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Seeing smoke from my shop made me rethink coal forges
I know many blacksmiths stick with coal for tradition, but I think it's time to change. The black smoke from my old forge was hurting our local air, so I switched to propane. My new setup cuts down on soot and waste, like not having piles of ash to deal with. Some say coal heats metal better, but in my tests, propane does the job just fine. We need to care more about our planet while we work. Making small shifts like this can help keep our craft alive for the future.
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the_kelly17d agoMost Upvoted
My town has a big factory that runs 24/7, and that seems like a bigger deal than one forge. Is the bit of smoke from a hobbyist shop really moving the needle on air quality? Feels like we're focusing on a tiny drop in a huge polluted bucket. There are way bigger sources to worry about first.
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noahchen17d ago
Jake from Riverside had his asthma act up every time the forge next door was running. @the_kelly, your point about big factories is fair, but in Jake's case, the local smoke was the trigger. So tackling small sources can help people where they live, even with bigger polluters around.
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