It can be very low. I do most of my work without heat, shaping metal with a ball peen hammer on either a dished wooden stump or a short segment of railroad track.
Hey, I used to live in Arcata. I grew up in Eureka, CA, and did all of my SCA stuff at the HSU campus for awhile. If you were ever there, I was the guy in the black plastic pickle barrel armor, back in '03. That group is what had gotten me into chainmaille.
Awesome work! Check out my gallery! I know I'ma surf through yours.
Your stuff is pretty awsome. I especially like the armor. Where did you learn to do all that stuff? Are you a machinist by trade? Anywho, great gallery.