TIL a cheap paint stripper gun doubles as a decent forge starter

Honestly, I was broke last winter and my propane torch died right before a demo in Tulsa. Grabbed my wife's old heat gun meant for stripping paint, pointed it at the charcoal pile in my tiny forge. Took about 12 minutes to get a decent orange glow going, way slower than a torch but it worked. I also found the airflow setting matters more than the heat setting, low speed with high temp kept the coals even. Has anyone else tried using a heat gun for startups instead of buying another torch setup?

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1 Comment

kai8071mo ago

Twelve minutes to orange glow sounds more like waiting for a campfire than actual forging, you sure your cheap fix is worth the patience?