Screenshot of label.  It is silica

 

Okay, it is silica; you're good to go.

You're golden. Remember to butter the blanket first so the rigidizer flows thoroughly.

Frosty The Lucky.

Morning Frosty. Speaking of time, I looked up Ron Reil's web pages yesterday, for the first time in years. What a change! In a mere twenty -five years (where do they go?) he has transitioned from a very sick fifty something, into a keen and happy old man. You should have a look; it will make you smile. Now, if we could just get our own ducks in a row...

Butter?  Salted or unsalted?

16 minutes ago, whitewill1412 said:

Butter?  Salted or unsalted?

Oh, now he's getting pretty salty with the Frosty

Literally or figuratively salted?

Buttering is a mason's term meaning to pre-wet what you're going to apply mortar to. If you apply mortar to dry masonry it flash dries on the dry absorbent surface leaving a thin layer of unbonded mortar between the two thingies being mortared together. Wetting the masonry (Buttering) dilutes the mortar at the surface and it soaks into the pores of the material forming a bond that is more than surface deep. 

I spent a couple summers carrying hod on a masonry crew so not only did I get to run up and down ladders all day, arms full of cinder blocks going up, 3 blocks on each arm. or freshly loaded mortar boards, mixed mud, etc. I learned a few things #1 life changing trick being I was in NO WAY going to pursue brick laying as a career! Adding a capful of Elemer's glue to the butter water makes a huge difference. And buttering matters!

Ahh, he'd have to put more pepper on it than that to get me involved in The Game, Mike.

Frosty The Lucky.

I rigidizered it and added another layer of blanket in the bottom of the forge.  I also plugged the little round holes with some blanket and rigidizered that.  Hopefully those plugs hold up

And I wore rubber gloves and a 3M aura n95 mask while doing it

Just remember that, once you plugged those two holes directly in the flame path, the flames now will revolve around the inside of the forge, and corkscrew their way out of one or both ends of the forge; this is good. However, you must remember to leave some room for exhuast gases to exit out at least one end of your forge. This is why we recommend that people use firebricks to create baffle walls about one inch away from the opening.

I also recomend using Plistix 900 to create a flame face on the forge's inner surfaces. It pays for itself in increased efficiency, while increasing the life of the ceramic wool insulation; and win win kind of deal

No, it isn't necessary to do every little improvement right away; but, keep them in mind.

Ok I plan to get the plistix.  For now is it OK to use as it is?

I'm heading home from work right now.  Gonna check the rigidity and sharpen my chainsaw.

I know you're in a big rush to play with hot iron and hammers and I'm not going to warn you about the dangers of breathing the fiber particles again. If you want to take chances it's on you.

Frosty The Lucky.

32 minutes ago, Frosty said:

I know you're in a big rush to play with hot iron and hammers and I'm not going to warn you about the dangers of breathing the fiber particles again. If you want to take chances it's on you.

Frosty The Lucky.

I thought that is what the rigidizer was for

In fact the rigidizer does help a lot with this concern. What happens with ceramic fiber wool insulation is that, once it heats up to incandescence, the fiber strands start to break here and there, becoming air born; it is not good to breath in crystalized fibers. The rigidizer locks all those loose strands together, greatly reducing airborn fiber production. But a finishing coat seals those fibers in--period. So, the danger is on a sliding scale, depending on all these factors. However, us old guys have a very different perspective on risks than you youngsters do

So it is a lot safer now than it was before.  I'm still gonna seal it up better, but I don't have the stuff yet.  I'm not really a youngster.  Maybe to you I am.  How old are you?

78

Yeah I'm a youngster then

The thing is; in our thirties we think we're just hitting our peak. In our forties we think maybe we should behave just a little. In our fifties, we don't wanna think about it anymore. In our sixties, the doctors tell us "you should have behaved yourself a whole lot more." In our seventies we are asking were did everybody go? In our eighties nearly all of us have joined the rest.

So, by the time must of us are paying attention, we've been dead for quite a while

Just so you know why I've about decided I don't want to deal with you on this issue Will, I'm cutting and pasting one of your flurry of questions. After explaining for maybe 5 or more times what rigidizer does and why it's so important for your health. You dropped this one on me.

Ok I plan to get the plistix.  For now is it OK to use as it is?

"As it is" Your forge is bare refractory blanket and if you were going to follow advice you wouldn't have asked that. You've said from the start that you want fast answers, you're in a hurry to get the forge working and it's become obvious you're in too much of a hurry to take BASIC safety and health precautions.

I can NOT in good conscience encourage you to pursue this craft. 

Frosty The Lucky.

Hey Mikey.  That sounds about right.  Give or take a few years here and there.  Time is the most valuable thing in life.

Frosty you are missing something here.  I am listening to you guys.  My forge is not bare blanket anymore.  I've done the first thing I was told I had to do.  Maybe I'm missing something, but the rigidizer is what I thought I was told was absolutely necessary.  If the fibers were encased in glass then wouldn't it be safe to use?  Don't leave me man.  I really appreciate your advice.

Listen Will, write it down and put it by your computer if you have to.

I'm in my 70s, a Traumatic Brain Injury survivor and have other issues, I don't have the patience I used to so after answering The SAME QUESTION a couple few times I get tired of it.

I answered your question about rigidizing fiber blanket 3-4 times, THEN you sent me a PM asking if I'd seen your questions and was I going to answer. I answered them AGAIN and still you asked the very same darned question!

This kind of behavior is crossing the line into harassment. Seriously it takes real effort to make me tell someone to leave me alone. How about YOU read the "Burners 101" and "Forges 101" sections of Iforgeiron so you'll have enough basic knowledge to ask good questions and understand the answers. 

Even after telling you to stop asking me the same **** questions, the second to the last sentence in your above post IS THE SAME **** QUESTION and clear evidence you either can not understand plain English or have issues I am neither prepared nor willing to deal with.

Your behavior is why I'm telling you point blank and period. LEAVE ME ALONE. If that is not clear I'll ask the moderators to explain it to you.

 

Ok Frosty.   I'm sorry I bothered you.  You can ignore me now.

I just ordered the plistix 900 from Atlas knife.   Support small business. 

Now that the rigidizer has been heated and cured I can see why the other layer is needed.  The ceramic fiber is hardened now, but it can easily be chipped and flaked off when metal touches it.  I'm sorry if I seem like an idiot, but I really need to learn hands on.  I don't learn from books.  I learn from doing.  Now that I have done the rigidizer I can see that more is needed.  It's gonna be a few days until I get the plistix, so I'm gonna be working on other things until then.  I fired the forge today to finish curing and I won't fire it again until I seal it more.  I appreciate all the advice.  I would still be breathing fibers without it.

On the plus side, that same rigidizer will do a lot to support the layer of Plistix smeared over the ceramic wool insulation. Afterward it will continue to lengthen the working lifetime of the insulation, against heat fatigue.

Finally got the plistix today.  If my steel doesn't get yellow now I don't know