Found a better way to set my forge temperature without a fancy gauge

For years I just eyeballed the color of the steel, but last month at the Kentucky clinic, an old timer showed me to use a magnet. When the metal stops sticking to a magnet, it's around 1400 degrees and ready to work. I started doing this on my last ten shoes and the consistency is way better. Anyone else use this trick for basic forging?

3 comments

3 Comments

keithg1616d ago

I mean, it's just a horseshoe... does it really need that much precision? The magnet trick is fine for big stuff, but for a simple shoe, getting the color in the right orange-yellow ballpark has always worked for me.

the_finley16d ago

Okay but that "orange-yellow ballpark" thing is exactly where you lose the fit, @keithg16. If the temper color is off by even a little, you're either leaving the steel too soft and it'll bend, or getting it too brittle and it'll crack. A magnet gives you a clear, repeatable point to stop at, which matters way more on a thin shoe than a big block of steel.

the_quinn16d ago

Understand the struggle with color matching completely. That magnet trick gives you a solid reference point to work from. It really does take the guesswork out of the process.