How much fire clay to line rivet forge pan

I'm new to this and I've managed to obtain a rivet forge to ruin some perfectly good scrap steel with. How thick of a fire clay layer do I need to line the forge pan and how much of the tuyere should I cover if at all? Thanks

Reply to
jimstro
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Jimstro, there is really no need to line the forge unless it is a very thin casting. things to remember with a cast forge are

do not douse the fire with water the shock of the water on the hot cast can make it crack. just rake the fire apart it should go out by its self in 10-15 min save the coke to start your next fire with

do not leave ashes and coal in the forge when it gets wet (if you store your forge outdoors) you get some fairly concentrated acids that will eat away the forge, I have seen more forges distroyed this way than any other.

if you do go ahead and clay your forge you > I'm new to this and I've managed to obtain a rivet forge to ruin some

Reply to
Mark Parkinson

LOL....thanks for the info Mark...and for helping me clean out my nasal passage with coke (the cola version). I tend to be a bit impatient at times and the last line may have saved me some serious grief! I'm actually using charcoal in this thing so far. Is this a sin of some sort? Seems to work well. I just happen to work at a place that has tons of scrap 4''x4'' end cuts and the owner of the company loves it when I haul off a trailer load of the stuff. I'm really a newbie at this and I am just learning the idea of fire control. Up to this point I've just piled the charcoal in and cranked the blower until I had nearly all of it glowing. Puts out some serious heat...at least in my very green (nice way of saying it) opinion. But when the hawks and buzzards are using your thermals to gather altitude, I guess its time to back off. I'm going to lay off the clay and the blower crank for a while and see if I can learn to make the fire work for me instead of against my forge and iron. Thanks Again jim

Reply to
jimstro

no sin... you will find you need a deeper fire than with coal or coke and you have to deal with fly ash but it was the first fuel that blacksmiths used .....well that and dried dung but thats just pushing the envelope way too far :)

I just happen to work at a place that has tons of scrap 4''x4'' end

well its either that or get used to visits from your local FD :)

I'm going to lay off the clay and the blower crank

have fun ...hit it hot ....quit when its done

just finished my new forge for demos take a look (no clay here)

Mark

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Reply to
Mark Parkinson

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