Shoutout to the old timer at the Mid-Atlantic forge-in

I was at the Mid-Atlantic forge-in last month and got stuck trying to forge weld a simple chain link. This guy, must've been in his 70s, walked over and just said 'your fire's too clean, kid.' He had me add a bit of green wood to the coal to make a reducing atmosphere. The scale just stopped forming and the weld took on the first tap. I'd been fighting that for weeks. Anyone else use that green wood trick for forge welding?

3 comments

3 Comments

jana88114d ago

Wait, he was in his 70s and still doing forge-ins? That's wild. I figured most guys that age would have hung up their hammers by now. Total respect for the old school knowledge.

kaigibson14d ago

Honestly jana881, that old school skill is a whole different level. My grandpa was a farrier into his 80s, said the fire kept him young. It's less about the age and more about that deep, hands-on knowledge you just can't get from a book.

mark_ward14d ago

Yeah but @jana881, is it really that wild? Plenty of older folks keep at their trades if they love it. The respect is cool, but maybe we're making too big a deal out of someone just doing their thing.