Comment by bcks

Took my daughter to check out a blacksmithing class in Brooklyn and was pleasantly surprised to find there was no open fire at all. The iron and steel are heated by an induction machine. Just use the tongs to hold up your material near the coil and press the pedal and voila, it soon starts to glow red hot. The space is small, maybe 3 students at a time plus a teacher, but it was bright, tidy, and clean. Not at all the dark, sweaty cave of fire and fumes that I'd imagined, and interesting to see tech slightly more modern than fire.