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.

ok i finally have my pictures loaded and to warn you im not good at photography. also this is my very first piece i have ever forged and it is made from about 1/2" rod. its not finished yet but i will post more pics as i get further along. and thanks dimag i will try and contact him.

Mine is actually still hand but it was getting too tiring trying to keep the heat up and I came across an electric emissions blower off of an audi turbo car (the joys of working in a scrap yard). Oddly enough the pressure tube fit perfectly into the intake of the hand crank blower and it works great . And thanks for all the the advice too. I'll try and get some pictures up of my first sword so you let me know what you guys think when i get them on.

i believe your thinking of a clear coat. from my knowledge a clear coat will not stick to polished surface. the same goes for paint. that is why they are all layered. from the bare metal you need a primer to stick to it, the paint sticks to the primer and the clear coat sticks to the paint. id think that if you did a rough grind the clear coat will have something to hold on to. if the blade is not going to be handed then it is worth a try on clear coating it but what i would first do is polish a test piece and apply about 4-5 thin layers of clear. let each dry to atleast a tacky state before applying the next coat. my guess though is that the clear coat will pool up on polished metal.

I live in the small town of Trochu in Alberta Canada. i hope this directs you you my picture. the only thing i have changed is i removed the metal plate that is sitting on top of the forge. I couldn't get enough airflow through it so i just took it out. the coal just sits in the bottom of the basin as well. I hope this helps give more of an understanding of what I'm working with. I know its not much but its all I got.

I'm new to blacksmithing and am having troubles finding any help or direction. My forge is small and very very old. I don't have access to blacksmithing coal, so I've been getting some from my neighbor. I'm not sure what type of coal it is and he just uses it in a coal burner. I've been told that it is a softer coal. Anyways I am trying to get into knife and sword making. i recently tried to heat up some spring steal from an old broken leaf spring and even with my blower going full i cant seem to get the steel near hot enough, it also burns out my coal very quickly (or so it seems to me, I'm not sure how long coal should last) and I also have a very fast and rapid growth of 'clinkers'. Am I doing something wrong or is it mostly the coal I am using? Thank you to anyone who responds.