Hey all, I’m in the research phase for buying a fixture table, and am considering one of the “dragon scale” Fireball Tool tables as a potential option. I’m curious what the expected maintenance looks like for cast iron with Dragon Scale as the years go by. I’ve got plenty of other tools with cast iron tables, and I have a maintenance regime that I’m happy with for those. But I’m unsure what one is supposed to do with Dragon Scale as it ages and is subject to the abuse welding tables are put to. Obviously I hope it will stand up to my use for a number of years. But what should we expect to do as the surface ages and the Dragon Scale is damaged? I’m assuming that it’s not really viable for us to recoat the table at some point, and so sooner or later you’ll have more and more exposed cast iron. My understanding is that the Dragon Scale tables have only been on the market a few years, and so there is no one who can say how the coating ages over a decade of use? Or is dragon scale just the Fireball Tool brand name for an established coating, and there’s actually a long track record established?
Thanks for any insight that you all may have.
Anyone from Fireball Tool available to comment on this? There’s a bunch of info on your site about how great this table surface is but it’s light on specifics, and there’s a serious lack of detail about exactly what it is, or how to care for it properly. I see that my post isn’t the only unanswered question on this general topic in the forum. The competition is nitrided tables, which is a known quantity to a lot of people, but your product is supposed to be unique, and thus potential buyers like myself can be expected to have some questions before deciding to buy.
Like anything, Dragon scales life depends on how its treated. Is there abuse or neglect? The Dragon scale can be removed with abrasive if neglect is present, just like nitride. Dragon scale has a limited thickness. The Dragon scale is the first line of defense against spatter and rust. The Dragon scale really isn’t necessary, because the table material is cast iron. Cast iron Its has super powers when it comes to spatter and heat. Even if the Dragon scale is removed the table will still perform well. Steel tables require a protection from Dragon scale or nitride to prevent the spatter form sticking, cast iron doesn’t. Any visual scratches are just cosmetic and don’t impede the tables performance.
Fireball has videos on table maintenance. Nothing changes with the Dragon Scale. If you want the Dragon scale to continue to have spatter performance a quick wipe with the Dragon scale oil helps keep the table looking good and helps the spatter.
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Is dragon scale similar to bluing?