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Reading an old book on smithing in Pittsburgh and the author claimed a coal forge could hit 3,000 degrees.
Found that in a 1922 manual at the library, which seems crazy hot compared to my usual setup. Has anyone actually measured their forge temp that high?
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holly635mo ago
That 1922 manual's claim of 3,000 degrees seems totally wild to me...
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palmer.avery5mo ago
Three thousand degrees for what exactly? That number sounds like something from a sci-fi story, not a real manual. I can't even picture what that would look like in practice. It makes me wonder if it was a misprint or if they were measuring something totally different. That's just not a normal figure for anything from that time period.
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henrybaker4mo ago
Man, 3,000 degrees? I'd be sweating through my jeans just standing next to my forge at half that, lol. My little propane setup's lucky to hit 2,200 on a good day, and even that feels like standing on the sun. @palmer.avery's right to question it, though I bet those old coal guys were just running their mouths or measuring something in a closed firebox. I once melted a pair of tongs just trying to hit welding heat, so I can't even imagine what 3,000 would do to my shop.
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