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Can we talk about the way we set our forge fire? I was doing it wrong for a decade.
I always piled my coke high for a fast heat, but a guy at the Oregon forge-in said he keeps his fire shallow and wide. He showed me a piece he'd just drawn out, and the color was way more even than mine ever gets. Which method do you all think is better for general forging?
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caseyc786mo ago
Honestly, a deep fire has always worked for me. Isn't the whole point to get that heat right where you need it?
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dylan6046mo ago
Yeah but you're both missing how the metal itself changes... a deep fire heats the whole thickness slow and even, which is fine for simple stuff. But with a shallow pile, you're only putting serious heat into the top layers. That lets the bottom stay cooler and act like a heat sink, pulling heat away the second you stop. Gives you way less time to mess up before it cools and locks in.
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kim7336mo ago
That shallow fire method gives you way more control over the heat zone. A deep pile can create hot and cold spots in your work. The even color on that guy's piece proves the point.
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