Seffers93 Posted May 5, 2021 Share Posted May 5, 2021 I’m building my new forge. Everything is going wonderfully. I’m getting so excited to get this thing done and bang some hot steel on my recently-acquired anvil. I put down two layers of 1” 8# ceramic fiber blanket, got it all sorts of rigid, started applying the refractory, got it all finished and wrapped up with a wet towel in a garbage bag and BOOM… it hit me. I forgot to drill my burner hole. Is this a major setback or will I be able to just drill right through it? And right after I just ruined what was going to be an awesome handle for a Gyuto I’m working on. Face palm! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted May 5, 2021 Share Posted May 5, 2021 Time to take a break. A little more information will help answer the question. What type of enclosure (forge body) and refractory. I have drilled IFBs, Satanite and Kast-O-Lite with a hole saw. The fiber blanket, a knife will cut through it. A picture or two of your build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seffers93 Posted May 5, 2021 Author Share Posted May 5, 2021 The forge body is just a 20lb propane tank. I used Kast-O-Lite 30 for the refractory, about 1/2” thick everywhere except the very bottom. These are the only pictures I have so far. I can take more tomorrow. Seeing that you’ve drilled Kast-O-Lite makes me feel a lot better! I’m assuming I’ll need to be very careful and take it slow? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted May 5, 2021 Share Posted May 5, 2021 That's all the pictures needed. I'm sure others will weigh in with ideas about drilling through for the burner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted May 5, 2021 Share Posted May 5, 2021 When I made my last forge, I ended up needing to open up the burner port quite a bit to fit the block from my NARB. I found a half-round rasp to work particularly well, especially since I did the fettling before I did the final firing of the Kastolite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seffers93 Posted May 5, 2021 Author Share Posted May 5, 2021 Good to know, JHCC. Thanks! Sounds like I’ll do my best to just drill through the refractory and maybe use a rasp from there if needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 5, 2021 Share Posted May 5, 2021 Perhaps drilling the KOL before it's fully cured? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seffers93 Posted May 6, 2021 Author Share Posted May 6, 2021 Might be a dumb question, but would it be considered fully cured after firing? Or would it be considered fully cured just after sitting in a trash bag with a wet towel for 24 hours? I feel like I’ve crammed so much reading I’m missing the little details like this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 6, 2021 Share Posted May 6, 2021 Not dumb at all, the makers of KOL don't make it easy to find out much about using Kastolite. It doesn't fire cure, it cures in 100% humidity. However 24 hrs. at 100% humidity is good enough. Did you drill a couple weep holes in the bottom of the forge shell so free water can drain or steam as it heats up, like Mike suggests? You do NOT want to trap steam when you fire it up. If there are weep holes or gaps in the shell so it can't trap steam fire it up for maybe 10 minutes and let it cool. This isn't so much a cure cycle as it is to really dry the blanket out good. Next time fire it to red heat and if you don't see any steam it should be good to bring to working temp. Kastolite is made to be gunnited on furnace walls while they are hot and put right back to work. I don't think Kastolite 30 much cares how it's applied or cured and if we don't get 100% strength and heat resistance from it out forges don't get hot enough to need near max performance. Let the water drain and dry and light it up briefly to dry it completely and it should be good to go. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seffers93 Posted May 6, 2021 Author Share Posted May 6, 2021 Thanks for the info, Frosty! I hadn’t read about drilling weep holes. I’ll do that before I fire it to be safe. Trapping steam like that doesn’t sound like fun at all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey98118 Posted May 6, 2021 Share Posted May 6, 2021 I like like working on the drying refractory. Drilling, grinding, and shaping with a rasp goes very well during that period; mush less easily after firing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seffers93 Posted May 6, 2021 Author Share Posted May 6, 2021 Thanks for the input Mikey. Definitely going to get it drilled out and shaped before firing. Lesson learned! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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