Very nice forge for a rookie. I am new to world of forge/blacksmith. It will get hot enough to forge weld a cable and it came with the refractory cement that is not listed on the page in the web site. The only thing I would recommend getting a 100-pound propane tank. The 20-pound tank will freeze up when trying to forge weld. If you are just heating to just beat the metal, you can work at a lower pressure and the tank does not freeze