[TheForge] going for gas

[Steve Bloom]

At 09:47 PM 2/5/2003 +0200, you wrote:
>I have been operating a home forge for a while now ( I live in built up
>residential area) and I have received a complaint from a neighbour
>regarding smoke. I use a coal forge. This puts me in quite a
>predicament. I wish to continue forging but I don't want a visit from
>the cops or worse, her lawyer.
>So I have been thing about going for gas. A gas forge that is.
>Should I go for gas? Will it be cost effective considering that a 40kg
>(90lb) bag of good coal costs me 40 - 45 rand ( about 5dollars)?it
>usually lasts for about 10 - 15 long sessions at my forge. The work I do
>mostly small decorative stuff and some bladesmithing. If I should indeed
>opt for a gas forge, what should I know, bearing in mind that I have
>obtained gas forge plans and visited Mr Reil's very informative page.

At least in Florida - propane is pretty much equivalent in cost to coal as 
measured by $/hour -- but we have high shipping costs.  100 lbs
of coal goes for $15 US.  My double-burner atmospheric cranked for forging 
(not welding) temps sucks a 20lb propane bottle dry in ~8 hrs -
cost about $1/hr. I typically burn a 5 gal bucket of coal in the same time- 
so about $5..$8. I can do a lot more work per hour with gas since I can
load the forge with multiple pieces w/o burning them up. of course, 
pin-point heating and forge welding are not possible.  I do all my blade 
work in gas and gas is convenient - light it up and you're ready to go in a 
few minutes. Shut it down and walk off.  My first home-made gas forge set 
me back $50 - and most of that was in the regulator and hoses. But in 
interest of fair disclosure, I still have a coal forge in my shop and I use 
it when it's the best tool for the job.

Steve
Steve Bloom, IronFlower Forge. Archer, FL
     Webmaster for the FABA web site:
	www.blacksmithing.org