ceramic tile forge floor?

[Harry Mathews]

Has anyone used ceramic tile for the floor of a forge? I have a forge I am getting ready to rebuild and thought I might try ceramic tile for the bottom. I have used pieces of ceramic on the bottom of a forge before to provide a more durable floor and better heat circulation. It holds up well to regular forging heat, but I don't know about welding heat and flux. It is cheap and readily available locally. My rebuilt forge will be verticle and the bottom removable so the floor will be easy to get to and replace.

[DiamondG Knives]

Ive never tried tile, but I line my vertical forge floor with about 2" of kitty litter. Its easy to remove and protects as well as insulates the floor. Just my $0.02

God Bless
Mike

[Harry Mathews]

Thanks Mike. I like the words "easy to remove". I thought that someone might have tried the tile. I guess I'll give it a shot and see how it goes.

[DiamondG Knives]

My only concern with the tile is the silica content, dont know what ists made of, but at what temp will it melt?

[Harry Mathews]

I had some ceramic chips on the floor of an old forge (gas) that I was using to make some cable damascus. It was just used to let the steel heat more evenly. It didn't melt but the flux stuck it together pretty good. That is where I got the idea to use it for the floor of the forge that I was going to rebuild for forge welding. I will have plenty of room to put a few inches of cat litter on top of it, so I think that it might work.

[DiamondG Knives]

Harry Please let us know how it woks. There are a lot of things we all do and know that we take for granted. Someone had to do it first! Keep us posted!

God Bless
Mike