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I Forge Iron

Electricity-free forge (and other ideas)


ohowson

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I like the smell of coal too. When I use charcoal there's not much odor good or bad. 

A gas forge does make heating long sections easier.  I don't have much experience using a gas forge though. The little I have used one made it obvious that there's certain things a gas forge is better suited to and others where solid fuel is better. I would like to have both but it's going to be a while before I can make it happen.

Pnut

 

 

 

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On 9/19/2019 at 4:08 AM, ohowson said:

The reason I’m considering a propane forge at some point is the ease of sliding long pieces of material in and heating a reasonable size length evenly

Lest we forget,, when a great blacksmith was asked "how did you do that?"

His answer was,,, "6" at a time",,,

Also the old addage "too many irons,,," does not mean heat one piece at a time, it means heat as many as your forge and skill level will allow.

The meaning of these statements to me is my own one liner.

"I've never been fast enough to outwork my coal forge."

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Remember it's not "free electricity" unless you paid nothing for the stuff  to make it---including *time*!

I started out with a motorized blower, then found I preferred a good hand crank to it, then found that I preferred a good double lunged bellows to the hand crank. Used that a decade or two and had to leave it when I moved 1500 miles and so am back to a hand crank.   My chimney is 10" diameter single walled spiral seamed ducting and is just warm to the touch about 3-4' above the fire.  I'm putting in a old small (2 plate) coal stove to keep the shop warmer this winter---but will burn wood in it...

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19 hours ago, anvil said:
  On 9/19/2019 at 6:08 AM, ohowson said:

The reason I’m considering a propane forge at some point is the ease of sliding long pieces of material in and heating a reasonable size length evenly

Remember too you can only work about six inches at a time. Heating any more of the stock than that is a waste and if the stock is HC it's detrimental.

Pnut

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