coal or propane?

[wulfgar]

I want to build myself a new forge. The one I currently have is much too small for my intened use (sword making). So my big question is which is better? Coal or propane. Also can a propane forge get hot enough to forge weld or is it hard to get those kinds of temprature? I am planning on going with propane because it is more readily avaliable to me then coal, and from what ive found good coal is pretty expensive.
Thank you all for your help.

[dablacksmith]

yes propane can get to forge welding temp but they are sometimes hard to get there .there is always a trade off .. I run bolth ... the propane is nice for long heats and ease of use ...coal is good for isolated heats and getting real hot (to burning) heats ...you want to make damascus ? are you using a power hammer or press??is coal smoke a problem in your neiborhood?? cost is something that changes with the wind...better is subjective its what works for you... if you can try bolth and decide which you like ... have fun

[ThomasPowers]

When you are making a sword you only want to heat as much of the blade as you can work before it gets cold, generally only a couple of inches. Heating more than you can work just leasts to decarburization, grain growth and scale losses. So unless you are using a powerhammer the forge you *need* is pretty small. Except for heat treat when everything needs to be hot and at the same temp---I sometimes dig a trench forge for that rather than use an overly large forge all the time.

Gas forges can weld *IF* built for it---Hrisoulas (author of "The Pattern Welded Blade"), does his welding in an aspirated propane forge and at several thousand feet of elevation too! You would probably not want to use your welding forge for basic forging so you are talking about 2 forges, (propane forges tend to be much more specialized than a coal forge so unless you are only doing a limited ammount of stuff it's better to have a range of them built as needed.)

Remember that just because you can't see the propane exhaust doesn't make it non-toxic!

[MooseRidge]

A while back, I came up with an idea for a multi-use forge based on the pierced-plate style on grate. The grate area would vary depending on what position the plate was in, completely back was a 3"x3" hole pattern, expanding to a 3"x24" pattern when pulled completely forward. This would allow for small fires for normal usage, then increasingly larger fires based on the need. It would only require 1 forge and 1 chimney. The fuel would be coal.

Never got around to making one yet.....

[Ken Kelley]

Yes, a propane forge can get hot enough to forge weld or even burn steel. The forced air burner is the better choice for heat because the fuel/air mixture can be easily altered to be oxidizing, neutral, or carburizing. Venturi burners are limited in their adjustment and usually cause excess scaling. I have been experimenting with loading pictures into the Gallery and I'm going to try posting one of my vertical welding forge here. It's powered by a forced air burner built according to Darren Ellis' design. It will easily reach welding heat while just loafing along on 2 psi of propane.

[civilwarblacksmith]

A friend of mine has one of the air powered gas forges from Darrin Ellis and I plan on buying one also. He makes alot of damascus in it as well as knives. Using a 100 pound propane tank, he can forge 12 hours straight each day for three days before refilling.

[racer3j]

Talk about a couple having bad luck. They have my best wishes. I really wanted their #8 horizontal, cut and shaped but for me to weld. we were just discussing when the flooding interfered- just could not wait. I will be a customer when they are ready again.jet

[Jymm Hoffman]

In 1993 I stopped using coal. I use only propane in my shop. I do a lot of variety in my shop, I now have 2 basic forges, one for smaller, one for larger stuff. The first gas forge I used for about 7 years, I stopped using as it was the largest least efficient. The smaller 2 burner version I have been using for about 8 years now, almost every day. It uses about 1/2 a gallon of propane per hour and I do a lot of forge welding as well as just basic forging with it. I do use blowers with these and prefer the blown forge over naturally aspirated. I use barbecue regulators (1/2 pound of pressure.) You can see more of the variety of work I produce and the forges I use in the photos posted at forgemagic: Blacksmiths Gallery'

[Glenn]

Jymm, why not post them in the IForgeIron Gallery also? There is plenty of room.

[Jymm Hoffman]

I'll work on it when I have a little more time. I need to update some photos.