Philip West Posted November 30, 2008 Share Posted November 30, 2008 I have heard a lot of guys say they are using stainless steel plates to weld on to protect the bottom of their gassers..Im still welding in my coal forge because I dont have anything in my gasser to protect the floor from flux..I was looking at a knife supply outfit and they sell 304 stainless in 0.034 thick sheets..Would this grade and thickness be ok???? You have to take Life by the throat, then you need to chocke it until it spits up what you want!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David D. Posted November 30, 2008 Share Posted November 30, 2008 (edited) We have an atmospheric propane forge made by Chile Forge company and when welding it needs something to protect the floor from the flux. We tried stainless steel for a while, and it worked but only for a short time, because after the second use it radically warped and turned more brittle and weak than glass. So its not worth it. what IS worth it though is ceramic tiles. and Chile forge has started selling them to: Forge Accessories they held up much better and last longer. A bit fragile yes, but better than crazy warping stainless steel sheets inside your gas forge! Edited November 30, 2008 by David D3 I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend" J.R.R. Tolkien www.CedarloreForge.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Keyes Posted November 30, 2008 Share Posted November 30, 2008 The problem with putting hard material in the floor of the forge to protect it is that the hard stuff (brick, castable, steel, what have you) sucks up heat and makes the forge slow to come up to temp. My solution is two forges. I have a vertical that I do nearly all of my forging in, and a horizontal for welding projects (it doubles as the smaller of my two heat treat forges). That works pretty well for me. In the days when I only had one forge, I would put a kiln shelf in the bottom of the forge. The local pottery supply place has boxes of broken ones, I just found one about the right size and trimmed it with a tile saw. Geoff "The worst day smithing is better than the best day working for someone else." I said that. If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing badly. - - -G. K. Chesterton So, just for the record: the fact that it does work still should not be taken as definitive proof that you are not crazy. Grant Sarver Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert washburn Posted November 30, 2008 Share Posted November 30, 2008 The problem with putting hard material in the floor of the forge to protect it is that the hard stuff (brick, castable, steel, what have you) sucks up heat and makes the forge slow to come up to temp. My solution is two forges. I have a vertical that I do nearly all of my forging in, and a horizontal for welding projects (it doubles as the smaller of my two heat treat forges). That works pretty well for me. In the days when I only had one forge, I would put a kiln shelf in the bottom of the forge. The local pottery supply place has boxes of broken ones, I just found one about the right size and trimmed it with a tile saw. Geoff All you need to do is put cat litter in the bottom.When it gets full of flux and junk take it out and throw away.It will come out in one piece. Robert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip West Posted December 1, 2008 Author Share Posted December 1, 2008 Really? How does the cat litter react to the heat?? You have to take Life by the throat, then you need to chocke it until it spits up what you want!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blake fenton-williams Posted December 1, 2008 Share Posted December 1, 2008 Cat litter holds up fine I have used it for years, the moltenflux binds it together but doesnt get through to the floor of the forge, and like KYBOY said it can be taken out as one piece when its cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guarnera Posted December 1, 2008 Share Posted December 1, 2008 Cat litter holds up fine I have used it for years, the moltenflux binds it together but doesnt get through to the floor of the forge, and like KYBOY said it can be taken out as one piece when its cool. Well, I use both. Jim Hrisoulas recomended this to me. He uses kiln shelf cut to the size to fit your forge with cat litter under it. It doesn't take much longer to heat up. The kiln shelf catches the flux, and if you get careless and let the flux leak (eat) thru the self, the cat litter will catch it. Works for me. Tony G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Richards Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 Dry welding anyone?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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