one of my favorites, Chevy was great in that but Carl the grounds keeper (Bill Murray) is my favorite character.