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castatbles and trains

updated sun 7 oct 01

 

Mark/El Rossier on thu 4 oct 01


Okay comrades,

I have two questions:

Does anyone, (preferably in the "lower 48" of the USA) have a great =
recipe for a castable refractory, or know of one already on the market, =
that will take up to 2500 F? I only limit my search geographically so =
that I don't end up looking for a product that has to come from the =
other side of the globe.

And:

Does anyone out there have repeated experience firing a train kiln and =
want to pass on some observations about firing schedule or any other =
general conclusions I should know before building and firing one. I am =
using Robert Sanderson and Coll Minogue's plans from their Log Book =
periodical. Please don't send the "I fired one once and it was a dog" =
sort of responses. I know some love 'em and some hate 'em. I am =
wanting a bit of distilled thought on their performance.

Please send your responses to me since I am currently not a daily =
reader. Thanks gang!

Mark Rossier
Boulder Colorado
markel@indra,net

Michael Ratzmann on fri 5 oct 01


Yes Look up under www.artistpotters.com under White&frederik there you will
find a recipe for a castable refractory.

Greeting from Austria

Michael
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mark/El Rossier"
To:
Sent: Thursday, October 04, 2001 5:53 PM
Subject: Castatbles and Trains


Okay comrades,

I have two questions:

Does anyone, (preferably in the "lower 48" of the USA) have a great recipe
for a castable refractory, or know of one already on the market, that will
take up to 2500 F? I only limit my search geographically so that I don't
end up looking for a product that has to come from the other side of the
globe.

And:

Does anyone out there have repeated experience firing a train kiln and want
to pass on some observations about firing schedule or any other general
conclusions I should know before building and firing one. I am using Robert
Sanderson and Coll Minogue's plans from their Log Book periodical. Please
don't send the "I fired one once and it was a dog" sort of responses. I
know some love 'em and some hate 'em. I am wanting a bit of distilled
thought on their performance.

Please send your responses to me since I am currently not a daily reader.
Thanks gang!

Mark Rossier
Boulder Colorado
markel@indra,net

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Michael Mandaville on sat 6 oct 01


On Thu, 4 Oct 2001 09:53:53 -0600, Mark/El Rossier wrote:

>Okay comrades,
>
>...
>
>Does anyone, (preferably in the "lower 48" of the USA) have a great recipe
for a castable refractory, or know of one already on the market, that will
take up to 2500 F? I only limit my search geographically so that I don't
end up looking for a product that has to come from the other side of the
globe.
>
>...
>
>Please send your responses to me since I am currently not a daily reader.
Thanks gang!
>
>Mark Rossier
>Boulder Colorado
>markel@indra,net

Hello, Mark.

It is often mentioned that when someone asks a question on the internet,
there are often other people who have the same question in mind. I, for
example, am also looking for a good refractory.

In his book "Contemporary Ceramic Formulas", John Conrad lists seven
castable refractory formulas, all of which make use of portland cement. My
understanding is that the purpose of the portland cement is to hold the mix
together until the firing, at which point the cement then starts to break
down, and the clay begins to take over.

Since only a small percentage of cement is required in the overall mix,
there seems to be sufficient room left for the stage-two binder, namely,
the clay. After this, it is of course necessary to control the shrinkage,
so silica sand, quaker puffed rock, or organic matter are brought onto the
stage, so to speak.

The various formulations seem to vary so widely in their compositions that
perhaps the best thing to do would be to simply understand the functions of
the various components, keeping in mind that the whole will always be
greater than the sum of its parts, and then stir up your own. That's what
I plan to do. Good luck.

Michael Mandaville
Austin, Texas