Forge/Fire pot Construction question

pedervisti

pedervisti

Joined
Oct 31, 2008
Messages
249
SO! heres the deal: I am taking a welding welding/metalworking class. so the other day
i asked my tutor if it would be possible to make a new fire pot for my forge
(basically a new and longer firepot so it would be easier to HT Larger blades) in my spare time,
but he rejected and said it wouldn't last more than 3 heats or so, cause it wouldn't be cast iron!?:confused:
Really? i've seen plenty of firepots, which where welded, so if i made a firepot from 1/4" iron plate with nice even welds,
would it burn out on me or is my tutor completely wrong on this?
Thanks

Peder Visti
 
My brother in law is using an old fire pot (really old). I don't know how many uses this thing has, but it's been around. It still has the original hand crank blower and the original ash cork.

Anyway, after all its years of use, it only had 2-3 little holes on the bottom. Personally, I think they were from rust, but I could be wrong. I think he welded iron plates over the holes, or maybe he just weld filled the holes. Either way, he hasn't had a problem since.
 
Hi Peder,

I welded my first fire pot up in a welding class out of 1/2" steel. It sees nearly daily use for a couple of hours in high school blacksmithing classes. Haven't had a stitch of an issue of wear, but we've only been at it for three years. The last fire pot I did was with 1/4" steel. I don't anticipate heat and wear being an issue for a long time to come, but can't speak from any real experience yet because it is only a year old. On the other hand, the one and only cast iron fire pot I have has a crack in it due to heavy rains hitting it while hot. I should add we use hand cranked blowers and don't do much forge welding, so our fires usually aren't white hot. Never the less, the kids manage to burn and melt a fair bit of steel, so they aren't exactly cool either. ;)

Let us know how it goes.

Phil
 
I call BS.
Both my forges are mild steel with refractory concrete lining.
The tuyere of the first is welded rebar to form a grid.
The second is a mild steel disc, about 1/2 thick, with slots cut with an angle grinder with cutting disc. Works like a charm, I've been using it these last 3 years, and I occasionally weld mild steel (much higher welding temp) in it.
If you doubt a steel firepot, build it slightly oversize to allow for a thin (1/4" to 1/2") coating of refractory clay, to be repaired or renewed every now and then.
I found no need for such a lining in the tuyere of both my forges.
 
Mine is made from 3/8 inch thick steel with no refractory. It has been used 10 to 20 hours a week since 1996. So it has seen more than a few heats and I am still using it.
 
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