Remember when everyone said you needed a fancy gas forge to work modern steels?

Back when I was setting up my shop, an old guy at the scrap yard in Toledo told me to stick with my coal forge for another year before buying anything. He said, 'Kid, you learn the fire in that thing, you can learn any steel.' I thought he was just being cheap. I saved up and bought a mid-range two-burner gas forge anyway. It's great for production, but I swear, for the first six months, my heat control was all over the place. I was burning the tips off my punches and getting cold shuts on simple bends. Going back to the coal pile on weekends to practice on scrap finally fixed it. You really do feel the heat change in a coal fire in a way the gas just doesn't show you. Anyone else learn more from an 'outdated' setup than the new gear?

3 comments

3 Comments

gray_carter9620d ago

Tell you what, my first gas forge taught me I was a terrible guesser. I spent more time fixing burnt projects than making new ones. That old scrap yard guy was right on the money.

the_tessa9d ago

Got my first real lesson in sharpening from a hand crank grinder my uncle had in his barn. It was this rusty thing with a stone wheel, and you had to feel the blade's heat with your thumb because there was no water tray. Burnt so many chisels learning that slow, even pressure. My fancy bench grinder with a jig is faster, but I still check for heat by hand out of habit from those days.

lisa74920d ago

Totally get that feeling of learning from older tools. My grandpa taught me to weld with this ancient stick welder that would practically scream at you, and you had to listen to the sound of the arc to know what was happening. Modern mig welders are way easier, but I never really understood penetration until I fought with that old machine for a summer. Sometimes the hard way sticks with you better.

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