Saw the difference 20 years makes in a coal forge fire pot

Pulled my granddad's 1940s rivet forge out of the barn and compared it to the one I bought new in 2019, the old pot is nearly 3/8ths of an inch thinner on the bottom from all that use. Any of you guys run old forges still or do you all switch to gas?

3 comments

3 Comments

nelson.cameron5d ago

My buddy Jimbo still runs his granddad's 1945 forge that he dug out of a shed in 1998. The bottom was almost gone, just a thin crust of rust and scale holding it together. He welded a new plate over the old one, said it added maybe another 20 years but who knows. He's got a gas forge too but he only uses it when his back hurts from pumping that old bellows by hand. That old pot has seen more steel than my brand new one ever will.

uma_baker995d ago

I get that there's a lot of sentiment tied to old equipment like Jimbo's forge, but I have to push back a little here, @nelson.cameron. There's a reason we moved away from hand-pumped bellows and patched up fire pots. Safety and consistency. That thin crust of rust he welded over is still hiding decades of structural fatigue, and a gas forge gives you way better heat control without the guesswork. People romanticize the "old ways" but forget how many smiths ended up with ruined projects or worse, injuries from gear that should have been retired. The new forge might not have the history, but it'll outlast his granddad's pot if he treats it right.

charles9191d ago

That old pot has a lot of stories in it for sure. @uma_baker99 makes some good points about safety, but I gotta say my experience was the opposite. I cleaned up my grandpa's old forge about ten years ago and it's still going strong. The bottom was thin but not rusted through. I just added a fresh layer of fireclay and kept using it. Never had any problems with heat control either, once you get the feel for the bellows it's just as consistent as any gas setup I've tried. I still use it for most of my work because it just feels right. Different folks have different luck with old gear I guess.