Wardj946

Binghamton ny, about an hour south of syracuse

This is both what i was expecting and afraid of lol. Thank you guys for all your suggestions and help. I owe you all a steak on a new grill

Hello everyone. My name is Jeremy and im from upstate New York. I am very new to forging and metal work, but im trying to round up supplies and tools as i can. As with all hobbies money is the issue.

 I was trying to find a good firepot for a forge and, as i am apt to do, i impulse purchased. I have purchased a cast iron Lodge Hibachi Grill from Walmart. It is a pretty solid piece of iron, it has a sliding door under the charcoal grate which provides a decent ambient airflow and i can rig a blower to it in the near future. I am hoping to start with small projects, hence the reason i thought such a small pot would be best. The dimensions are LxWxH: 19.25x11x8.25 (inches) per some website

So now to the problems. I worry the cast iron will not stand up to the heat of metal work without refractory material. I worry if i add refractory, ill lose space for coal, when im already worried its too small. I have no big projects planned at all, but i am concerned the grill is just not big/strong enough. Also my wife is hoping to use this grill for cooking, which i feel is somehow a sin...

I guess the big question is: did i buy something i can make into a forge, or an expensive grill and i will need to get a forge. I am hoping to get others thoughts, tips, or suggestions on where to go from here. PS: this is not my picture, but the grill is the same and stand is similar (im at work and cant get picture of it)

Thank you,

Jeremy