A retired smith in Vermont said my forge was too quiet, and it bugged me for a month

Grace Murray · 2026-09-22T00:45:03.881294+00:00

I was up in Rutland picking up some coal from a guy who's been at it since the 70s, and he watched me work a little on his setup. When I finished, he just said my forge was too quiet and that a good fire should sound like bacon frying, not a jet engine. I had been running my blower wide open for years without really thinking about it, and the thing is he was right. Cut my air back by half and the scale dropped way down and my welds started sticking on the first try. How do you all set your air? Do you go by sound, or just by what the fire looks like?

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A retired smith in Vermont said my forge was too quiet, and it bugged me for a month | Blacksmiths - Librear