My forge thermometer was off by 150 degrees the whole time

I got one of those IR temp guns from Harbor Freight for like $25 last month and decided to check my forge temp against my regular thermometer. Turns out my old analog gauge was reading 150 degrees too low the entire 2 years I've been using it. I've been overheating all my high carbon steel without even knowing. Has anyone else had their forge thermometer drift that bad over time?

2 comments

2 Comments

mark6762d ago

Harbor Freight IR guns aren't exactly lab grade either. I'd double check that against something known good before assuming it's right. A simple thermocouple and multimeter is way more reliable for forge work. Those cheap IR guns can give weird readings on scale or shiny surfaces.

jake1912d ago

Wait, 150 degrees off? How did you not turn your steel into dust the first few times you used it? That's a massive difference, especially for high carbon stuff like 1095 or O1. I've heard of cheap analog gauges drifting but that's way past normal wear and tear, that's just straight up broken. Makes me wonder how many knives or tools I've messed up over the years without knowing it if my cheap thermometer is off too.