Thanks for the fast response guys. I am planning to weld in this forge once I am skilled enough. I will be doing mostly knifes to start out with, but I hope to do swords and small custom parts eventually. I've done casting + machining to make parts before, and I'd assume forging + machining is pretty similar.
Frosty, you mentioned rigidizing the ceramic blanket before putting the satanite on. Is that a needed step to make the forge last or does it just make construction easier? I'm trying to keep costs down as much as possible, but if its a needed step, or prolongs forge life, I don't mind giving up the cash for it.
I'll make sure to attend some meetings. Looks like there's a monthly meeting at Armand Bayou (A 20 minute drive for me) done by my local ABANA location. I could learn a lot from more experienced smiths. Best of all, it only costs $20/year to participate. I'd much rather do that than spend $200 on a forge that I don't like.
Thanks for your help.