Good Coal & Blacksmithin Newbe

[Ron Hicks]

Hi my name is Ron
been hangin around and readin some good stuff here.
Ive been beatin out knife blades for a few years but want to get in to
Blacksmithing.
When I started I did not know anything and bought a pickup load of coal in Kansas. Thats stuff was junk, it made loads of clinkers.
I ordered a 50 lb. bag of coal from Centaur Forge to see what good coal was like. I started messin with a gas forge and used it for a few years switched to charcoal ( which I like but $)and never tried the coal till the other day.

Hey thats good stuff I forged for 5 days with that 50 pounds & I havent any experence with anything other than knives - not even real sure Im tending the fire right yet.

I think I may order more from them a 50 pound bag is $22.00 and my shipping be another $ 20.00 guessin aroud $42.00 for 50 pounds.

Thats not to bad is it ?
Im sure If I could find some good coal with in driving distance it would be less,
at least I know what good coal looks like now.

Anyone have a clue where I might find good coal
I live in NW Arkansas
Thanks
Ron

[yesteryearforge]

about 110 to 130 a ton around here

[Mike Turner]

Ron,

Find a farrier supply shop they usually have coal. $42.00 a bag is expensive. I pay $14 at one shop and $25 for really good coal at another. Try here as well

The coal I like is Cumberland Elkhorn coal and coke out of Kentucky that is the $25 dollar a bag you can order right from them I have not yet but it looks like I am going to have to as I live now where there is little coal to be had.

[Archie Zietman]

I just tried out corn which, if you have a local garden/agriculture store nearby is dead cheap, and work exactly like coal, just burns a bit faster.

[easilyconfused]

Archie, do you just burn the corn as is, or is there a special treatment you have to go through?
I use charcoal I've made, but I have a steady supply of wood on the farm and a wood burning stove to use. I just pull the embers out of the stove and smother them in a metal barrel with a airtight lid. The only problem I've had is when I miss a nail and I'm trying to weld. Otherwise it burns clean and the only problem I've had is that I go through softwood charcoal faster than hardwood, but I've successfully welded with both types.

[Archie Zietman]

It's kernels of corn, dried. I just used cracked corn from a nearby farm store, 50 pounds for ten dollars, if I remember rightly. Just rip open the bag, start a fire with old coke and some charcoal, then pour the corn around it to coke, and just work it like coal, outside in.

[Archie Zietman]

oh, and I got to welding heat with the corn. I use wood too, can't be bothered to charcoal it, just chop it up into little rough half-thumb sized pieces and forge with that, though I haven't tried welding.

[Gary]

Mike Turner, there's a farrier supply in Junction City that carries Cumberland. I think it was 22.00 a 50lb bag last time. Ft. Vancouver gets our coal there. Let me know if you want the name.

[Ed Thomas]

Ron, even bagged pea coal here in Virginia is only somewhere around $5 for a 40 lb bag. I get it delivered loose and the last time it was about $175 a ton. So I'd say that your cost was a bit outrageous.

Looking on the internet, I found these coal producers in Arkansas:

Johnson Co.
R & S Coal Company, P.O. Box 377, Scranton, AR 72863
Russ and Sons, Inc., P.O. Box 1609, Greenwood, AR 72936
Logan Co.
R & S Coal Company, P.O. Box 377, Scranton, AR 72863
Sebastian Co.
Comer Mining Company, Greenwood, AR 72936

Maybe you can contact them to see who buys it from them local to you, or maybe you can even go them and buy it. Usually, delivery requires a minimum order of several tons, though.

My impression, glancing over the links, is that some Arkansas coal is metallurgical grade (the best), so you should be able to buy it there. If I find out anything else, I'll post it.

[ThomasPowers]

Ron---where do all the *OTHER* smiths in NW AR buy their coal? There is a passel of them and a lot of knifemakers up there.

We used to buy ours from the Stone County Ironworks but that's been about 30 years ago.

Do you go to the local ABANA chapter meetings?