Sound Proofing

[ZenGum]

Originally Posted by glatt

Honestly, I'd start by putting the forge and anvil outside under a nice shade tree and just working in the back yard. Lots of fresh air, no worries about chimneys or sound proofing. The anvil will ring, but I bet the neighbors won't complain. If it's like every typical weekend around here, they won't hear you over the sound of lawnmowers, weed whackers, and leaf blowers. Meanwhile, you will get a feel for what works for you, and then you will know how you want to set up your shop if you want to come inside.

Seriously (briefly) ...

Put the anvil outside. Make as much noise as you need to.
Then the neighbours can complain, and you can move it into the workshop. Things will have got better. This will give the psychological feeling of improvement and the neigbours will stop complaining, or if they still complain, you can point to how you have made a big effort to improve things.

I have seen managers do this. They know a problem is inevitable, and they have an easy (but not 100% effeective) remedy. Instead of using the remedy straight away, they start as bad as possible, wait for complaints, then deploy the remedy. People will not be happy but will be less likely to keep complaining because things have improved. It is is slimy trick, but it works.

[/serious]

[Perry Winkle]

Originally Posted by ZenGum

Put the anvil outside. Make as much noise as you need to.
Then the neighbours can complain, and you can move it into the workshop. Things will have got better. This will give the psychological feeling of improvement and the neigbours will stop complaining, or if they still complain, you can point to how you have made a big effort to improve things.

That's a good strategy. I'll add it to my plan.