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Stopped by the forge at Old Sturbridge Village and their 1830s setup got me thinking about coal vs propane
Spent a few hours at Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts watching the blacksmith there work a coal forge, and it made me rethink how I run my own shop at home. The guy was running a bellows and hand crank blower, and he told me he goes through maybe 40 pounds of coal in a full day of demos. Meanwhile I burn through a 20 pound propane tank in about 6 hours at my setup, which costs me $18 a refill. The coal guy had way better control on his heat, especially for forge welding, but I couldn't stand the smoke and clinker cleanup every couple hours. He also said his firepot lasts about 5 years before burning through, which seems short compared to my $60 burner tip that's going on 3 years now. So is the coal vs propane thing really about tradition and control, or are we just picking our poison based on what's easier to live with? Curious what you all run and why.
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susana6615d ago
Did my buddy switch from coal to propane for the same reason?
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