Got some great info today!!!

[millironknives]

Well I am getting ready to redo the lining on my up right forge and line a new horizontal forge. And I started calling around locally( with in 300 miles or so) I live a long ways from anywhere. And was coming up with some unhappy results as far as a good porable refractory close by and decently priced. So I called Refractories West Inc. 1-800-544-9043 Pueblo Colorado (formaly AP GREEN). Well To make a long story shorter! He told me they are the ones that manufactor Tim Zuwata's forge that he and his father designed ( his father is an retired design engineer for ford I belive). And it is supposed to be one of the best heating horizontal forges designed. Many of you have probably already seen this site but her it is again www.tzknives.com . This is considered a production type forge meaning it is made to be used to hell and back everyday. Any way the refractory they use to build this is a porable refractory named versaflow 57A and is rated for 3000 + degreesThe main beefit of this over a lot of the others out there is that he says they built the first prototype over ten years ago and he is still using this same one with out ever rebuilding it. It is designed to withstand the fluxinf and thermal shock we knifemakers subject are forges to (al the time) and withstand it. He says it is their best porable they have for what we do. it is $51.56 for a 55lb. bag and ahipping ups was only $15.00 to my door. Needless to say I am going to order some asap. He also told me a little bit about the design of the forge of tims and It is plain to see in the picture of the forge in his web site of how it is shaped like a pot belly stove to even out the heat and that the burner port is shaped in a spiral fan shape to swirl the heat to a very even heat. He even told me how to build a porable form out of shaped styrafoam and when finished to poor acitone on it to dissolve the mold. He did warn to keep wall thickness as uniform as possible as the heat disstribution is critical in maintaining the integraty of the forge bogy lining. After you poor you forge body he sai to rap the outside of the shell with your koawool blanket for the insulating factor. Any way he sai hands down this is the best refractory made for knife makers forges. And that tims forge is the best they have seen. Just thought I would pass along the info. As We all know how often a guy has to rebuild of reline a forge because of flus and heat cracking. :evil