The glory hole furnace

Before you cut off the back: Some sort of radiant heat deflecting shield might be worth while. I could see a piece of roughly 1 foot square 1/8 thick steel with a maybe a 1" slot cut from a side edge to the center sitting a few inches in from of the furnace. That sheet could be on a hinge so it swings like a closet door so it could swing out of the way when inserting a tong-held piece into the cavity of the furnace. Once the piece is where it needs to be, swing the heat shield into position so that the slot accommodates the tong reins. Keeping the back surface of the furnace intact might considerably improve its efficiency. The shield might also allow for a place to balance and rest the tong as the part heats.

Denis

 

Now that's using the ol noggin Dennis. Thanks.

 

From your other post, it sounds like you need a shelf on it to pre-heat your molds.

 

I got a door mechanism that's perfect for this forge :

 

I think somebody's been watching Stargate SG1