Thanks to @lesliervillarreal and @Judy_in_Kansas, for bringing up the subject of heat caves.
I created one out of hard fire bricks in my previously large work space. But now I’m soldering on my bench with little available space, but I’ll be in business if I can determine how to make a small heat cave that is easily moved.
In the archives, Jay Whaley @Whaley_Studios gave directions for an annealing cave, made from an old ammo box completely lined with solderite boards. It’s not too big on the bench and it’s great for annealing, but I wonder if it holds enough heat to be a heat cave. Would it hold more heat if I used soft fire bricks instead of solderite on the sides? Although there is not much room inside for thicker walls.
I’m thinking about lining a shallow box with a Silquar soldering pad on the bottom, soft fire brick on the sides, topped with a solderite board. The Silquar board is thin (height issue on bench top), the soft fire bricks are easy to cut (to custom fit into the box) and the solderite is lightweight (the loose top piece).
The box makes it portable and holds the walls in place, but maybe a better solution for the walls would be to somehow attach the bricks together at the sides.
Does anyone have a solution for making a moveable heat cave for soldering on the bench?