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My old coal forge finally gave out on me last month
The firepot cracked right down the middle after a long Damascus session, so I had to switch to a propane rig I'd been avoiding. Anyone have tips for getting a similar heat profile with gas, or is it just a different beast?
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henry_anderson545mo ago
My neighbor's garage still smells like coal from his old forge. Gray_hall4 is right about firebricks, but have you tried stacking them into a little cave?
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river_thompson3mo ago
Fair enough, but I see it a little different. @kai839 that farrier article was solid, but stacking bricks into a cave can choke the airflow too much unless you're really careful with your burner. I've had more luck leaving the front open and just narrowing the sides.
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kai8395mo ago
Read an article by a farrier who said the key is a deep, narrow fire with gas. You need to build a tight brick box to focus the heat, almost like a small chimney. It forces the flame to swirl and soak into the steel instead of just licking the surface. Takes a lot of fiddling with the air intake to get a reducing atmosphere for welds. It's a different beast for sure, but you can get there with patience and a pile of soft firebricks to shape the space.
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gray_hall45mo ago
Man, that's rough. My buddy had his coal forge give up the ghost a few years back and he fought with his new gas set up for months. He finally got it close by using a couple of firebricks to really narrow the heating area, said it helped trap the heat better. It's never exactly the same, but you can get a pretty good weld if you play with the burner angle. He still complains about missing the smell of coal smoke, though.
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