Review on Castable Refractory Cement by Rutland Products by Robert Aiono

I am very satisfied with this product, it is a pity that some people have problems with it. This is a true dry premix for concrete, so you *must* follow certain rules. Be sure to follow these rules (google it if you're not familiar) and you should get great results. Comments and opinions are my own, so be careful. The 6:1 water ratio in their instructions is really the maximum water ratio for mold casting where you need to fill small or thin high density parts. I like less water, even for pouring molds, and even more for open face or trolling work. The smallest amount of water for the desired consistency is good. If trawling on a dry surface, wet the surface first and maintain humidity by chilling unglazed pottery, brick, etc. (wet surface first and wait, repeat until it dries as quickly). Use peanut butter consistency or ball toss. test as needed. But anyway, once it hardens, keep it moist! I add water and seal a garbage bag over my freshly made "green" casts and leave them in the sun for at least a few days if possible. My results have been very hard and strong castings with great surface density, detail and smoothness. In an electric kiln at my operating temperature of 1475g I get strong, dimensionally stable, precise molds for glass forming and kiln pressing, that's what I've tried so far which has worked. Photo shows Rutland's curved formwork and some float glass details. Width 16 inches. Final dimensions after firing are difficult to estimate when using ceramic clay molds due to the normal shrinkage of the pottery from the raw clay to the finished fired piece, so I really appreciate the minimal dimensional change from the first cast to the piece. I've even successfully inserted pre-fired ceramic tiles with half of the tile sticking out of the Rutland backing to form the glass structure. I expected that one of them would probably crack on firing, but it didn't and the tile are pieces still tight. They added some kind of refractory fiber to this material to prevent cracking, and it works. Oh, and a tip for removing the lid: Use a spring clip on the lever's tab (see side of lid) with a rubber mallet. You may need a small piece of wood against the bottom edge of the lever so the clamp can really grab it and the latch is completely free of those teeth. Inside. A person's work. :)