Hi fellas,

I built a forge firepot from a brake rotor, it is only about 3" deep so I added a taper bored hunk of steel to the bottom with a triangle clinker breaker which gave it a 4" depth . I was planning to mix perlite and mortar to make this taper continuous to the top of the brake rotor, thinking this would protect the bolts and nuts from the heat. the final shape of the firepot would be 2" dia. at the bottom and a taper to 9" dia. at the top.

Maybe I can skip this step though and just start forging . What do you think?

 

Just start forging after using it for a little bit you will see what and if you need any modifications

Just use mud, preferably a dry adobe mix (1 part clay 2 parts sand) this will patualy vitrify and is as cheap as dirt. 

You are WAY over thinking your fire pot. It doesn't need to be more than a hole or trench in hard packed sandy clay. No insulating media is required or heck even desirable. Just hammer DAMP sandy clay in place with a mallet till the mallet bounces and burnish it with a piece of cloth to a smooth finish. That's it, all there is to it if you have about 6" under the hot spot you can make one of these on a wooden table.

Frosty The Lucky.

Thanks for responding folks, I know I'm putting more effort into this forge than I need to. I read a lot of material on here and this forum has been a great help. 

I guess my hang up is I want to build a forge that I'm satisfied with and I don't want to do it twice.

oscer

Your level of satisfaction is likely to change mate, so is your skill level and your forge, make it now and get into making the steel hot

Wanting to buy and or build the perfect tools equipment, etc. is a common beginner mistake in this or any craft. This early in the learning curve you have no experience to judge what is or isn't good, let alone a lifetime keeper. Believe me, I don't even know how many propane forges I have let alone built. Heck, I have 3 coal forges and I don't burn coal.

Wanting to get things right so you don't have to redo them is a good thing but it can be an unrealistic goal too. Ever listen to a teenager getting close to legal driving age talking about the perfect car he's going to get? Doesn't know how to drive, no idea what he's going to need a car for or what he can afford but he's planning every detail you betcha. . . Yeah, that was me, I was in LOVE with gull wing doors and even had plans for a 300sl Mercedes.

Sorry, I get carried away, you're just like most all of us at one point or another and it's hard not to do it at my age. Build something that will hold the fire and work, learn to use it and plan the next one. You will anyway even if you build the one you think is perfect, you'll be planning the next one almost immediately on lighting it. Honest, you will.

Frosty The Lucky.

Build a forge, any type or style forge, and start playing in the fire. As you learn what type and style heat THAT forge produces, you will gain forging experience, or hammer time. You will find you may want a different type or style heat, so build another forge. You can now compare the two forges and choose which is better for your next project.

Currently I have two working forges located side by side. I have 3 different shape brake drums waiting to be turned into forges. I suspect one will not be satisfactory due to the shape, but the other two hold promise. Do I need 5 forges, no, but I can certainly use the one that gives the best type and style heat for the project at hand.

If you want to save some time then look at the size and shape of commercial fire pots. They did not get that shape  by accident. They were developed for the type and style fire the blacksmiths needed and for the size work they were doing.

Edited August 9, 201510 yr by Glenn

Hello again fellas,

 As always I appreciate your replies. So the perlite / mortar mix is in the fire pot and it is curing, hope to put a fire in it this weekend and see what happens. Really like the idea of packing clay into the pot but  already had the mortar on hand. one thing that may be nice about the design I settled on is that every thing is bolted together so it can be taken apart and altered as needed.

oscer

Hang a light bulb close over it and it'll cure much more quickly. A fan helps too but not as much.

Frosty The Lucky.

That's a good idea Frosty. My thoughts were to bake it in the oven for about 4 hrs. at a couple hundred degrees be fore firing it.