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Finally got my forge to hold a steady heat after three days of messing with the air intake
I was trying to forge weld some mild steel for a gate hinge, but the temp kept dropping every time I added fuel. Turns out, my homemade tuyere had a tiny crack I couldn't even see. Spent hours adjusting the blower before I finally found it. I had to pull the whole thing apart and seal it with some furnace cement. Has anyone else had a sneaky air leak ruin their day?
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daniel_cooper3426d ago
Glad you found that crack, those hidden leaks are the worst. @green.noah is right about clay and sand, but for a tuyere I'd use a proper refractory cement like you did. The clay mix can crack again with the heat cycles.
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hannahcraig26d ago
That refractory cement is a good fix, but it can still crack if it's too thick. I saw a tuyere split after a few months because the cement layer was over half an inch. You really want to keep it under a quarter inch and let it cure slow. A thin layer handles the expansion way better.
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Green.noah that clay and sand mix isn't really rated for direct tuyere heat.
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green.noah26d ago
My old coal forge had a leaky seam in the firepot that drove me nuts. I ended up packing the whole joint with a thick clay and sand mix, which finally held. That kind of tiny gap can really wreck your heat control.
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