[TheForge] Re: Kaowool

[Jeffrey Polaski]

You should be able to buy it by the foot somewhere near you... Look for
a ceramics supply house, or maybe a refractory supplier. I've used
Laguna Clay and Resco around here, and I'm sure they'd ship to you. 

Just to add some "tricks" I've noticed from building my own propane
forge -- In general you're better off using insulation with the *least*
thermal mass. 

For example, you're better off using a ceramic blanket for the majority
of your insulation. The blanket takes less time than castable refractory
to get up to heat. It cools down a *little* more when you put in a heavy
piece of metal, but it really doesn't matter much. A thick layer of cast
refractory takes a lot of time (and propane) to get really hot. 

Also, if you're using a propane forge and you put in firebricks (for the
floor), use the lighter "insulating" ones, rather than the heavy-duty
ones. I switched from insulating bricks to heavy-duty bricks, and it
added about 30 minutes to the time my forge takes to get really hot.
Just make sure the heat rating is high enough. 

One other note, if you're using blanket, be sure to seal it in so you
don't inhale fibers. You can use colloidal silica, or a thick layer of
ITC-100, Plistix, Satanite, or skim a layer of castable refractory over
the inside. I tried a few different things and ended up with about a
1/8" thick layer of satanite with some ITC-100 over it. That's worked
pretty well, but I've knocked one or two holes in it over time... I'd
suggest skimming a 1/4" to 1/2" thick layer of refractory to seal all
the fiber-ey goodness.

Any way, I just wanted to share some of my experience with propane
forges. I'm certainly not an expert or anything, and I'm sure others on
this list can add a lot more. 




Jeff Polaski
Research and Graduate Studies Webmaster
University of California, Irvine
http://www.rgs.uci.edu/
949.824.6363
-----Original Message-----
From: theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of
LrdThorolf at aol.com
Sent: Thursday, April 13, 2006 4:44 AM
To: theforge at mailman.qth.net
Subject: [TheForge] Re: Kaowool

Does anyone know of a good place to  get kaowool  or durablanket  on
the web 
or anyplace else that is not real high  priced located  close to
Michigan?
I  need to  reline my  forge but don't know if I want  blanket or
cement. I  
only  need about 8 square feet. Don't need  a full  roll.
Thanks Ike
Pan's Forge 
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