[TheForge] Firepot

[A. Vida]

Rick Crawford wrote:
> 
> Hi guys, etc. -
> 
> I have a problem that i am not sure about.  My firepot is all of a sudden
> very loose in the forge.  I cleaned it out and looked all around but cannot
> find any means of holding it in place.  I am usually pretty good at such
> things, but this is an antique, and maybe the holes or whatever have rusted
> away and filled in.  I have taken a couple of pictures, and will try to get
> them to the photo site before I send this email.
> 
> I looked in the Centaur Forge catalog and ti looks like all the modern ones
> have a large lip with holes for bolts around the firepot.  Is that what has
> burned away on mine?  The lip in the forge itself, under where the firepot
> sits is only about a quarter inch wide.

	I'm not sure a firepot needs to be secured fast to the forge.
	First, they are usually pretty heavy; heavy enough that they
	will not dance much, given the forces that are applied to them
	during normal use.

	If the pot isn't giving you any problems, I might recommend you
	not attempt to fix that which is not broken.

	If it is giving you trouble, then perhaps you can get some high
	temp refractory (I think I would recommend clay over cement, but
	am not certain about that) and bed the pot into the forge using
	a very dry, doughy bit of it and let it dry out.  Unless you are
	banging on the forge itself or are poking at the lip of the pot
	laterally, I see no reason it should move about or leak any of the
	blast.