Just starting, need some help on some stuff...

[jimmybabyboy]

Hey guys I'm brand new to smithing and this website, but I was wondering if you guys could help me out with something? I built myself a brake drum forge, and my dad has a coal furnace to heat the house that he uses anthracite for. So I use that for a forge, what is the best type of coal for blacksmithing?

[ThomasPowers]

Bituminous coal; but not all bituminous coal is good smithing coal; you want coal with low sulfur, low ash. and good coking properties.

 

Not knowing what country you are in it's hard to suggest one to look for.  Here in the USA many smiths like Pocahontas or Sewell Seam coal from the eastern side of the country.

 

Here in the USA you can often get in touch with the local smithing groups and find where they are getting decent coal or even get in on a group buy.

[DSW]

 Hello and welcome. As mentioned take a few minutes to update your location. You may be surprised to find members here who are near by and can help you learn, or give you some suggestions on where to look local for groups or materials.

 

I got close to a ton of anthracite from a buddy of mine whose old house used to be heated with coal. I make do with it because it was free, and because on my big forge, I have an electric blower so I can keep the blast going and keep the anthracite lit. No way I could do that with my little pump forge. On that I have to use bituminous. Once I'm done with all my anthracite, I'll buy a few tons of bituminous and just use that.

 

 

Sounds like you are still young and living at home. I wouldn't sweat the coal thing too much right now if you can get anthracite for free. It has some quirks like it's hard to get lit and it needs more air to burn, but if you are just starting out, it will get metal hot and allow you to practice. I'd rather see you put your money in tooling or better yet material vs simply a different type of coal at your level. I'd rather see you spend $50 on steel to play with than $50 on coal that will do just about the same stuff as what you have now. If you are going to have to buy your own, well that's a bit different.

[jimmybabyboy]

Thanks for the help! Also do you guys buy metal locally or online, if online where?

[DSW]

I buy all mine local. Shipping often kills and savings every time I've looked with the exception of small pieces of specialty metals. I'm guessing you are looking for simple mild steel to work on the basics vs specialty steels for doing Damascus or something else advanced.

 

Box stores are the last place I'll buy. I can often get almost a full 20' length for what say 2 3' pieces would cost me at the box store. I've got maybe a half dozen different metal suppliers within say a 30 minute drive of my house and I know a couple bigger places a bit farther out. My favorite place is a small old time hardware store that keeps a selection of steel and other metals on hand. They sell by the foot and the prices are pretty reasonable. If I need specialty metals like when I needed a chunk of 2 1/2"+ 4140 to make tools, I've got a specialty metals place I like to deal with that's local.

 

 

You can also look into small fab shops and fence places. Many times they have drops that they may be willing to sell vs scrap. keep in mind a lot of these places get guys in wanting to get the stuff for next to nothing so they can profit by selling it as scrap. These guys often pester fab shops so you may not get a warm welcome. Many times if you can talk to someone who isn't busy and show them you are willing to pay them a decent price and not waste their time, they may be more willing to be helpful. Keep in mind they aren't in business to sell scrap to people, they are there to get a job done, so it may not always be the best time to be bothering them.

[ThomasPowers]

Yup I buy my steel at home from a Windmill construction and repair place---old school farm windmills.  They sell mild/A36 steel on the side as they get a bigger discount from the steel dealers the more they buy at a time.  Some places will even allow you to piggyback an order if you need a size they don't normally carry.  Sometimes you can get a 20' stick for about the sime price as a 4' stick at a big box hardware/lumber store.

 

(Note hot rolled steel comes "naturally" in 20' sticks in the USA, so be ready to cut it for bringing home or *pay* for them to cut it. If you have them cut it, know what lengths you commonly use for things:  4' for small tripods makes for an 8' and 12' for a one cut deal; cut it in half and you end up with 4 tripod lengths and 2 2' long "waste" pieces.)

 

Now when I need steel I check out my local scrapyard first and if they don't have what I need then stop by the Windmill place on my way home.  Don't buy expensive cold rolled steel unless you have to have the sharper corners.  I generally ask about off sized/length pieces and stuff that has rust damage.  The forge doesn't care and any pennies I can save goes directly to my bottom line.  (Why I have a scrap pile too---I pick up stuff I commonly use at the scrapyard when I can find it and store it till I need it---of course having it already to hand means I tend to design stuff to use "material on hand".)

[Crazy Ivan]

I almost never have to pay for steel. Here is the trick for free stock for life....drop and scrap from steel fabricators, vocational schools, art colleges etc. All it takes is a phone call to a few local places and most of them are more then happy to let you pick through their scrap bin. Big steel distributors will have some good chunks to work with. I tend to get a lot of edge trimmings from hot rolled plate ranging from 1/4"-3/4" thick with varied widths and lengths which is also great practice to forge it to one uniform thickness down the whole length of the stock. The local art colleges around my area are hit and miss with lots of good chunks but not much in length. This is where I get all my practice in with forge welding lengths together to make a longer more useable length. I also end up doing a lot of straightening when cutting apart peoples projects they toss after it is graded. Some times the shop moderator even lets me sneak a few pieces from the stock rack if they don't get used. Now this can prove to be a bit annoying sometimes, and not very efficient in all cases, but when starting out I think it could actually be valuable to be forced to practice these things before you even start what you planned to work on (it gets me in the rhythm every time). Yes It may be easier to have exactly what would be ideal to work with for what you want to make, but easy does not make you learn quite as quickly. Plus, if it was free it won't be so much of a hit if things go bad and it gets tossed into the pile of shame, though I have heard plenty of folks call it the pile of GAIN because you should learn from mistakes :) Good luck with starting out, and stick with it!

-Crazy Ivan

[danielpiotte]

I would suggest joining The New England Blacksmiths. They have a web page where you can get info on their spring meet. They also maintain an education center in Brentwood NH. I believe one of the officers operates Ball and Chain Forge up your way. You should look him up. ( remember to be polite ) You can get blacksmith's coal from Aubonschuan Hardware stores if they go that far north. It isn't the best but it can be convienent and it comes in 50lbs bags instead of by the on.

 

I'm in northwest NH

 

Godd Luck and be persistent

Daniel

[arkie]

Jimmy,

 

If you have a nearby blacksmith's organization or club, check them out.  They are a great educational source, good fellowship and many will buy coal in bulk then members can buy it in smaller batches at a price much cheaper than stores.

[lcb]

Here you go, only 35min. away:

 

  https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=Kittery+Point,+Kittery,+ME&daddr=Brentwood,+NH&hl=en&ll=43.058353,-71.000519&spn=0.35922,0.837021&sll=42.036922,-71.683501&sspn=2.921105,6.696167&geocode=FZ5mkQIdihXJ-yl_Ir3sFrniiTGFDgjoVhMFaA%3BFenKjwId8oDD-yk7PVyHU_DiiTG8egVIkiDwQA&oq=b&mra=ls&t=m&z=11

 

Larry

[David Einhorn]

People have already provided good advice.  I would also add to that:   ...  to try out the forges and equipment that other people have so that you can get a better idea of what equipment meets your needs and style of working.

[Bob Menard]

Hi Jimmy,

New England Blacksmiths has already come up and there are at least a dozen blacksmiths within a 30 min radius of you. Increase that to an hour and there are likely 50. Some of those are operating professional shops and could likely facilitate you with stock. In my shop if the drop fits in a 5 gal mud bucket it is scrap and thrown away. One of those 50 lb buckets would likely keep you going quite a while. I also sell stock off my rack to smiths who don't ever order enough to make it worth while to go the steel dealer.

The Teaching Center in Brentwood NH is currently closed during the cold season but will be re-opening the last Sat of March. The programs offered there would likely be very useful to you.

NEB is friendly and helpful and we want to actively encourage young people. Too many of our membership are old folks and without an infusion of younger blood the craft is not sustainable.

Check out our website newenglandblacksmiths.org and see what is available.