My old mentor told me to use a coal forge for beginners

He said gas forges made me lazy and I wouldn't learn proper heat control. After 6 months of fighting with a rusty hand-crank blower, I switched to gas and my welding finally stuck. Has anyone else had old-timer advice that just didn't work for them?

2 comments

2 Comments

leo_lopez24d ago

Proper heat control" is just code for "spend an extra hour making sure the fire isn't trying to kill you." Gas forges taught me more about heat control than coal ever did, because I wasn't too busy fixing the fire to pay attention to the steel.

adams.taylor24d ago

You ever notice how everything in life works that way? Like cooking. People who mess with charcoal grills spend half their time adjusting vents and chasing hot spots. Meanwhile the guy with a propane grill just turns a knob and actually cooks the food. Same thing with old cars. I had a truck with a manual choke that needed babying every morning. Now I turn the key and go. Sometimes the old way just adds extra steps that get in the way of doing the thing you actually want to do.