Hey everyone, newbie blacksmith here.

Looking for free/cheap coal or coke in and around GA (I’m in Atlanta but willing to travel) to bring to my blacksmith apprenticeship in North Carolina later this summer. Any leads appreciated!!

I suggest doing an internet search on "G".  I found a few around Atlanta, but getting it to Arkansas would have been prohibitive...I deleted the sites, of course.....

good smithing coal isn't likely to be free or very cheap unless you find a place to dig your own or make good friends with a coal supplier. You may just have to buy a sack or two at a farrier supply.

Frosty The Lucky.

I have a supplier about an hour north of me in Bessemer AL that sells it for $18.50 a sack. The last time I bought a coupe sacks it came in old 50lb dog food bags so I'm not sure what it weighed. I called them the other day and they said they still had some. It's Moore Coal Co. Their website just has garbage collection on it but they do sell blacksmith coal.

A few years back I bought a couple of barrels full of bulk from Grace Fuel in Asheville. It was good quality and I probably would have made a return trip by now if I hadn't bought some  bagged at Quad State and some from a guy who ships in and sells at local hammer-ins. Between gas and induction I don't use as much coal as I used to. I still haven't tried to use petroleum coke. We have a plethora or two of that down here.

PB, if you ever try petroeum coke let us know how it works.  I have always been curious.  Since I am in an oil and gas producing and refining area it could be an option for me.

Thx.

GNM

Thanks everyone

George - I think Frosty mentioned that it was good stuff at one time. I used to work next to a coker and we always hated it when the wind blew from that direction. Not only from the smell, but sometimes they blew coke fines (and not-so-fines) all over our unit that we had to clean up. The only thing that gives me a little pause to try it is the fact that the feed for the coker was all the heavy ends that we couldn't crack into lighter product. That, along with burnt oil and other waste. OTOH, our coker was known for producing a very pure product; used for anodes and melting electrodes.

The caster in our club uses coke in his cupola for iron pours so he always has a couple supers of coke, sometimes it's coal coke, sometimes it's pet coke. I've played with both and can't tell the difference. They're both pretty pure carbon, don't smell, smoke or want to light very easily. I start it with a, small kindling size wood fire a couple inches across. 

Frosty The Lucky.

I have coal in Tennessee that is very good quality such as low Ash, low suffer, high btu that would be great for blacksmithing or just simply burning for heat .xxx xxx xxxx  Mod. note PM member if interested in source.

Edited December 26, 20241 yr by Mod30
remove phone number per TOS

There is a stone yard in Holly Springs GA "Cherokee Stone" that has coal for sale.