you telling me the old timers waited??? ,,
- Thread starter Grouser
- Start date
EdCaffreyMS
"The Montana Bladesmith"
I guess I'm one of those "old timers", but yes, I wait until things cure naturally. I learned my lesson by "firing" a propane forge that had been sitting for a week...and I simply couldn't stand it anymore. After about two hours of steaming, hissing, and me thinking everything was going great....the lining collapsed in on itself. $250 of castable refractory down the drain, plus all the time and effort getting the forge built.
Next one I left sit for over 2 months, with a 100w light bulb hanging inside...... that one still steamed a tiny bit once it hit about 1700F, but that forge ran nearly daily for over 5 years before it required any repairs! The hint there is.....IF YOU FEEL YOU MUST speed up the curing, do it as gently as possible! It would be difficult to do with that forge, but something I have done myself, after allowing thing to cure for a week or so, was to sit the forge atop a wood stove, and let the heat from the stove help cure it out. It will still shorten the linings lifespan, but I doubt it would crumble or fall out the first few firings as I've seen many do that were force cured.
I'm actually a bit surprised that others haven't told you..... "it's olk, build a fire in it!" Those are either the "armchair" crowd, or are not sure, and wanting to see what happens when you do it...... so they can learn from YOUR mistake.
In the end, you're gona do whatever you want, but if you "fire" that thing too soon, before things have cured..... you will end up replacing the lining. If not immediately, far before it's due time.
Next one I left sit for over 2 months, with a 100w light bulb hanging inside...... that one still steamed a tiny bit once it hit about 1700F, but that forge ran nearly daily for over 5 years before it required any repairs! The hint there is.....IF YOU FEEL YOU MUST speed up the curing, do it as gently as possible! It would be difficult to do with that forge, but something I have done myself, after allowing thing to cure for a week or so, was to sit the forge atop a wood stove, and let the heat from the stove help cure it out. It will still shorten the linings lifespan, but I doubt it would crumble or fall out the first few firings as I've seen many do that were force cured.
I'm actually a bit surprised that others haven't told you..... "it's olk, build a fire in it!" Those are either the "armchair" crowd, or are not sure, and wanting to see what happens when you do it...... so they can learn from YOUR mistake.
In the end, you're gona do whatever you want, but if you "fire" that thing too soon, before things have cured..... you will end up replacing the lining. If not immediately, far before it's due time.
