Well I made a mini forge out of a 3.78L paint can. I left the wire handle in place.
I used Plaster of Paris and washed sand. The mix is 50/50 with water but you don't have to be super accurate. A little more or less won't matter. But caution adding water. Add little at a time to get a heavy pourable mix as if you're pouring for a fence posts.  You'll need a 1.8 kg box of Plaster of Paris and the same in washed sand for this size paint can. 

Okay...so to start.....

First ... I drilled four 1/4" dia clearance holes for 1/4-20 x 3-1/2" L carriage bolts and placed them at 45° from the center of can. These are leg stands. The dome heads become the actual feet rests. I sandwiched the bolt ends with two washers and two nuts for each one. I loctited these and quickly tightened.

Second....I drilled a 3/4" hole thru on the right side about 1-1/2" from the bottom and on a line drawn from handle to bottom. I placed an approx 2-1/2" L chunk of 3/4" dia steel tube into the hole leaning upward and temporarily held in place with hot glue. The inside dia of this tube has to allow your propane nozzle to fit into it. Check this. 

Third....I used a wine bottle as a mold for creating the cavity. But once you pour you have under 10 minutes to get it out or you will be breaking it out. Oil or wax the bottles outside surface to help get it out. A plastic bottle might be better but finding the right size is not easy. Once you pour check every couple minutes and wiggle the bottle some to ensure removal. When the mix is fairly firm carefully remove the bottle. Immediately after bottle removal use a wooden dowel and push out the Plaster of Paris mix that filled your torch access tube and empty. I used a round file to help clean it out.

Now you wait. Let it harden up. I waited an hour and then tried it. It was nice. Let sit over night before actually using. 
Cheers! 
MrRick

Thanks for the how-to.

You're more than welcome lew. Hopefully it will help if you decide to make one. Cheers!

Hey that's really cool Rick. Been dabbling a bit in blacksmithing myself, your forge is a great budget homemade setup easy for all of us to make and use, have you tried it out yet and what'd ya heat up with it?

Used it many times and it works fantastic. Cost was only a few bucks for the plaster of Paris. I use it when I'm heat treating my new plane blades for my moulding planes.

I had a chance when I was an apprentice welder in the shipyard to work in the shop where they formed the molds for castings and helped pour the castings for the ships in the shipyard. It was a rewarding experience That was back in the 60's.

Edited February 15Feb 15 by Al B

I love making tools. Making blades, etc and going thru the heat treatment process, and then sharpening is very rewarding.

I bookmarked a forge several years ago and just have not had the need to do it. It really looks simple.

It's pretty simple and easy to make. Lots of fun!