Noticed my old boss's forge setup vs my current one yesterday

Twenty years ago we were all using borrowed truck tire rims and charcoal that barely got hot enough, now I've got a propane forge with a digital regulator that hits 2400 degrees steady. Anyone else feel like the old way taught you more about metal even if it was way slower?

2 comments

2 Comments

xena_fisher4924d ago

My buddy Mike tried learning on a propane setup and couldn't figure out why his blades kept cracking until he spent a summer working with an old timer who built a forge from a broken brake drum and a hair dryer. That guy made him heat soak every piece for twice as long as Mike thought was necessary, using nothing but a magnet and the color of the steel to judge temp. Six months later Mike could nail a heat treat by eye that his fancy digital setup still struggles to match. The old ways force you to develop an intuition you just don't get when a screen does all the thinking for you.

carter.thea24d ago

Still struggles to match" is the key part there. People think buying better gear replaces the need to actually learn what you're doing. It doesn't. The digital stuff is great for consistency once you already know what consistent looks like. But if you never built that intuition, you're just guessing with a nicer screen. Propane setups are fine, but they hide problems from you until it's too late. The old timer stuff teaches you to read the steel, not trust the readout.