Overheard a guy at the scrap yard talking about his forge lining

He was telling another smith he mixes a little bit of wood ash into his clay for the forge floor. Said it helps the lining handle the heat changes without cracking as much. I tried it with about a cup of ash in my last batch, and my little coal forge has held up way better over the winter. Has anyone else tried something like that, or have a different trick for keeping a forge lining solid?

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1 Comment

michaelrodriguez10h ago

Mixing wood ash sounds risky, I've always found a pure clay mix to be more reliable for me.