Subject: Re: gas vs. coal

From: Bill Hornaday <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 18 Apr 1996 07:46:56 -0700

At 06:49 PM 4/17/96 +0200, you wrote:
>At 20.45 1996-04-16 EDT, you wrote:
>>I'm setting up shop. I need a forge-gas or coal?. A gas forge would be
>>convenient for me but I haven't heard good things about them for forge
welding,
>>limitation of stock size, etc. Any recommendations?
>>
>>
>Hello
>This is really difficult, i prefer coal mainly because of the heat this is
>much more intense on the other side gas is clean.
>The problem with coal is that there is a geat difference in quality the coal
>must contain a certain amount off gas suitable for forging.
>I am using coal with 35-38 % gas in it, this works fine  so if you are using
>coal check out what you buy. 
>
>.-
>
I for one have keept me gas forge hotnenough to do forge welding easily.
it's usually amatter of suffient heat.  I use Dayton Blowers behind my two jets.
Lots of heat control, good welding.  The only orblem with mine is that it is
so hot that it burns the steel if you don't pay attentioin.

Bill Hornaday

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From: Peter Beky <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 19 Apr 1996 12:34:00 +1000

>I'm setting up shop. I need a forge-gas or coal?.

I have a coke forge & a gas fired furnace, and use either depending on
what I'm doing. But there is another option that hasn't been mentioned
yet..OIL.  I also use a furnace feuled with either heating oil (my
preference because delivery to my workshop is free, and it's cheap),
or if I run out of oil I substitute deisel feul.

I use Coke not Coal, because it's the cheapest heat sourse 
(Australian$133/tonne for 25x10mm), & there is a ready supply at a
coke works 45 minutes in the ute from where I live (Sydney Australia).
This produces good high heat and a small number of peices reach
forging temperature quickly, although its messy with ash and slag.

Both heating oil & deilel are cheaper than gas (either natural or LPG
in bottles), and a little safer too.  I use this furnace when I do a
short production run or when forging temperature is critical, as with
alloy steels.  The greatest advantage of this is loading the furnace
with 100 peices, setting the temperature, then going away to the
telephone or to have a cup of tea and forgetting about the jobs in the
furnace, coming back 1/2 an hour later and they are ready for forging,
none burnt.

Differences in either coal/coke/gas/oil is the different types of
scale produced by the heat sourse, and the time in which a peice
reaches forging temperature, as gas/oil takes more time.

Peter.

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From: [email-masked] (Frost, Jerry)
Date: Thu, 18 Apr 1996 20:37:15 -0800

> reaches forging temperature, as gas/oil takes more time.

Peter, or anybody:

We had an oil fired forge in high school and I remember it as being much 
more efficient than gas and would like to find one. Did you build yours, 
buy or find it? Are they still available? Etc, etc.

Thanks,
	Frosty
-- 
If it ain't forged
It ain't real
wrought iron is
The FROSTWORKS