Hey all I am new here. I just started smithing I am in the process of building my forge. I was using a campfire and a leaf blower to forge a steel striker for a flint and steel out of a piece of rebar.

--jay

Something with a lot more carbon---like an old file or hay rake tine will throw a much better spark.

Hi from up here in Marietta.

 

It's a bit far for the commute up to Atlanta to the Alex Bealer group, but there's a good group in South Georgia, Ocmulgee blacksmith guild. Not sure if they meet near Columbus, but you could check them out.  I know they meet in Macon anyways.

 

If you're planning to go with coal as your fuel, Buck Ice and Coal is right in your area and has one of the cheapest rates in the state if you bag it yourself, especially by the ton. Don't know if you've looked at the forge designs on here, but the 55 forge (search for it in forums or pages) is cheap and an easy build.

 

Stationed at Benning? Come up and say hi if you're in the vicinity of Dobbins.

Your closest blacksmithing group is probably the Phonix City forge of the www.alaforge.org.   The first weekend after Labor Day is the Alabama Forge Council's fall conference at Tannehill State Park.  Go to their web-site for more information.  Going to group meetings and conferences is a great way to learn blacksmithing.  The demonstrators this year are Lyle Wynn from Mississippi and Jack Wheeler from Chattanooga, Tn.  Both are excellent demonstrators for beginning blacksmiths as well as more advanced smiths.

Wayne is right, the closest group in the Phenix City group.  We meet the 4th Saturday of the month at the old fort in Fort Mitchell.  Just a few miles from the base, 9am Ga time.  We would love to have you.  

Welcome aboard Jay, glad to have you. A flint striker needs to be high carbon or it won't spark. A good place to look for medium high carbon steel is overhead door companies, they almost always have broken springs at the shop from repairs and it's near perfect diameter stock for smaller tooling. Things like strikers, chasing chisels, punches, eye punches, etc. Lots of uses and half an overhead door spring straightens out to the neighborhood of 25' +/- and that's not a large door.

 

A leaf blower is WAY overkill for a forge unless you're working really large stock, a blow drier is typically more than enough for a campfire forge. I've blown camp/forge fires by channeling a prevailing breeze through steel pipe using scrounged sheet steel as a collector/funnel.

 

Hooking up with the regional organization is by far the best way to break into the craft. One day with an experienced smith equals many days, weeks even months of teaching your self. I know, I was mostly self taught and I'd love to have had someone to point out my mistakes.

 

Frosty The Lucky.