Forge advice

[User00056]

I've just bought myself a wee gas--fired hobby forget to use for the odd job here and there. It has a rockwool type insulation around the inside, and I have it in my head that it needs to be lined with refractory cement too

Is this correct? And is it just a case of slapping on an inch thick layers of Vitcas or similar? Or is there more to it than that?

I'm a complete novice, so any advice will be very welcome!

 

[finnbear270]

You can purchase various thicknesses of fire brick.

 

[User00056]

You can purchase various thicknesses of fire brick.

Cheers. It's already lined with some kind of insulated glass mat. I just seem to remember this needs to be coated in refractory clay though

 

[snake_2586]

It seems strange to me that it does not have a 'hard' surface at the bottom of the chamber to support the work piece, I don't think you will need to coat the entire inside but if you place anything in the forge you will need a solid floor, DFPROF2+2D GAS PROPANE FORGE Furnace Burner Knife Making Blacksmith Farrier UK | eBay, looking at one like this it looks like the sides and top are just soft insulation and the floor is a 'brick' of some sort.

Having said this, when I was using a gas forge for the hardening of my knives, I found the temperature was far more uniform an inch above the floor so ended up making a support to hold them up off the floor. but I would still like to see a brick in the base to take the brunt of the heat from the flame.

 

[User00056]

I would still like to see a brick in the base to take the brunt of the heat from the flame.

Thanks for this. The kit does come with a brick which I'm assuming is to do just that

 

[User00056]

Well, I just bit the bullet and bought some cement and rigidising fluid.

I soaked the fibre in the fluid, and cured it overnight with a bit of help from a heat gun. Toughened it up no end.

Need to let the cement go off and tidy it up tomorrow, but I reckon it's ok for a first attempt, and for the limited use it'll get. I've embedded the firebrick into the base, too.

Once it's fully cured I'll start to warm it through until it's properly dry before lighting the burner and seeing how it does