olivia380•15d agoProlific Poster

My old coal forge in the backyard finally gave out after 8 years

Honestly, the firebrick lining cracked all the way through last weekend when I was trying to heat some 1-inch round stock. Tbh, I thought about just buying a new one, but I spent yesterday mixing refractory cement and patching it myself. Ngl, it was a mess, but the fire's holding steady now. Has anyone else had to do a big repair on a homemade forge like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

andrew_shah6915d ago

You mentioning the firebrick lining cracked really hit home. I used to be the guy who'd just scrap anything that broke and buy new. But last year my anvil stand rotted out, and I rebuilt it from some old railroad ties. Messed up my back for a week, but now every time I use it, that satisfaction is real. Makes you respect the tool more, you know? Changed how I see fixing stuff.

johnthompson10d ago

That back pain from your anvil stand, @andrew_shah69, is the real price of that good feeling.

jana_hernandez15d ago

Eight years out of a homemade coal forge is a serious run. I'm just stuck on the one-inch round stock part, that's a huge piece of metal to be heating in a backyard setup. Andrew_shah69 has a point about the fix being satisfying, but mixing your own refractory cement for a repair that critical sounds like a special kind of stubborn. I hope you had good gloves, because that stuff is no joke to work with.