I thought a coal forge was just old school hype until I tried one last fall

For the first 5 years I only used a propane forge, thinking it was cleaner and easier to control. A friend in Toledo let me use his hand-cranked coal forge for a weekend project. I was shocked at how fast I could get a precise, localized heat on a piece of 1-inch square stock, something that always took longer with my gas setup. The way you can push the coal around to focus the fire changed how I approach scroll work. Now I'm thinking about building a small coal setup in my own shop. Has anyone else made the switch and found it better for certain kinds of work?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_eric1d ago

Yeah, the smell is half the fun.

cora3651d ago

I always figured coal forges were just messy and old fashioned. But that part about getting a fast, precise heat on thick stock is exactly what I found too. I borrowed one to fix an old gate hinge and the control was totally different, like painting with heat. It made me rethink a lot of my old assumptions.

-2