forge.

whats the best way to make a forge?(beginner) gas or charcoal?

it doesn't have to be the cheapest way.
 
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Being new and having limited experience with either, I much prefer gas. Gas just seems so much easier.
 
Gas probably takes a little more to build but takes less time and maintenence to run and the fuel is generally easier to find. One of the big advantages of gas is time to get up to forging heat, gas is much faster, from what I understand (I have only used a gas forge but this is the picture I get from the reading I have done).
 
As much as I like a good deep charcoal fire, gas is the way to go. A charcoal forge may be a bit cheaper to build but it takes a lot of fire tending and it's difficult to see the steel while it's heating. I tried keeping the charcoal forge going, making excuses for it's short comings but I finally had to replace it with a pass through gas forge which has made forging easier and faster.

Doug Lester
 
Blacksmiths use coal more than Bladesmiths because of tradition and that you can get a more localized heat. In blade forging you do not need the localized heat. Gas is more readily available and more consistent and usually cheaper. With coal you have to constantly be tending the fire. For bladesmithing gas has many advantages.
Depending on whether you are just forging blades or if you are making damascus there are basically two types of gas forges. Blown and atmospheric. Blown will get hotter for forge welding but uses much more gas and has more IR radiation out the door to be concerned about. Many bladesmiths have both depending on the work they are doing at the time. I am attaching my brochure "Build a Gas Forge" brochure for instructions on how I build an atmospheric forge. I can supply the castable, IR reflective Plistix and Inswool insulating blanket. Contact me for more information or questions.
 

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