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Step 2Add Refractory
"THE FIERCER THE HEAT, THE HARDER IT GETS!" bragged my fire cement. The Refractory reflects the heat back up into the fire, making it more efficient and less likely to melt its way out the bottom of the...cake tin (shudder) It's going to get Seriously hard.
Whatever you do, don't use something that expands too much. Chances are it'll do this at the worst possible moment and carry a cargo of hot coal into your eye. Only use a proper refractory. Mine was rated to 1250 degrees centigrade, lower than I wanted but still plenty high enough. Put about half an inch on the bottom and build it up round the sides leave a working area about 8 to 10 inches wide and 4 deep at least. Make sure that no steel peeks through the refractory.
Allow the refractory to set as per the instructions that should have come with it. Mine needed to be fired immediately after being applied, so no pictures there. Others may need to dry first. Follow the instructions and only fire up the forge when the stuff's ready.
By demand, popular or not, here's some pics on how i added the refractory. I took these the afternoon after i fired it up so the refractory's stained and sootied but i think they get the point across. The refractory should be fairly thin on the bottom, thickish at the bottom of the walls, getting thinner (but not too thin) towards the top. One pic's just the forge itself with nothing added, the other's a pic with the empty refractory pot in for a sense of scale.
Whatever you do, don't use something that expands too much. Chances are it'll do this at the worst possible moment and carry a cargo of hot coal into your eye. Only use a proper refractory. Mine was rated to 1250 degrees centigrade, lower than I wanted but still plenty high enough. Put about half an inch on the bottom and build it up round the sides leave a working area about 8 to 10 inches wide and 4 deep at least. Make sure that no steel peeks through the refractory.
Allow the refractory to set as per the instructions that should have come with it. Mine needed to be fired immediately after being applied, so no pictures there. Others may need to dry first. Follow the instructions and only fire up the forge when the stuff's ready.
By demand, popular or not, here's some pics on how i added the refractory. I took these the afternoon after i fired it up so the refractory's stained and sootied but i think they get the point across. The refractory should be fairly thin on the bottom, thickish at the bottom of the walls, getting thinner (but not too thin) towards the top. One pic's just the forge itself with nothing added, the other's a pic with the empty refractory pot in for a sense of scale.
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Feb 28, 2012. 7:33 AMJakeThief
says:
If your cement is on top of your airflow pipe, then how will the pipe even do its job? Someone please respond.
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Apr 10, 2012. 9:34 AMnrthwiz
says:
If you look closely at the pictures, there is a hole in the refractory cement where the airflow pipe opens into the forge.
Reply
Aug 16, 2009. 7:41 PMknifesmith
says:
when you made this is the fire cement on top of the pipe because if it is then what is the point of it the fire cement will just mute out the effect
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