MarcAFK

Thanks for the suggestions, I don't intend to use that can for anything being heated, the last thing I want is metal fume fever. Ive read that post about the box of dirt, which is what made me decide that a wheel packed with clay would be good enough. I plan on using the easiest joinery methods to get something working, then later when I obtain better materials I'll weld something up more durable. That axe stub isn't welded on, but I do plan on using it for a horn I can either use the cutoff bottom plate for the top surface of the hardy hole and to reinforce the horn, or alternatively I could flip the rail upside down and get a large consistent harden-able plate, though it would require a ton of reinforcing, it's probably not worth the extra effort unless I find I can easily preheat the whole thing to prevent that thinner top plate from warping as the reinforcement welds cool.

Everybody starts somewhere, and after viewing countless videos showing different types of forges I finally decided to bite the bullet and build something simple. What I have so far: A wheel, a 30 pound chunk of rail, and countless different tools, scrap steel, etc. I can weld and grind but not well, I expect to gain some skill during the project, but for the start it'll be as simple as possible. I plan on burning charcoal, I'm working on a retort but for now I might either buy charcoal, or use wood, wood will require a good hood that burns the smoke off as well as the dodgy rocket stove I built a few weeks ago. Critique and suggestions welcome.