Decided between a coal forge and gas forge 10 years ago. Picked coal and I'm still happy with that choice.

I went with coal because I liked the control over heat zones, but gas sure would have been easier on summer afternoons. Has anyone else stayed with coal despite the hassle?

3 comments

3 Comments

caseythompson1mo ago

Man, I am side-eyeing this post HARD. Is the "hassle" of lighting a gas forge really that big of a deal? Like, you flip a switch and wait five minutes. Meanwhile I'm out here with a coal forge and I gotta babysit a fire like it's a camp stove from the 1800s. The heat control thing is nice but I'm not sure it matters THAT much for what most of us are doing. It's a forge, not an operating room.

rowanhernandez1mo ago

My 30lb tank died on me right when I was about to forge weld a damascus billet last summer. That was a solid 45 minutes of waiting for the forge to cool, swapping tanks, and getting everything back up to temp. Now I keep a backup tank strapped to the cart with a bungee cord and I weigh my tanks every morning with a bathroom scale so I know how much is left. The scale trick is a lifesaver, costs like 15 bucks at Walmart.

ivan7741mo ago

You flip a switch and wait five minutes" - tell me you never had a propane tank run dry mid-heat.