forge designs

[Ragnarok]

hey all,
I've been thinking about building a new forge for a while now and i'm getting a new workshop soon, but i'm not sure what type to build, what do use all recommend, i like the idea of making a brick forge with an up blast, but not quite sure about the firepot design and material, i've heard you can use concrete where half the sand has been replaced with fireclay? is this really heat resistant enough? the other way i was thinking of building it is to make a steel firepot from 1/2" steel plate, but i like the idea of the brick and concrete forge better.

any advice on design and materials would be much appreciated.

Thanks
Rune.

[ThomasPowers]

Rune; please think about this:

I've been thinking about buying a new vehicle; can you tell me what I should get?

Of course I won't tell you if I need it to haul a ton of coal---or commute 200 miles a day on interstates---or have 23 miles of rough trail before I get to a paved road or will be in a overpopulated metro area where space is a premium; or if I need it to hold 8 people, or just 2, or...

I want you to spend *hours* typing out all the options so I can reply "that doesn't suit my needs".

When you ask folks to spend *their* time helping you it's *nice* if you make it as easy as possible for them.


Now for generalities: masonry forges are usually fairly expensive to build, impossible to move around and hard to convert. I've seen a score of shops where the masonry forge is now just a fireproof table for a propane forge. Rather than trying to fake a refractory buy some of the real stuff or use firebricks.

Not knowing if you want to make 6" pattern welded knives or 20' gates sort of limits what I can suggest. Can you tell us your preferred fuel and what type of projects you hope to work on with this new forge? What skills and tools you have? How likely are you to be in the same spot 2,5,10 years from now? What's your budget like? How much time you have to spend on building it? How soon do you need it?, Etc...

[Ragnarok]

sorry if the post didn't seem clear really all i wanted to know is what styles of firepot people had made and in what material I suppose, and if anyone had built a brick forge and what material the firepots brick forges usually were. and if anyone had heard or cement/fire clay as this was described in a guide on building brick forges i had seen.
i need my forge to be able to do almost anything though huge fires will not be necessary I'm not making armour or anvils, but i would need to be able to put pretty large bars in the fire, but really all i wanted ideas on were fire pots, as I've heard varying ideas on what's best especially when it comes to depth some say 2" some say 6" size wise I'd like it to be about 12" round, is there an optimum depth for a size like this, is it better to make it round oval or rectangular? and what materials can be used to make them, I've only used side blast forges before, but the up blast makes a lot of sense to me.
as for cost that that shouldn't be a problem as i intend to make and fire the bricks from clay i dig from my own land so that will be free apart from the coal to fire them, and my time is unlimited pretty much, and as for the the location i hope that my forge will remain there for ever, hence not caring how long it takes to build.
so basically i want a fairly big forge that can except fairly thick long items as for making gates and the like, as well as doing all kinds of other work, pretty much like an old local blacksmiths forge

as for the car, buy a land rover Defender or series 2/3 best cars in the world buy one and you can keep it forever haha.

[Ragnarok]

forgot to mention I like coal but may switch to coke, but i believe forges a pretty much the same for both of those, so that shouldn't affect the design.

Rune

[Dan W]

I've made the Tim Lively type firepot/forge from an oval washtub, used old farm disc's, steel woks, old cast iron sinks. You can use basicaly anything that has a dip or hollow in it, line it with some kaowool, reffractory cement. firbrick or whatever,throw in some charcoal (personal preference)add fire and air and forge away to your hearts content.
First ask yourself 'am I doing this for fun or profit?' If for fun do it anyway you want, if for profit, build the forge for long lasting heavy work.