saint13Klaus Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 Got an old coal forge from my uncle not too long ago and I had a question in regards to the "table" for lack of a better word. Forge has a cast iron firepot that is set into a cement slab within a circular metal frame (hopefully that paints an adequate picture). As far as I can tell it looks like somebody set everything upside down and maybe poured the cement into the frame around the firepot and then flipped her right side up when it was cured (this is 100% uneducated conjecture). As you can imagine the cement is spalling pretty bad by now and it may be time to reconfigure before it eventually dumps a firepot at my feet one of these days. Short story long....besides cutting and welding a steel plate for the table what are some options for fixing her up? -casting the table again but with some refractory? If this route would some rebar be wise? - cement again and just realize I will have to redo every so often? Thank you in advance and sorry for the longish post. Am in Oregon in case that doesn't show up on my profile Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 Can you show us a picture? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swedefiddle Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 Good Morning, Santa Forge Pans were made using Cast Iron or Malleable Iron because the material will take the expansion and contraction fairly easy. Cement has bad reaction to Hot Metal. The surface pops when the moisture that is in the cement expands. You need to talk to someone in your area that works with Chimneys and Fireplaces. Come to think about it, why am I saying that to you, the Master of going up and down Chimneys :>!!!!! Some people use mild steel to repair the Forges, just bolt it to your pan, Don't Braze It. Welcome to the Forum. Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saint13Klaus Posted December 11, 2015 Author Share Posted December 11, 2015 Best I can do until I get home tonight....cast iron firepot in middle...metal frame...cement in between Swedefiddle...thanks for the ideas. Just bolting on the mild plate would have never crossed my mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saint13Klaus Posted December 13, 2015 Author Share Posted December 13, 2015 I know I said I would get this up sooner...worked late Friday and we butchered yesterday. Hope this gives you a better idea if what I'm talking about....still tracking down leads on someplace that specializes in chimneys and the like so I can weigh the options between some type of refractory and a mild steel top. Thanks again everybody. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Welcome aboard, glad to have you. Looks like someone put a fire pot in a rivet forge but that doesn't fit the description you gave. how about a picture of the bottom so we can see what's going on. In general though concrete is a BAD thing in a fire, especially a HOT fire. So, NO don't repeat that mistake. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saint13Klaus Posted December 14, 2015 Author Share Posted December 14, 2015 Here's the underbelly...looking at the cement it may be time to put her away and build that propane forge I've been thinking about until I settle on a fix for this thing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 I'd bust it out GENTLY and put the fire pot in a table. Just cut a hole it'll drop into and rest on the flange around the top. It doesn't need to be anything heavy, 14 gauge is plenty, a couple pieces of angle iron across the bottom will stiffen it nicely. If you use say 2" angle flange UP to make the frame the top can just drop in if it's snug and the flange makes a perfect retainer to hold coal. Ram an inch or so of DAMP clay on the table and she'll last a good long time. Oh don't forget legs and spreaders, a nice shelf across the spreaders is REALLY handy and makes a fine place for the ash bucket under the ash dump. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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