The gear cover looks good Jennifer. You even gave it a snazzy paint job, appropriate for custom work.

I'm looking forward to hearing how the melter works.

Frosty The Lucky.

4 hours ago, MeltedSocks said:

the heat gun dried it out quickly

MS, if you’re using a silica-based rigidizer, merely dry is NOT sufficient. You MUST heat it up to glowing, so that it bonds to the fibers of the ceramic wool. Unless it’s been fired, it’s less than useless, as it can interfere with the adhesion of the refractory to the wool. 

I finished the application of the second coat of Santa-ite.  I'm doing a slow drying out.  I guess tomorrow afternoon I can start the fire-curing process.  I also made a work support.  I thought it was a good idea to weld a bolt on the end and install it with a nut so I don't pull it all the way out at an inopportune time.

Been going through a dry inspiration spell lately. It comes and goes.

I needed a mop hanger so I made this. The tines could have been a bit longer, but it works.

I also regained renewed respect for the knotted wire wheel angle grinder attachment.

Okay...Okay...Ted, that's pretty cool.

I like it Ted, it looks like it's doing a happy dance. I envision a garage wall of tool hangers that looked like a row of dancers or perhaps if you squint and blink your eyes just right as you scan the line an animated dancer.

Frosty The Lucky.

I fired up the coal forge, first time in a couple of months. Our up coming BOA meeting on Saturday next the 13th has a piece of metal jewelry for a trade item. I remembered a nice bracelet that JHCC made out of a CV Joint bearing cage a while back. At least I think it was JHCC so here is what I made for the trade item.

I can’t control the wind. All I can do is adjust my sails. ~Semper Paratus~ USCG 1964-1970

Debi says it's a "Racelet" because it's made out of a bearing race.

 

Racelet, I like it. I keep seeing them with the bar between openings twisted but that'd probably make for an uncomfortable Racelet.

Frosty The Lucky.

Melted socks, been there and it smarts. Wire wheels are unforgiving. I bought a sand blaster because it's to dangerous to de-scale small pieces.

Frosty, I like the idea of dancers in the shop. The wife may have other ideas about it though. 

32 minutes ago, Irondragon Forge ClayWorks said:

At least I think it was JHCC

Yes, it was. Good memory; that was a fair few years ago. 

On 12/6/2025 at 10:40 PM, JHCC said:

You MUST heat it up to glowing, so that it bonds to the fibers of the ceramic wool.

I never knew this. I dunno if the rigidizer that came with my Me Volcano forge was silica based but if it was, it would explain why my coating chips off so easily! My forge is teetering on the edge of unsafe due to the amount of coating which has chipped off and not been repaired. Last year, I was going to do patch work. I kept putting it off. Now it really just needs completely redone.

I too would like to know the answer to this question: my Mr. Volcano had a continent sized piece come off the other day.

I read the application sheets for four different silica rigidizers.  None of them had any mention of heating to glowing.  They stated that heat could be used to accelerate the evaporation of the water, which is how the silica is bonded to the fibers. One suggested heating to 1000F if possible, which to me means it's optional.

The Santa-ite instructions said to spritz water on the dry ceramic insulation before applying it, and to apply in multiple thin layers, allowing each to dry first.  I have noticed the surface of the dry rigidized ceramic blanket it a little dusty. I assume that is the silica particles.

We'll see how it goes because I'll be using this little forge a lot.

I tried doing a racelet but the thing broke on me for some reason.   Not too worry I have more around here somewhere.   

I spent most of the afternoon in the shop yesterday CLEANING.  I found my floor and several rejected projects.   I also bought a different stand for my belt grinder to get it off a wooden table I'd built for it.  I will use the table instead for assembly of knives and small projects... so it's going to be buried again in a couple days. 

The best summation I've found of how rigidizer works is this comment from Mikey98118:

Quote

The usual (but not only) rigidizer is colloidal silica; and its usual form is fumed silica powder. When mixed into water, fumed silica will remain in solution, so long as the water doesn't freeze. The water allows the silica to be spritzed, painted, or poured onto ceramic fiber insulation.  The water, with its silica content will be dawn all over the fiber, by way of capillary action. Food coloring is added to the silica and water solution, as a visual aid, and completely burns away during heat curing. Heat curing causes the very fine silica dust to melt right into the fiber, and because that same capillary action, which draws the solution along the ceramic fibers, also causes most of it to congregate at joints, where those fibers touch together, most of that dust welds those joints permanently to each other.  So, the answer to every question people may ask about this process becomes apparent, if they only think about the nature of colloidal silica, and capillary attraction; which is the engine that drives capillary action.

Colloidal silica can partially overcome gravity, by capillary action.

Separate pieces of ceramic fiber insulation can be welded together with heated fumed silica on its surface.

Excess fumed silica can drip all over the inside of your forge, and won't matter.

One thing Mikey doesn't mention here (although we talk about it a lot elsewhere) is that spritzing the wool with plain water ("buttering") before you add the rigidizer helps carry the rigidizer into the inside of the wool, just as buttering the rigidized wool before you add the hard refractory helps the latter adhere to the inside of the forge (as noted in the Satanite instructions).

Made a couple bottle openers for gifts. They are wrought and i do not know why i torture my self but i thought it a good idea to do these first thing... on an anvil about 20F. My anvil was sucking the heat out almost faster than i could hit the piece. The first one, left, broke off when bending the hoop. 

The little piece in the middle is a test coupon for etching. I left it in muriatic acid for 48 hours, think i need some new acid. 

Finished a serving fork for my granddaughter, cherry handle. Started a set of dividers, need to do the file work. Got all the pieces made but the thumb screw. Then got the body of a sconce made for my daughter to put on her porch. Welded the parts to be scrolled and collared it. Then my propane started running low and my shop was getting a bit cold so i called it a day. 

When I bored out the hole for the burner, the insulation was solid all the way through. I think my modified pump sprayer is way better than just a spray bottle, which I used on my first build, which I'll probably redo sooner rather than later.

JHCC, so "fumed silica"?  Makes me wonder about what I can only describe as tiny whiffs of steam rising off the rigidized and dry ceramic insulation as I was applying the Santa-ite. Fumed silica fuming off? I think it's time for an experiment. 

This is my forge today with the gas pressure at 1 to 2 psi.  Still need to tweak the MIG tip.

4 hours ago, MeltedSocks said:

what I can only describe as whiffs of steam rising off the rigidized and dry ceramic insulation

Even when it’s apparently dry, there’s still some retained moisture. The “steam” is most likely steam. 

No, it was at room temperature.

Now it just needs paint.

This needle valve is pretty cool.  I can adjust from 1 psi all the way up to 17 psi (this regulator is 20 psi).  The dragon's breath is insane.  I had to back way off to get this picture.

Note to self:  wear gloves when opening the forge.

Turned a half-finished knitting bowl blank into a shield boss. 

What kind of shield will you be putting that on? 

I came into work today and found this laying on one of the tool boxes. Thought ya'll may get a kick out of it.

The yellow piece is the old handle that i think may have started out life as a broom handle. 

7 hours ago, BillyBones said:

What kind of shield will you be putting that on? 

Viking-ish, for someone who is proud of their Viking/Danish heritage and also loves the aesthetic of the Dwarves in the movies of The Lord of the Rings. His wife commissioned a Viking sword from me some years back when he was in chemotherapy; she commissioned this now that he's in chemo for a relapse.

NB: Neither item is intended to be completely historically accurate; indeed, the sword has a wrought iron blade that looks great (gotta love the grain pattern) but wouldn't hold an edge. Here's the photo she posted on FB to accompany the announcement that the cancer is back and that he's fighting it:

I mostly finished a hammer / tong rack from a repurposed bender stand. Also tried a few split cross humming bird ornaments. Good times

Nice birds!

Nice hummers Rojo, you're getting better at them all the time. 

The hammer / tong rack looks good, I'll be interested in what you think after using it for a while.

How loud a clunk did that pipe handle ruined hammer make when it hit the bottom of the trash can Billy?

Frosty The Lucky.