Drizma

Thanks!

Ha, the bridge stuff was pretty interesting actually. What exactly /is/ fireclay? I've seen it mentioned a bunch, but no consensus on what it is. I'm planning to add a clay layer to the outer circle, make cuts in the clay to help it expand, make a fire in the inner, cover up the pit, and use the air tubes to slowly increase the heat. One that's done, I'll either do the opposite and layer the lower pit with clay and make a fire in the outer, or just make a plate to cover up the center and leave it as dirt. Might be easier.

The main project is a fire pit, not the forge itself. That'll just be a bonus. I'm thinking of putting clay into the bottom of the pit, so it's easier to collect the ash. I could probably use it for firing clay too. That's why I'm looking for ways to insulate the clay.

Oh, not to worry! I've got a pretty good handle on how to make charcoal. That does remind me though, would charcoal dust work well as an insulator? Maybe aquarium sand? I've heard that's helpful too. Do you think grinding sand to a powder before mixing it in would help or hinder the clay?

Sorry about the late reply! I got sick for a few days and ended up forgetting about the post. I couldn't find the introduction thread, so I'll think of something to write of my profile. I'm currently making a fire pit, and after some advice, I'm planning to make a smaller pit in the center, connect it to two pipes (one on each side), cover it with either clay or refractory brick, and use it as a solid fuel forge, or maybe just to melt things down for later. Of course, I'll be making something to cover up the inner pit when it's not in use.

Hi, you can probably tell by the question, but I've just started looking into this type of thing. I was harvesting clay to make my own bricks for a fire pit (potentially a forge), but I found out that normal bricks wouldn't work very well in a high temperature forge. I saw a few videos about people making simple forges, some of which used clay, but they all seemed to disagree on how effective clay is, and what you can add to it to improve its qualities. I've been looking into high temperature bricks and mortar, but I don't want to have wasted all the time I spent filtering out impurities from my clay. Is there any way I can use it in a high temperature forge?