Neighborhood Blacksmithing

[ThomasPowers]

One other trick: if you get some of the local cops/firemen interested in smithing you will have much less trouble if someone does call them down on you!

I remember one time I was using my triphammer and had not kept track of the time till the cops showed up saying it was after 10 pm. i apologized profusely and *immediately* shut down and then spent half an hour discussing knifemaking with the cops till they got called out on something else.

Thomas

[ApprenticeMan]

I have garage door springs that are begging to be made into a trip hammer. Do they hold the hammer up or down?

[HWooldridge]

I am now on rural property but was in the city for ten years in an old residential area that was originally developed in the 1940's. Lots were large (1 to 6 acres) but houses were small. My shop was behind our house and surrounded by trees. Behind us to the north was a church, to the west was my grandparents house, a neighbor to the east and the road was on the south side. I used to run the 100 lb hammer quite often and people's windows would rattle but no one ever called the law - they'd just comment to me on occasion that there was this strange thumping noise every once in a while...everyone simply thought I was a weldor since they frequently would see an arc in the evening. Cities can be pretty noisy so you are often more camouflaged than you might think.

I also have to say that my neighbors in the country hear more noise than at my old shop because there is so little background sound. Fortunately, we are in an unzoned area - my biggest worry is just being courteous and not running anything past 10 pm. One neighbor lives 1/2 mile away but he can always hear the power hammer going. Fortunately, he thinks it's cool and I do the occasional welding job for him so no problems to date.

[RBrown]

I am lucky in a way iv only got one nabor thats a complaner the other complaner dosnt complane any more. She has called the police multiple times on my nabor who has a machine shop in his back yard but never on me so fare. I figure my time is coming but i was here first and so was my shop.

[ThomasPowers]

Apprentice Man I think you are referring to a treadle hammer not a triphammer and they hold the head *up* preferably fairly balanced so it's easy to accelerate the head down with your foot.

Thomas

[cheftjcook]

I live in a suburban area, thankfully my house is on a double lot so I'm not right on top of anyone, But I am always concerned. I work out of the garage so I have to wheel the forge out to the drive way between that and the air compressor running, anvil ringing or the grinder going it does attract attention.
My point here though is not about my garage/shop but rather the impact WE can have as a neighbor not in the negative. (Even if its accidental)

The other day I playing nice all by myself when I turned to discover I had a audience.... of one...small but it was an audience and a fan of my crude work.
This kid asked a million questions and kept creeping closer to works and giving detailed accounts of life as a 3rd grader. So I put safety glasses, ear protection and a apron on the little guy(this was a sight as he was dressed in lime green "Skrek" swimming shorts) and he hung out till dusk. Always asking was it ok to stay and was he bothering me. When my wife got Home introductions were made to my new shop assistant, my wife giggling away at this new helpers look, then we broke for dinner. As he was leaving he asked if he could come back as well as alot of other junk then hinted about making something for him. pointing to leaf key rings I make. I thought what is my 3rd grader friend here gonna do with a key ring...BUT dinner could wait a few...We made him one right up and sent him on his way.
I see the kid around and he carries the leaf a round like a real treasure.
(Thought,Sure he'll lose interest next week but made me feel like a million.)

Wife tells me later the kids new and parents are divorced and he has no dad to speak of... I surely never intended to impact this kids life and Don't Want to butt in and the Mom is doing a fantastic job with the little guy. But it does show how something so simple can impact our neighbors or neighborhood for the positive. Some times now I have an audience of two... three if you count the neighbors cat that likes to sit by my forge, But thats a different story about dragons breath and cat hair burning...what a smell!!!!

*Back To the point
If we are considerate towards them and they can put up with a bit of noise and smoke (from some of us)...Blacksmiths make great neighbors.

I know this wandered abit off the subject but it just happened and seemed a good place for my happy sappy story.(grin) Thank you for indulging me

[Archie Zietman]

I live right near the center of the city, across from the local College. My garden is fairly wide, so I keep right in the center, under the deck. I am kinda paranoid about smoke, because my neighbors are the crabby sort, and called the cops on us for our chickens when I was in the 3rd grade. Now we don't talk to them, and I make sure to start my fires with charcoal, which is far less smoky (but can still make smoke) and once it is going and I am forging, I pack small pieces of wood or dried spheres of chicken manure around the edge to "coke". Their smoke is burned up by the charcoal, and I can push the resulting charcoal into the fire as needed.
My anvil is a 2.5 foot tall railroad joiner (which has more evenly distributed mass in cross-section than rail) sunk vertically into a 30 gallon bucket filled half way with heavy rock/ smashed concrete scrap and dirt, and in the top half with concrete. It doesn't ring at all, just goes "thunk! thunk!"
Come to think of it, I ought to forge a little something for the neighbors on all sides, my family hasn't been very neighborly for a good 9 years. :-o

[Thomas Dean]

cheftjcook, HOW COOL!! Wife and I live on 60 acres of East Texas pine and hardwood, (takes less than an hr to mow the yard, rest is trees!) Closest neighbors are about a 1/4 mile on either side. So I really don't have too many complaints! hehe. I do have a little buddy from church (9yrs old) that will ask nearly every Sunday if he can "come out to my shop and do some blacksmithing". I keep telling just whenever you want come on! (He comes from a very stable family and really doen't need the mentoring like your little friend.) I would talk to the Mom and let her know that you are in no way trying to "move in on her job" but if you enjoy the kid let he come! They all need some good adult mentoring and it sounds like you are up to the task! Thanks for sharing you story...

Didn't mean to sound preachy...

Archie Zietman, Good plan and a steak turner is fairly easy to do. I made a split cross last summer for a friend that raises bees, got close to 1 1/2 pounds of bees wax! That stuff is over $13 for a # in the hobby stores!

[cheftjcook]

Thomas, not preachy at all! And some good advice, wife and I can pop over say Hi and let her know its ok for him to stop by and make sure she is OK with it as well.
Thanks

[ThomasPowers]

I used to live in the old part of the city; pretty run down; I taught smithing to the guy who was the "head" of the local teens that ran about the area and suddenly there were no break-ins or graffitti on my shop building anymore...



Thomas