Inswool questions
Satanite questions
APG #36 questions
Bubble Alumina questions
Soft Firebrick questions
Hard Firebrick questions
Sairbond questions
Insboard questions
ITC-100 questions
ITC-213 questions
Nelsonite questions
Mizzou
questions
Kast-O-Lite 30 LI
Ceramic Platen Liner
questions
Wire Rope
questions
Venturi burner
questions
Forced Air
Burner questions
Propane
Regulator questions
POL fitting
questions
Needle Valve
questions
Ball Valve
questions
Forge
questions
Etcher questions
Hydraulic Press
questions
Wire Rope
questions
InsTuff questions
Gate Valve questions
MIG Tip questions
Sch.
80 pipe nipple questions
Ward Tee
questions
Wrought Iron questions
Heat Treating
Salts
Inswool
questions
How thick should I line my forge with
Inswool?The more insulation you have in your forge the
better, to a certain degree. A 1" layer is generally enough for
most forges, however, adding 2" and even 3" can significantly increase the
efficiency of your forge. A more efficient forge uses less fuel and
costs less in operating costs. The tradeoff is you have higher
initial lining costs. A limiting factor is the size of your forge
shell. You do not want to make your forge chamber too small
such that the burner flame impinges directly on the work piece if
possible, be sure to leave enough room for proper burner
positioning. Do I need to coat the fibers in
the Inswool with anything?Yes, Once
you have the Inswool liner in place, you will need to top-coat it with
Satanite and/or ITC-100 to protect the liner as well as stabilize the
fibers in the ceramic fiber blanket once the forge is in use.
Inswool does not present any dangers to the user when lining the forge,
other than an irritant much like fiberglass. However, upon heating
to temperatures above about 1600 degrees F, free silicates can form that
you do not want to breathe. Top-coating the fiber with Satanite
and/or ITC-100 seals the Inswool and keeps everything in place.
If at any point you poke a hole in the Satanite/ITC-100 top-coating,
you'll want to patch the hole with some more Satanite. Also, at some
point in the future when you reline your forge, be sure to wear a
respirator, gloves, and long sleeve shirt and try to directly dump the
lining into an empty trash bag and seal it off. The dangers probably
aren't as great as that last sentence may sound, but it's always better to
err on the side of safety.
You should topcoat the Inswool
with something like Satanite or ITC-100, or you could use a rigidizer such
as InsTuff. We generally recommend a basecoat of 1/4" of
Satanite and then a topcoat of ITC-100. This provides a more robust
coating with the added efficiency obtained from the use of ITC-100.
Generally, for most forges, a five pound bag of Satanite and a half pint
of ITC-100 is sufficient.
More info coming soon!
Satanite questions
How do I mix and apply the
Satanite?
Mix the Satanite to a thick paste...just keep adding water slowly
until you get a pasty consistency that you can paint on with a
paintbrush....roughly the consistency of sour cream. Spray the
ceramic fiber insulation down using water with a hand sprayer to wet it
lightly. Next, apply the Satanite to the wool using a paintbrush,
covering all exposed wool surfaces. To cure it, you want to dry it
slowly. First, let the forge sit for a few hours minimum to air dry
a little, then fire up the forge just briefly and shut it down. Do
this several times, allowing it to cool down in between and increasing the
on-time with each subsequent cycle. You'll see water vapor
evaporating the first few times you do this. Finally, fire it up and
bring it up to full temp to fully cure it. You will probably want
to apply at least two coats of Satanite in this manner...it's a little
time consuming (do it over a couple of day period) but makes for a more
robust coating. a 1/4" layer is a good thickness to shoot for.
If you are going to apply ITC-100 over top of the Satanite, be sure to
fully cure the Satanite first.
Can I use
Satanite for clay coating my blades to produce a
hamon?
Yes, Satanite and APG #36 are two of the
most commonly used "clays" used in the U.S.A. for clay coating knife
blades.
What else can I use Satanite
for?
You can apply a thin wash of
Satanite over your entire blades to aid in keeping scaling to a minimum while heat treating.
APG #36 questions
Which is better for clay coating, Satanite of APG
#36?
There is no real answer to this
question. About 50% of our customers prefer APG #36 and 50% of them
prefer Satanite! It really just depends on your preferences, try a
little of each to see what works best with your
methods.
How do I mix and store the APG
#36?
APG #36 comes premixed. You apply it to your
blade directly from the can, you do not need to mix it with water
(unless you just want it a little more thin). For storage, keep it
in a cool airtight container, such as the one it came in. In
addition, you can top up the container with water to keep the clay from
drying out. Just pour off the water before your next
use.
What is the best
way to cure APG once it has been applied to the interior of the
forge?
Allow it to air dry until a hard
set develops and then fire the forge up slowly to cure it (See Satanite
directions).
How many coats do you
recommend for using APG#36 as a ceramic fiber blanket coating
(Inswool)?
I recommend several
thin coats to build it up to about 1/4" thickness. This just adds a
little more robustness to the forge liner. All you have to have is a
thin wash to stabilize the ceramic fiber blanket.
Can itc-100 be applied to it afterwords?
Absolutely, and I recommend it. Follow the directions
as outlined in the ITC-100 section of this FAQ.
Bubble Alumina questions
How do I mix/apply the Bubble
Alumina?
Mix the Bubble alumina to a troweling consistency
and trowel it in place onto dampened Inswool ceramic fiber blanket
Let it dry for a few hours and then slowly fire up your forge to fully
cure it. This is one of the most flux resistant coatings we have
found, I'm sure you will be very pleased with it!
What thickness coating do you
recommend for the Bubble Alumina and how do I figure out how much to
order?
I generally recommend a coating of at least 3/8" on
the floor of a horizontal or vertical forge. The Bubble Alumina we
carry has a density of about 86 pounds per cubic foot. So what you
need to do is to figure out the surface area of the Inswool you want to
coat. Then take this value of the surface area and multiply it by
the thickness of the coating you want to apply and this result gives you
the volume of the coating you want to apply. If your measurements
are in units of inches, you'll need to convert your volume from cubic
inches to cubic feet. Once you have the value of the coating volume,
you can multiply this number by the density of the material (86
pounds per cubic feet) and the result will be the amount of material in
pounds you will need to acheive the coating at the thickness and surface
area you specified.
Let's illustrate this with an
example. Let's say I have an 8" diameter horizontal tube forge that
is 12" long and I want to coat the floor with Bubble Alumina 1/3 of the
way up the side walls because I'm only worried about flux that falls off
of the billet and lands on the floor, which will immediately degrade my
liner (Inswool). Also, lets say that I put 1" Inswool in the forge
and also have 1" Inswool in the front and rear of the forge. This now
makes my actual forge chamber 6" diameter x 10" long.
1) First lets
calculate the total surface area of the Inswool liner: total area =
Pi * (Diameter)^2 * (1/4) * length
Plugging in the numbers we have: total area =
(3.14159) * (0.25) * (6")^2 * (10") =
282.75 square inches = Approx: 283 square inches (Always round
up).
2) Now if we only want to coat the liner about one third
of the way up, we only want to coat 1/3 of the total surface area
calculated in step (1), thus multiply the result in step (1) by
1/3.
area to cover = (1/3) * total area
area to cover =
(0.33333) * (283) = 94.333 = approx: 95 square inches. (Alway round
up).
3) If we want to apply a coating that has a thickness of
3/8", we multiply the "area to cover" by the thickness of the coating we
wish to apply and the result is the total volume of the
coating:
volume of coating in cubic inches = (area to cover) *
(thickness of coating)
volume of coating in cubic inches = (95
square inches) * (0.375 inch) = 35.625 cubic inches = approx: 36 cubic
inches
4) Now that we have the volume of the coating in cubic
inches, we need to convert it to cubic feet. There are 1728 cubic
inches in a cubic foot, thus we need to do the following
calculation:
Volume of coating in cubic feet = (1/1728) * (volume
in cubic inches)
Volume of coating in cubic feet = (1/1728) * (36
cubic inches) = 0.020833 cubic feet = approx: 0.021 cubic
feet
5) We're almost done! :) Now take the value of
the volume of the coating and multiply it be the density of the material
and you have the amount you need in pounds:
Amount needed in pounds =
(density of material) * (volume of coating in cubic feet)
Amount
needed in pounds = (86 pounds per cubic foot (for Bubble
Alumina)) * (0.021 cubic feet) = 1.806 pounds = approx: 1.81
pounds
6) Notice I always round up a little in my
calculations. You don't want to be caught with too little material
when you go to line your forge, a little too much is ok, but a little too
little is not good! Also, always add in a little for waste and
such. So, if I were going to line a forge with the above dimensions
in this example, I would order a 2.5 bag of Bubble Alumina.
More info coming soon!
Soft
Firebrick questions
How do I make a single brick forge?Take a
look at the Forge Gallery pages for some examples of how to construct
single and two brick forges: http://ForgeGallery.EllisCustomKnifeworks.comHow can I cut the soft firebricks?
The soft insulating
firebricks are very soft. You can cut them using a hacksaw
blade easily. They can also be drilled with a metal cutting drill
bit or even a wood boring bit! Are soft
firebricks resistant to flux?
No, soft insulating firebricks
are not flux resistant. If you are going to use soft firebricks in a
forge that you intend to do forge welding in you will need to use other
measures to ensure protection against damage from flux. We carry a
couple of different solutions to this problem: Hard firebricks,
Bubble Alumina, Mizzou.
Hard Firebrick questions
Are the
hard firebricks flux resistant?
Yes, they are to a certain
degree. They work well in the bottom of horizontal forges to
add some flux protection, however, they should be viewed as a
consumable item in that they will eventually need to be
replaced.
How can I cut the hard
firebricks?
A masonry blade in a chop saw will
work.
Sairbond questions
How do
I mix sairbond for use?
Sairbond
is a high strength air setting mortar for laying fire
brick.
FOR TROWELED JOINTS: The water required is up to 2 ½ gallons
(U.S.) (9.5
liters) of water per 100 lbs (45.4 kgs) of dry
mortar.
FOR DIPPED JOINTS: Add approximately 3 ½ gallons (U.S.)
(13.2 liters) of water
per 100 lbs (45.4 Kgs). Too much water will
reduce mortar strength.
Thin brick joints give best results. Each
joint should be completely filled with mortar.
Insboard questions How can I cut the Insboard to size?
You can use a hack saw, jig saw or a table saw, Insboard
will cut easily.
Is this the material that
is used to line the NC Tool forges?
Yes, it is,
but the Insboard we carry is a better grade and higher density than that
which comes in the stock NC Tool forges. We can easily beat their
prices for a forge relining kit, just send an email with the forge model
and inside dimensions and we can cut your lining to size. For the
floor, they use a kiln shelf over top of ceramic fiber board. We can
supply you with hard firebricks as a replacement, or for even better flux
protection, you can pour the hard part of the floor with Mizzou castable
refractory. Email us for pricing, we will have the lowest
prices.
How do you ship full sheets of
Insboard?
We build a crate to protect full sheets of Insboard
during shipping.
The Insboard is placed on a
piece of plywood:
and
then a frame is built around the Insboard pieces:
next, another sheet of plywood
is sandwiched on top of the Insboard frame:
Finally, the assembly is screwed
together:
This provides adequate protection for 24" x 48" sheets of
Insboard, and is convenient for shipping up to about 4 sheets at a
time. For case quantities of Insboard (12 full sheets), we can
palletize the case and ship it via a freight carrier, which generally
results in a reduced shipping cost compared to Fedex or UPS. Email
us for shipping rates for case quantities of Insboard.
ITC-100
questions
How do I mix and apply
ITC-100?
For ITC-100, the manufacturer recommends to mix it
2:1, so if you have a pint, mix it with a half pint of water. My
experience, indicates that mixing it a little thinner is just as good if
you are using Satanite as a basecoat first. Since you're using the
Satanite as a protective coating, the ITC-100 doesn't need to serve this
function. Mix it thin, and apply the coats evenly. Applying
several thin coats is better than applying a single thick coat.
You'll likely have some left over for future patching. Apply the
ITC-100 over the Satanite only after the Satanite is fully cured.
You can use ITC-100 alone without first applying Satanite, you will just
need to use more of this material.
I
purchased my ITC-100 a while ago and haven't used it yet. It is
starting to dry out, is this a problem?
While most
refractory materials come in dry form, ITC-100 comes partially pre-mixed
in a clay consistency. If your ITC-100 is starting to dry out you
can store it in an air tight container if you like. Just add water
to get it back to its original consistency.
How much
area will ITC-100 cover in a forge?
ITC-100 will cover 6 to 12 square feet per pint, or 3 to 6
square feet per half pint. If you apply a basecoat of Satanite to
your forge first, you can get by with the larger number for square feet
coverage. An additional benefit to doing this with Satanite first,
is that Satanite is cheap and by building up a 1/4" layer of Satanite over
you Inswool liner before applying the ITC-100 your forge will be more
robust.
ITC-213 questions
What is ITC-213 used for?
ITC-213 is made to protect metals and graphite,
including those exposed to molten metals. It helps to prevent steel
and stainless steel parts from erosion, oxidation and fatigue from
prolonged use. It can also be used to protect forge burner nozzels,
pipe crucibles and electric heating
elements. | How do I mix the
ITC-213?
You mix it 3:1 with water, thus, if
you have a pint of ITC-213, you would add 1/3 pint of
water.
How much surface area will ITC-213
cover?
A pint of ITC-213 will cover 18 to 30
square feet. A half pint will cover 9 to 15 square feet.
Nelsonite
questions
As with any stabilizing compound, vacuum stabilizing
is the preferred method to treat your handle material. This can be as
simple as a brake system bleeder pump (available at auto parts stores for
about $28) and a mason jar, or as complex as a motorized vacuum pump and a
pressure/vacuum vessel. Having said that, the manufacturer just recommends
soaking wood in the solution for penetration...and while that's not what
we do, it is the way pool cue manufacturers use this stabilizer. Use the
soaking only method at your own risk! It's easy to build a very simple
hand pump vacuum stabilizer for small batches and in the near future we'll
put up a short tutorial on how to do so. In the mean time, here's a good
link to a simple system, just replace the medical vacuum pump with a hand
pump:
http://www.knifeart.com/thevbycurmwi.html
and
http://www.knifeart.com/awbycurwil.htmlCan I just soak my handle material in the
Nelsonite?Yes, and many people have good success doing just
this. You'll have to test out your material to see if the
penetration is good enough, but I know plenty of people who just give it a
long soak. If you want to ensure there is full penetration every
time, vacuum stabilization is the way to go, but if you're careful to
test, you can just soak for some handle materials.
Mizzou Questions
Below I've added the manufacturers instructions for
Mizzou. They are quite involved for the dryout cycle. In
practice, for applications in homemade forges, where you
are pouring a shell of a limited thickness (typically 2" - 4"), most people
just let it air dry for a
from a few days to a week
at room temperature and then bring the forge
up to temp very slowly by intermittently running the burner for longer and
longer periods of time until you bring the forge up to full temperature...you want to
do this as slowly as possible. If you are just pouring a hard floor
in your forge over top of Inswool, you can be a bit more
flexible in your dry times. The key is to let the Mizzou dry
slowly.
Mixing & Using
Instructions
MIZZOU
CASTABLE
--------- GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS
--------
Material should be stored
in a dry place. Porous back-up materials or wood forms should be
waterproofed. Absorption of water can result in reduced flow for the product. Forms must be stout
and water tight.
This product is designed to be mixed with water and then poured/handcast into place. For
best results, water should be maintained at 50-70F.
---------
MIXING REQUIREMENTS ---------
Approximate Water For Installation: 55 lbs. to 5 pints of water.
Mix for at least
three minutes. For best results, wet mix temperature should be maintained
at 60-75F. Minor adjustments to the amount of water are permissible to
achieve desired flow. Do not exceed 11.0% water under any
circumstances.
--------- INSTALLATION ---------
Place
material promptly. Do not trowel to slick finish. At temperatures above
60F, air cure, keeping surfaces damp and/or covered, for 16-24 hours
typically or until a hard set has developed. Lower temperatures will
increase the time before a hard set develops. The best results are
achieved at curing temperatures of 90-110F. Keep material from freezing
during air cure and preferably until a dryout can be initiated. Freezing
of this product prior to water removal can cause structural
damage.
-------- HEAT UP SCHEDULE --------
Never
enclose a castable in a vapor-tight encasement as a dangerous steam
explosion may result.
Typical dryout schedule for a single
layer, 9" thick or less:
ambient to 250F at 75F per hour
hold
at 250F 1/2 hour per inch
thickness
250F to 500F at 75F per hour
hold at 500F 1/2 hour per inch
thickness
500F to 1000F at 75F per hour
hold at 1000F 1/2 hour per inch
thickness
1000F to use temperature 75F per hour
Kast-O-Lite 30
LI
--------- GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS
--------
Material should be stored in a dry place. For best results,
material should be maintained at 50-70F prior to casting.
Porous back-up materials or wood forms should be waterproofed.
Absorption of water can result in reduced flow. Forms must be stout and water
tight. Kast-O-Lite 30 LI is designed to be mixed with water and then
poured/handcast into place.
Add
only clean water suitable for drinking. For
best results, water should be maintained at
50-70F.
--------- MIXING REQUIREMENTS
---------
Approximate Water For Installation = 8.6 pints per 50 pounds of
material.
Mix
for at least three minutes. For
best results, wet mix temperature should be maintained at 60-75F. Minor
adjustments to the amount of water are permissible to achieve desired
flow.
---------
INSTALLATION ---------
Place material promptly. Do not trowel to slick finish. At
temperatures above 60F, air cure, keeping surfaces damp and/or covered,
for 16-24 hours typically or until a hard set has developed. Lower temperatures will increase the
time before a hard set develops. The best results are achieved at
curing temperatures of 90-110F. Keep material from freezing during air
cure and preferably until a dryout can be initiated. Freezing of this
product prior to water removal can cause structural
damage.
-------- HEAT UP SCHEDULE --------
Never
enclose a castable in a vapor-tight encasement as a dangerous steam
explosion may result. Typical
dryout schedule for a single layer, 9" (229 mm) thick or
less:
ambient to 250F (120C) 100F (55C) per
hour
hold at 250F (120C) 1/2 hour per inch
thickness
250F to 500F (120C to 260C) 100F (55C) per
hour
hold at 500F (260C) 1/2 hour per inch
thickness
500F (260C) to use temperature 100F (55C) per
hour
Ceramic Platen Liner
questions
What does a platen liner
do?
The ceramix platen liners are made to
be epoxied onto the metal platen that comes on most belt grinder. The
material has a low coefficient of friction and is very flat. This
often reduces the heating effect of the belts in use as well as helps to
minimize "belt bump" while using finer grit belts. The flatness of
them aids in doing flat grinds and the raised edges help improve defined
plung cuts.
Does the ceramic platen liner arrive
ready to glue on?
Yes, the platen liners arrive
ready to be glued on to your metal platens. You should, however,
ensure that your metal platen is flat and free of any dips or
grooves. You can do this by taking it off of your grinder and
sanding it on a flat plate by hand. It's good to do this to ensure
you are gluing the ceramic platen liner to a flat surface so you don't
create any undue stress on it.
How do I glue it onto my platen?
I always
recommend JB Weld. JB Weld has a high temperature rating than most
other epoxies on the market and has proven to be very effective. If
you use a lesser epoxy, it may be prudent to build a small "lip" at the
bottom of the platen liner that will "catch" it if your epoxy should let
loose.
Are the leading and trailing edges chamfered
to prevent cutting or wearing the belt?
No,
they do not arrive chamfered from us, this is something the user will need
to do if they want. You can do this by roughing the radius in with a
coarse grit belt (1.e., 80 - 120 grit), and then cleaning it up with a
fine grit belt (i.e., 220 - 400 grit), or until you are satisfied with the
smoothness of the transition region. I prefer to use the slack
belt region of my grinder to do this operation. In addition,
some people choose to radius the edges or parts of the edges to assist in
attaining different plunge cut geometries. For instance, I have known
people to leave the upper half with sharp edges, and radius the lower half
edges. This way you can have a sharply defined plunge cut by using
the upper portion of the platen liner, and if you desire a more sweeping
plunge, you can use the lower half. It is up to the user to
determine if this is something they want to be able to do or
not.
How long will the
platen liners last?
As with most things we deal with, the
ceramic platen liners should be viewed as consummable items. They
only cost as much as two or three good grinding belts. The lifetime
you will experience with your ceramic platen liner is dependent on several
factors, such as the frequency with which you grind, whether or not you
use your platen to profile on (not a good idea), etc. They will
eventually wear if you tend to grind in the same position all of the
time. I've been using the same one now for almost 4 years, and it's
still holding up well. If you are a production grinder, turning
out 100 blades a week, you'll get less lifetime. In any case, the
added benefit of using one is wortth the cost of replacement for most
people.
When my platen wears out, how do
I remove it?
Most epoxies will soften with added heat.
Try the kitchen oven or a blow torch to assist in removal.
Wire Rope questions Info coming soon!
Venturi burner questions How hard is the kit to put
together?\
It's not too bad. If you have
access to a drill press, drill index, hack saw, crescent wrench, pipe
wrench, and a 1/4-28 tap you can do the job. If you have access to a
lathe, even better, it will make several of the steps easier. I
include an 18 page step-by-step instruction booklet with images
showing each step with the burner kits.
How large of a forge
will the burner heat up to forge welding temperatures?
This a somewhat difficult question to answer without seeing
the particular forge you plan to build. If we assume a Inswool lined
forge, topcoated with Satanite, and maybe some itc-100, a good estimate
would be 350 cubic inches per burner. Thus, if your forge has a toal
volume of 700 cubic inches, you would want to go with two Venturi
burners. If you're just building a forge for forging in and heat
treating (austenitizing) in, you can go with a larger volume.
Forced Air Burner
questions
Are your Forced Air Burners
plug-n-play?
The kits require the user to put
them together, however, the Assembles Forced Air Burner comes painted and
ready to use once the user couples their blower to the burner and attaches
a regulator to it.
Propane Regulator
questions
Info coming
soon!
POL fitting questions
Info coming soon!
Needle Valve questions
Info coming soon!
Forge questions Info
coming soon!
Etcher questions Info
coming soon!
Hydraulic Press questions Info coming soon!
InsTuff questionsManufacturer's information
directly from the bottle:
Handling Instructions
-
After air drying, Rigidizer provides a harder and resistant, but less
resilient, surface on the material being treated.
- Container should be
tightly sealed upon completion of job.
- Avoid freezing, but if it
occurs, Rigidizer should be thawed thoroughly and remixed.
- One
gallon will cover an area approximately 50 sq. ft. with one brush
coat.
Directions for
Applying
- Remove dirt, grease, and oil from area to be coated. For best results,
surface should be rough or porous.
- Stir Rigidizer thoroughly
before use.
- Allow Rigidizer to air dry at room temperature. If desired, drying time for
thin application may be shortened by using slightly higher
temperatures up to 150 degrees F.
- On some surfaces, two coats
may be required to obtain desired hardness. Allow 4 hours between coats
unless heat is applied to speed drying.
- Rinse equipment thoroughly in
water as soon as possible after application
is complete.
Ball Valve questions
Are
your ball valves the same as the ones available at the local hardware
store?
Likely not. Our ball valves are rated for gas
service use, while the ones available at the local hardware stores are
typically liquid (water) use only.
Gate Valve questions
Info coming soon!
MIG Tip questions
Info coming soon!
Sch. 80
Pipe Nipple questions
What size tap do I need to
use to install a standard MIG tip orifice into the nipple?
A 1/4-28 tap should do the job.
Ward T
questions
Info coming soon!
Wrought Iron questions
Info coming soon!
Heat Treating Salts
How do I rectify my High Temp
Salts?
Carbon rod rectification will
remove
the dissolved nickel and chromium oxides, you'll need to scrape them off
as they are deposited on the rod. You do this by inserting the
carbon rod into the salt when it is up to operating temp and stirring
gently. Be sure to wear all of your protective gear when you do
this. Since most people don't have a good means of checking the
chemistry of the salt bath, I prefer to just rectify via turnover, that
is, I'll change out 5 - 10% of the salt once I start to notice a
significant amount of decarb from the other oxides formed in the
bath. It's a good idea when you first set up your salt bath to make
a reference coupon so you have a gauge for comparison. To do this,
get some high carbon shim stock or feeler gauges. Make sure they all
have the same surface finish on them. Dip one in the salt and soak
for a preset time (5 minutes or so). Once you remove it, wash it off
well and dry it. Use this one as the reference for future
tests. That is, after your salt bath has been in operation for a
while and you think you are starting to see more decarb present, you can
run another coupon through the bath for the same time frame and after
washing and drying it compare the surface finish. Any decarb and
indication that the sale bath needs to be rectified will be obvious if
you've taken the time when you first set up your salt pot with a reference
coupon.
The one nice thing about the barium free salts that we
carry is that you aren't forming barium oxides. With natural drag
out losses in the salt, you'll find you don't have to do a turnover very
often....and the high temp salt is fairly cheap, so it's not too big of an
issue. If we were running large salt baths in a continuous process
line, it would make more sense to check bath chemistry and rectify
accordingly, but since we're so small volume (at least I'm assuming you're
doing reasonably small volumes like me!), it just doesn't make sense to
spend the extra money on analysis costs.
If you feel that you must
add something to the salt bath rather than rectifying through turnover,
there are three methods you can use. One is to add boric acid to the
salt bath and mix it in. (recommendations from references is 125 gm per
100 kg of salt). The other method is the addition of ammonium
chloride to the salt bath to achieve neutrality. Finally, methyl
Chloride gas can be bubbled through the salt bath for rectification
purposes, but most small users will not have this capability.
Personally, for small salt baths, I'll just stick to turnover, it's easy,
safer, and I don't have to pay a chemist to analyze my salt bath so I get
my rectification ratios correct. With a reference coupon I can tell
pretty easily when this needs to be performed.
When I wash my parts off do I
have to worry about how to dispose of the residue?
No, not if you are using Barium free salts such as the ones
we sell. The residue you wash off will contain simple ions of
sodium, potassium, chloride, etc.
Where
can I find a carbon rod?
Search for carbon/graphite EDM rods. You can
find them in sizes from 1/8" (too small) up to as large as 12" diameter
(way too big!) I prefer something in the range of 3/4" to 1" for a
small salt bath.
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