[Source] Foamed ceramic board or brick

Rigid, Light, Foamed Ceramic Board or Brick

I’m looking for some ‘foamed ceramic’ refractory product, possibly
sold as kiln insulation or soldering boards. The material I got
about 25 years ago was in the form of kiln bricks, and I’ve been
using 6" x 6" x 1/2" slices as spacers between stacks of dies
forheat treating. Wonderful stuff; light, rigid, very, very strong
for it’sweight, and extremely durable. They material is white, and I
can sawit with a hacksaw blade easily, so it’s really nothing like
the hard, dense ceramic boards that many of you are no doubt
familiar with. Neither is it anything like the soft refractory
firebricks many kilns are made of. I was told years ago that it was
a precursor to the shuttle tiles. I’ve found industrial manufacturer
of what is probably a very similarproduct, but I thought I’d ask
here before I spent any real time tracking it down and looking for a
place to buy small amounts for testing. Thanks, Dar

Google Kaowool board, it’s just what you need

Steve

Hello Dar,

I got my soft kiln bricks decades ago from a company that made
bricks.

They are as you describe. The bricks I got were slightly damaged and
therefore free. This was in TX, and I don’t even remember where the
brick factory was. Anyway, it gives you another track to pursue.

Judy in Kansas, where the turtles are beginning to ignore food and
will soon go uncerground to hibernate.

Since I live in TX & Judy’s comments rang a bell, I’d suggest
contacting a ceramic co in Dallas (sorry forgot the name). I think
they may have fire bricks. Also some arts & crafts schools,
galleries might be able to help you. Sharon Perdasofpy

Thanks, but I don’t think I explained myself well enough. Any kind
of fibrous or crumbly or non-rigid (solid, stiff !) board is not made
from the material I’m seeking. What I have (and want more of) is a
fired ceramic that was first a slurry that was foamed before firing.
The result is light, very porous, absolutely not fibrous. It’s
brittle, as 1/2" thick (6" x6" squares) will break apart if dropped,
likea piece of thin tile. Vey strong though, as I can place a pound
or two of steel dies on one and grab it by the corner with pliers
and escprt the whole stack into the kiln. You can do that with a hard
ceramic honeycombboard (I saw at Indian Jewelers Supply yesterday),
or solid, hard, (and very dense, heavy) ceramic boards I’ve also
used, but not any of the fibrous ceramic products I’ve seen.

No biggie; I’ll find it. ‘Foamed Ceramic’, I shall ‘search’ for
thee…

Dar