[TheForge] Fire Clay

[Daniel Kretchmar]

I got my clay out of several different holes in the ground at various
reenactments.  I have found that regular pure (no additives) clay will
eventually crack, particularly if you are forge welding or getting a big
fire going like we sometimes do for demos.

I have been making my own fireclay for a while now and it seems to work. I
got the recipe from a book on how to make an adobe oven.  Take a lot of
small dry irregular chunks of clay (1" diameter or smaller), the smaller the
better and fire them in your forge (A gas forge works best for this).  If
you don't have a gas forge (which considering the thread, you likely don't,
broken clay garden pots work too!  The trick is to get clay that has been
fired already.  Break it into tiny peices.  I put on my boots and crushed
them on the concrete floor. It doesn't have to be powder, but it has to be
smaller enough to stir.  I also put fiber in mine for strength.  I use
natural rope fibers (manilla/hemp/sisel/even grass clippings).  I cut the
rope into 1" pieces and separate the threads. My recipe is: 2 cups wet clay,
1 cup white sandbox sand, 1 cup crushed fired clay/ 1 loose quart of fiber
rope cuttings. I mix until it is uniform.  I add enough water that a 1" ball
of the mixture will deform slighty but stay together when being dropped from
4 feet off the ground.  I then pack it just like Wes does using a hammer and
a 2x4.  I have several forges that have this lining that have lasted for
years without any repair.

Danr
www.irontreeworks.com

On 6/4/09, Peter Fels & Phoebe Palmer <artgawk at thegrid.net> wrote:
>
> You can buy fire clay at most larger building supplys or masonry supplys.
> A potter's supply place would be better as you can get temperature rated
> clays...Barnard clay or chrome ore clays will take very high
> temperatures..any clay like mud will probably get you by and a little
> glass fiber will help to hold it together when it cracks.
> A few local clays might have too low a melting temperature to last, if
> so, just toss it and repeat with a different clay.
>
> egilsson-9 at comcast.net wrote:
> > Hello The Forge members,
> >
> > I have been subscribing to The Forge for some time (back when you were
> all talking goats, fences, etc.) now and have thoroughly enjoyed all the
> info.,
> > and banter. I really enjoy it when you all drift off topic, I pick up
> unexpected extra knowledge along with links to sites for more info and or
> suppliers whose
> > URLs I greedily bookmark.
> >
> > I have a question. Where can I obtain fire clay? I have a small portable
> Farrier's forge that needs lining. I live in Western Massachusetts and when
> I contacted a local farm supply store was told that fire clay is not
> available in Mass. Is there another product that I could use without
> breaking the bank?
> > I am new to blacksmithing, I've only taken a beginner's course, so any
> help would be greatly appreciated!
> >
> > Thanks in advance,
> > Earl Schacht
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