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Remember when forge work meant a coal fire and a hand crank? Not that long ago for me.
Three years ago I was still using a hand-cranked blower on my coal forge over in Lebanon, Ohio. Last week I fired up my new propane forge and had a shoe forged, shaped, and nailed in under 20 minutes. Don't get me wrong, I miss the old rhythm, but man does my back feel better at the end of the day. Any of you old timers ever make the switch and regret it?
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miles723mo ago
Learned that lesson after turning a perfectly good shoe into a modern art piece.
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holly_walker763mo ago
That 20 minute shoe is impressive, but I'm curious about the heat control. Did you find it took a while to get a feel for the propane forge's temperament compared to reading a coal fire? I've heard the learning curve catches some folks off guard with burned steel.
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nguyen.tara3mo ago
Ngl I gotta disagree hard here. Propane forges are way more consistent out of the box than coal, you just gotta watch your gauge and listen to the steel instead of guessing based on flame color. Honestly I think coal fire guys overcomplicate it a lot.
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