I have been using this forge for a while now for annealing and for small forging jobs. It works well, but I did watch a few YouTube videos (just search the forge name) as to how to set it up and it made all the difference in the world because when I bought it the description did not cover a few things. Using rigidizer to harden the kaowool is an important step and the rigidizer I bought separately, It would be hard to cement the wool without it. The other thing that makes this forge work for me was buying about 4 fire bricks so I could partially close up the ends to hold in more heat if I needed to. But, for the $$, it is really hard to beat it. I gave it 4 stars just because it really should have come with rigidizer even it it made it cost just a bit more — or a least come with the advice that you would need to purchase it separately. Anyway, I am impressed with the little forge and would 100% buy it again for the price I paid.