4oclockshadow

Hello and thank you for the replies.  I did line the fire pot/duck's nest, but left the rest of of the pan stay as is.

Hello.  I have acquired an old Champion 407 forge and am restoring it, but oddly enough the forge has a circular firepot and a dish of sorts that sits in the middle of the firepot.  I have not seen this anywhere on the net, including the Champion Forge History group.  I am pretty sure the dish in the photo is a Champion item as it is heavy cast and has bolt holes that match up with the firepot and vent/clinker breaker underneath (see photo).  

The question I have is if the firepot is supposed to be lined with clay-sand or refractory cement to the level of the dish OR should I just leave the dish out??

The other option--working with coal/coke under this dish does not make much sense.  

I really hope someone can sort this out as I would really like to finish this thing and start using it.  Thx.