Changed my mind about coal forging after a visit to the Pioneer Forge Museum

Always been a gas forge guy, thought coal was too messy and unpredictable. But last Saturday I stopped by the Pioneer Forge Museum up near Greenville. They had an old timer doing a demo with a side blast forge, just using lump coal and a hand crank blower. He made a simple S hook in like 4 heats, and the way that coal fire wrapped around the steel was just different. The control he had over the heat zones was something I never got with my gas burner. It clicked for me when he explained how you can bank the fire to get a soaking heat on thicker stuff. I'm still not switching over full time, but I'm thinking about building a small coal forge for weekends. Anyone else made the switch later on and regretted it or loved it?

4 comments

4 Comments

ivan_harris18d ago

Went to a demo once and the guy burned his apron strings clean off.

thea60218d ago

What if he did that on purpose though as part of the demo to show how hot the flame really gets... I mean, some people do things like that to prove a point about safety, like how fast things can go wrong. It might look like a mistake but could be a planned way to grab everyone's attention and make them think twice. Most people just talk about safety but showing a real example of what can happen sticks in your mind way more. I've seen instructors do stuff that looks reckless but turns out it was the whole lesson for the day... they want you to remember it. Without that shock value, half the room probably would've been on their phones instead of actually learning something.

emma9618d ago

Bet @ivan_harris tied them too loose before lighting up.

alicer5318d ago

Honestly, was the apron string thing just a bad knot or did that demo guy have no clue what he was doing? Tbh, that kind of mistake can turn a simple trick into a real safety hazard real fast. Ngl, I'd be questioning everything else he tried to teach after seeing that.