Logan Bryant

So just a personal question. What does everyone forge? I picked it up just as a hobby because i love designing knives and thought i would give knife making a try? 

I would like to start with a huge thank you to all of you folks for your advice...ive got the new forge up and running with the kitty litter clay and it works like a charm...in the process of forging my take on a Roman gladius from a ferrier rasp...thanks again gentlemen

Ive seen alot of people talking about that. To get around the clinker issue i went ahead and bout a small tub of refractory cement to coat the inside of the bowl with to add some extra rigidity and hopefully keep the clinker off the clay. On top of that i plan on putting sand in the bottom of the bowl like a gentleman suggested to me yesterday

Sound advice

Can anyone tell me what a good ratio of clay, sand, ash, and water would be to make a washtub forge would be? Can you use clay cat litter? What kind of sand? All help would be appreciated. Thanks

So does this kitty litter clay harden up hard enough to make its own firepot?

Here is where its at so far

So with a hair dryer only having high/low setting, i bought an air control valve. As a start, with the box only being 5 inches deep for the moment whats a safe depth for the very bottom of the bowl in relation to the bottom of the box. Bottom of the pot should be maybe 2 inches above the box?

Genius. Thanks i will keep you updated as i move along over the next day or 2. Thanks again

22" x 22" x 6" frame with a hole cut for 3/4" teuyure..

Thank you so much. You have been a great help. I am currently working on the box and stand for this all to fit into.

I see. Thank you very much

Fantastic sir. Thank you for the help. One last question: would 2" piping be suitable for the tueyere as i use a hair dryer as my blower?

I am in the US and thank you for that information..i would say i am rather ignorant to this field of work as i have only been doing it for a month or so. I did not even think of using kitty litter..would that hold up to temperatures of a coke fire? And how do you recommend i prepare litter to make it into workable clay. 

Thanks, Logan

Hello folks, my name is Logan and I am a brand new aspiring knife maker. Glad to be a part of the community

Charles, clay is not readily available to me where i live..what would u suggest i use to build a design such as this..and in my design im thinking of a way to install a clinker breaker of some sort and also an ash dump..able to be done you suppose??

I apologize and thank you..brand new to this forum. I literally just signed up an hour ago

On 12/24/2015 at 10:16 PM, Charles R. Stevens said:

24" square box, 7 1/2" deap, 3/4" pipe tuyere and a bed inflator with a 3/4" ball valve. 

1x8 lumber but pallet wood can be used, or ? 

I assume this is burning charcoal? And if so, can you also use this design to burn coal/coke?

Hello everyone. Im very new to blacksmithing, as in I've been "making knives" for roughly a month now and im having an issue with my firepot. I burn coke and i have a really big issue with the bottom layer of my coke becoming coated in ash and creating alot of clinker. This in turn seems like it causes me to use much more coke than what i believe is necessary. The walls of my firepot are only ~2.5 inches deep and i do have a clinker breaker but it is recessed below the rim of the hole cut into the bottom of the firepot, and i do not have any type of a grate covering the hole. I can get metal hot enough to forge but coke consumption seems to be an issue...ideas??