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My old coal forge used to take 20 minutes to get to welding heat, now my propane one does it in 5.
I switched over about six months ago after my neighbor in Boise sold me his old setup. The control is way faster and there's no smoke in the shop, but I miss the even heat of coal for some scroll work. Anyone else make the switch and find things they had to change in their process?
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murray.ray7mo ago
Switching to propane was a total mistake for my work. That even heat from coal is the whole point for good metal shaping. You get soft curves and smooth bends that propane just can't match because it's too direct and harsh. Joseph_johnson is right about having to move the piece constantly, but that just makes the work shaky and uneven. My scrolls looked so much better when I could just let the metal soak in a coal fire. Speed isn't everything if the quality goes down.
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joseph_johnson7mo ago
Yeah, that even heat thing is real! I had to totally change how I do my twists. With propane I have to keep the piece moving way more or one side gets too hot too fast. It's faster for sure, but it took some practice to not get cold shuts on the inside curves.
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