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I Forge Iron

Atlanta Apartment and Blacksmithing


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Hey y'all,

I'm brand new to these forums and honestly to the craft. Blacksmithing is something I've been wanting to try and get into as a hobby, but I haven't found a good way to do it while living in an apartment. I really want to get a few things, pound some metal and then maybe take some classes after having a tiny bit of experience. I've thought about finding a small anvil, a hammer, some tongs and a way to heat my metal, throwing them into my car and finding a park or some public place around Atlanta to try it out. However, I'm not sure about the ordinances for flame and sound. Any suggestions on how to try this are welcome!

Also, thanks for these forums and so many great posts over the years. The amount of knowledge contained here is incredible.

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Welcome aboard Lykam, glad to have you. There are plenty of portable set ups, some VERY portable. Check out the Mastermyr find associated links for a complete blacksmith shop that fit in a chest. Blacksmithing doesn't have to be loud to be effective and profitable. 

Frosty The Lucky.

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Lykam check out this URL.  It is for the November meeting of Alex Bealer Blacksmith Association.  It is going to be an open forge meeting, meaning that anyone who wants to can forge, demonstrate or just learn.  There will probably be about 4 coal forges going.  The meeting is about jigs and attendees are encouraged to bring some of their jigs and demonstrate their use.

I will be there and be happy to visit with you.  There will probably be between 25 and 50 smiths there and there is  free smoked chicken to boot.

Let me know if I can help you.  You can find my e-mail address on my profiles page.  I will be in Atlanta Thursday thru Sunday.  

Wayne

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Thanks Wayne!

 

Another question I had for those in the Atlanta area, where's a good place to get metal to experiment with? I've heard rebar, but what about railroad stakes? Anyone know of good scrap yards to check out? Or should I just buy some?

Lykam

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A friend of mine solved his conundrum of living in a place where he couldn't use a forge HOA rules. He solved it by renting a self storage locker and storing all his stuff there and after checking with the manager got permission to set up outside the door and forge away.

The interesting part was he would draw a crowd and a blacksmith with more experience than he had showed up and gave him pointers. It turned into a regular weekly hammer in.

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There are some good threads about where to find steel, including both junkyards and other sources. Keep in mind that removing spikes from a railroad right-of-way is illegal, and spikes have limited value as stock anyway, mostly because of their length.

Two things I've found to be particularly useful are (1) a local steel supplier (a couple of blocks from my son's school) that sells their offcuts ("drops") for cheap and (2) my mechanic, who in exchange for a couple of small items (bottle opener made from a steering column, for example) has kept me in more axles, torsion bars, and springs than I know what to do with.

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