I have a farmers rivet forge and anvil sitting on the back porch and  
honestly the forge might smoke a little on startup, but it puts out less  
smoke than a BBQ grill.  Everything I have heard about the smoke issue  
relates to the quality of coal that you are using, so a better coal will  
produce less smoke.  The fire itself is very small, usually about the  
size of a couple of bricks when I use it to heat metal up.  You  
basically build a fire that fits what you are doing and I would say that  
a long narrow one is what I use most often.  I start my forge up with a  
mapp torch, and am ready to heat metal in about 10 minutes.  I guess I  
don't want to waste a lot of time fooling around with the fire.  Until  
we get to the metal beating, I don't think the neighbors even notice.   
It is the rhythmic striking that gets noticed, and that is for the good  
in my experiences.  If I were you, I would see what happens.  

Samuel L. Peterson
Associate Director, MU Grants & Contracts
Manager, UM Sponsored Programs

-----Original Message-----
From: Matthew and Cathy Groves [mailto:groves@c...]
Sent: Wednesday, September 14, 2005 7:04 AM
To: oldtools
Subject: [oldtools] Residential Smithing

Many of the posts disclosing some sort of home-blacksmithing also tend  
to
enlighten us that it's too noisy for most neighborhoods.

Is this true? Are there some tips for someone contemplating pounding on  
iron
"within the city limits"?

Matthew Groves
Kearney, Nebraska

PS Don't bid on that anvil this weekend, I'm hoping to get it.

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aficionados, both collectors and users, to discuss the history, usage, 
value, location, availability, collectibility, and restoration of 
traditional handtools, especially woodworking tools. 

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------------------------------------------------------------------------
OldTools is a mailing list catering to the interests of hand tool
aficionados, both collectors and users, to discuss the history, usage, 
value, location, availability, collectibility, and restoration of 
traditional handtools, especially woodworking tools. 

To read the FAQ, unsubscribe, or change email options, use the web 
interface at:     http://www.brendlers.net/oldtools/oldtools.html

OldTools Archive: http://www.frontier.iarc.uaf.edu/~cswingle/archive/