[TheForge] ITC 213 and beyond

[Mike Porter]

Jerry,
There are many sources with varying prices. But one of my friends bought two
500 gram bottles of zirconium oxide last year from: WWW.advacedmaterials.us
for $35 each. He used it straight on Kastolite 3000 and was very satisfied
with his results, but I'm more conservative and recommend a binder. I bought
one from him. It is 99.9% pure (excluding hafnium content, which is even
more refractory than zirconia) and the largest grain size is less than
.5µm--pure colloidal zirconia. Keep it dry and do not let it freeze as you
don't want it to cake. 
That is a good price for such a refined product. You can also find #200 mesh
for much less, but unless you plan to regrind (which would be pretty tough
on your tools), the savings are false. Please remember that you want
bentonite clay for really high temperature performance. Also, the bentonite
has highest alumina content. The clay is of course only a binder and you
want to keep its percentage low (alumina is also an IR reflector, but not as
effective as zirconia). Rigidizer (colloidal silica) makes the easiest
binder to use since you can pour the zirconia into it, but is limited to
2300 F. So, it is appropriate for fiber liners, but not for high temperature
castable.

Advanced Materials usually works out as the most practical source for
materials science goods. Like http://www.smallparts.com/ they should have a
permanent entry in your address book :)
Mikey

-----Original Message-----
From: theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Jerry Frost
Sent: Thursday, March 30, 2006 12:54 PM
To: Sponsored by ABANA
Subject: Re: [TheForge] ITC 213 and beyond

Mike:

While I'm going to do a search for local sources; do you have a source or 
two for zirconia? 1/4 the $ is singing my song. <grin>

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

Meadow Lakes, AK.

http://www.artmetalradio.com/

From: "Mike Porter" <michael.a.porter at comcast.net>


>
> #200 mesh zirconia mixed with a bit of bentonite clay (and then water
> separated for colloidal content) is another alternative--about one-quarter
> the cost of ITC #100.
>
> Mikey
>

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