[TheForge] Ceramic chip forge

[Jerry Frost]

Rich:

Do you bury the steel in the chips or lay it on top?

Frosty
------------------------
If it ain't forged
it ain't real.
Wrought iron is.
The FrostWorks

Meadow Lakes, AK.


----- Original Message -----
From: "Rich Maynard" <rich at maynard.org.uk>
To: "Sponsored by ABANA" <theforge at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Sunday, September 12, 2004 11:49 AM
Subject: RE: [TheForge] Ceramic chip forge


> I use a ceramic chip forge at the school where I teach. It runs on natural
> gas from the mains, and does use a blower to get the flame hot enough.
>
> At first, you get blue flames burning out through the chips but as they
heat
> up (15-20 mins) the chips are glowing and the gas gets burnt deep inside
the
> forge.
>
> I think the reason the school bought it - it was before I started - was
the
> cleanliness. The school's in the middle of London, and burning coke here's
> not an option!
>
> If anyone wants a little bag of chips to play with I might swap some for a
> railroad spike or two...
>
> Cheers,
>
> Rich.
>
>
> London, UK.
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net
> > [mailto:theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net]On Behalf Of Jerry Frost
> > Sent: 12 September 2004 18:19
> > To: Sponsored by ABANA
> > Subject: [TheForge] Ceramic chip forge
> >
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "GHS" <ghs at execpc.com>
> >
> > > The reason I said density and not refractory quality is this.
> > >
> > > In our propane or NG forges the flame is inside the kaowool or
whatever
> > > along with the work. The object being to insulate and to heat the
inside
> > > surface to the  glowing point  so that it radiates heat back into the
> > > cavity and thus to the work.
> > >
> >
> > Yes, a reverberatory furnace to be technical.
> >
> > > In a system in which the flame is in effect on the "outside", the area
> > > where the work is not, the object would be to heat the ceramic to the
> > > glowing point so that conduction and radiation would heat the work.
> > >
> >
> > Evidently the fire is burning in the bed of chips, not outside it. Other
> > than that the principle is the same; heat the chips and the chips heat
the
> > work.
> >
> > > More or less the difference twixt an oven and a frying pan.
> > >
> > > I have never set lava rocks to glowing as they dissipate heat pretty
> > > much  as it absorbs it. A higher density ceramic should store some of
> > > that energy as it gets to glowing. (less surface area as it relates to
> > mass)
> > > The stored energy work be released at the point where the cooler metal
> > > contacted it.
> > >
> > > A glowing bed of anything should work as a forge.
> > >
> > >
> > > Am a missing a big part somewhere? Could be I am still on the first
cup
> > > of coffee.
> > >
> > > Mike Graf
> > >
> > >
> >
> > No I think you're as on track as I am so far.
> >
> > My contention against lava for media is simply it's low melting point
and
> > high silica content. Pumice is silicious to the point that if it
> > hadn't been
> > full of disolved gasses when it cooled it'd be obsidian (volcanic
glass).
> > Using it would essentially be trying to heat steel with clinker.
Basaltic
> > lava is only slightly less silicious generally having a higher iron % in
> > part why it's much more fluid when molten and why it has a lower melting
> > point.
> >
> > I've had lava rocks (vasicular basalt) fuse together in particularly
> > fearsome campfires. It wouldn't stand a chance in my forge though
> > I may have
> > to fire it up and confirm it if pressed. <grin>
> >
> > Melting temp aside I agree, the lower the specific heat the
> > better for forge
> > media. Specific heat and density aren't the same thing. However the
> > distinction can be meaningless to a working device.
> >
> > Frosty
> > ------------------------
> > If it ain't forged
> > it ain't real.
> > Wrought iron is.
> > The FrostWorks
> >
> > Meadow Lakes, AK.
> >
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