Forge: 12 Quart Pot

My 12 quart pot forge is nearly finished. It has been lined with 3cm thick of the refractory cement discussed in the last post (5cm on the bottom). Since one of the ingredients is concrete, I am having to give it time to cure, so I have not tested it yet. Once curing is finished and the lining appears dry, I will be cooking it, starting at 200F and working slowly up to 450F. When that is finished, I will line the forge with a thin layer of fireplace cement (to protect the refractory cement lining). I'll have to go through the cooking process again to purge the water introduced in the fireplace cement, then it should be ready for firing.

Again, I am using a blow dryer for air. It is possible that I might need to use more than one, given that the volume of this forge is around 10 times the volume of the flower pot forge. (I am using bigger pipe this time, though, so the ability of the blow dryer to provide airflow will be increased.)

In addition to the forge, I used the leftover refractory to make a lid. There was only enough for a 1.5cm thick lid, which may not be sufficient, but I can always add more cement to one side (the only ingredient I do not have a lot of left is sand and that is pretty easy to come by). Also, I will have to cut a hole in the middle of the lid to allow air flow. Since the lid is pretty thin, this may be difficult without cracking it. The benefit of the lid is that I can use it to contain heat when melting metals.

Once the forge is fired, and the refractory mixture tested, I'll post complete instructions on how to make the refractory (assuming it works properly).