Thank you all for the replies, it is much appreciated. As for the 10mm walled pipe, yes, definitely heavy and definitely overkill. From that I have learnt not to force buy pipe, especially after using a metal hole saw to painstakingly cut out the burner inlet hole (10 minutes later). It is one of the reasons for contemplating another build to be honest (I would say its about 20kg). That, and to save fuel. Stainless sounds like the way to go, given the pipe I have stays quite hot a LONG time after shutdown (again, likely due to the wall thickness retaining heat). What wall thickness would you recommend for the stainless? A kiln shelf would help, as at the moment I have the piece laying mid air in the forge, which does give even heating, but once I get to forge welding (eventually) I will need some floor protection. Luckily in QLD there are plenty of pottery supply stores, and that isn't a problem. I'm starting to think this current build will be reserved for larger pieces, not needing to be forge welded. Again, beginners big eyes got the better of me. I didn't wet the surface before applying the hardener, which I will do next time. The explanation was great too, people say that you should wet the surface prior, but not why. Give people the details, let them learn. You said that the kiln shelf can sit on the inner liner. Should this be pushed down flat against the inner liner to form it somewhat, then remove it, wet and use the hardener on the flattened inner liner, then put the kiln shelf back in and flatten it again to form fit it, while it dries? After the hardener has completely dried, should the Blakite be used thinly, as a kiln wash? Do I need to re-wet the surface prior to applying it? Also, prior to applying the ITC-100, do I need to re-wet the surface? The Castable Refractory sounds interesting, but if not dried correctly that could also crack, yes? Does a monolithic castable refractory, when dried correctly, have thermal checking as well, seeing as it would only be a single material with the same thermal expansion/contraction properties? I understand that hobby forges are put under a lot more thermal stress than commercial, due to the ability for them to reduce the temperature gradually. Unfortunately a downfall of these forges huh. Okay, now for a left hand turn. What do people think of soft firebrick lined forges, such as the design attached? Soft firebricks cut at the correct angles, blakite mortar and IR coating? I've seen the whole, "brick pile forge" thing, but I understand that circular forges heat better than square due to the vortex effect. Just wondering about the lifespan of such a forge, and the heating qualities when compared to blanket lined forges. Has there been any comparison of maximum heat capacity/heating times between two forges of same internal volume, lined with brick vs kaowool?It would be interesting to do such an experiment (Sorry, scientist coming out in me there). I'm glad I posted in this forum, you guys are very helpful. Thank you, D.