I just picked up an old hand crank forge. It is round about the diameter of a 55gal drum made by a forge company in lancaster, pa. The old guy I purchased it from said I need to put a clay lining in it. I looked around for pictures of what I need to do and can;'t find anything. the lip on the side is about 6" tall and the blower blows from the bottom middle. Anybody know of any pictures floating around?

Putting a clay lining in it doesn't hurt but may not be absolutly needed. Don't stress out about the clay. Get dirt from the bottom of a hole in your back yard, damp it down a little, and you are golden. Time and heat will do the rest.

do i make it concave and cover to the top of the ring or do i put down a thin 1 inch coat on the bottom? I've never seen a forge with a lining. I just see them in use with coals in them. (I'm a newbie, can you tell>)

An inch is plenty good.

just dampen the clay enough it sticks together when squeezed hard in your hand and doesn't leave your hand dirty. Then ram it in with a wood mallet or a short piece of 2x4 and a hammer. When it's hard smooth it and score it.

Smooth because less will stick to and into it if it's smooth. And scoring will make weak points that will shrink check where you want it. Scoring is using a blunt blade like a butter knife to make a shallow cut, 1/4" is plenty. A spiderweb pattern works well in a round pan forge.

Let it dry and put it to use.

Frosty

rather than clay, I just refurbished a forge similar to yours by adding a steel firepot and top plate. I have used it a bit, and it works well, I think. The one thing I would do differently is to use thicker steel for the firepot.

http://www.iforgeiron.com/forum/f85/rebuilding-forge-13241/index2.html#post124121

#12

Here is a pic. the center is about 12" dia and cast steel. Should i put clay on the outside?

The clay is to protect the metal from the fire. That's it!
Phil

The clay also serves to keep the corrosive compounds from the ash for working on the iron. Iron that has been through the fire and not cleaned up tends to rust more quickly.
Look at some amature welding jobs.