Anybody want to share some smithing knowledge? – I’ve been watching smiths work at festivals/reinactments for years – I’ve heated and beat metal for various projects/repairs over the years –
now I’m tooling up and hope to raise the level of my skill –
anyone have recommended resources? books?
I’m interested in setting up a small shop with the forge, anvil, vise in a small structure away from my other shops – any tips on design?
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Replies
I just had a thread recently, tryin to remember what I titled it, something with kiln or forge in the title. Decent input. Beyond that, I know squat. I got a book a long time ago called the Complete Modern Blacksmith which I thought was decent but I never got into it enough to really qualify it. Im thinking it was well written enough to be worth a look.
Real trucks dont have sparkplugs
ya - 'advanced search' - doh!
several threads coming up -
I'll get back - gotta go right now -
"there's enough for everyone"
Junkhound is a pretty good blacksmith.
I intend to spend some time this winter trying to forge my own woodwording/sculpting adzes from old hammer heads and light trailer leaf springs.
try http://www.blacksmithsjournal.com
We have a blacksmith's shop at the historical society. The guys who run it are members of the Illinois Valley Blacksmith's Association.
The boys and I took some beginning blacksmithing classes through the association. They brought in some guys who were willing to teach, and we spent a few Saturdays out there learning various things.
If you do some checking you might find a similar association in your area. Learning from someone who's standing there by you is a whole lot easier than learning from a book, IMHO.
A lot of the guys at the historical society are into making metal roses, and other stuff that seems to "girly" for me. I was more interested in learning about doing practical stuff, like sharpening mower blades, or something like that.
Did you see pictures of the hot dog cooker that Carl and I made? I posted it here on BT somewhere a while back. It was made in blacksmith class.
I kinda drifted away from it, as I just wasn't interested in the "girly" stuff, and that's all they seemed to have classes on.
There was a guy from North Carolina that used to post here. I haven't seen him in quite a while. Deblacksmith, I think it was. Maybe he'll pop 'round.
Luck.
Greg
http://swordforum.com/
SamT
The best web site unfortunately closed, the former keenjunk.com
Anvilfire.com is a good site.
Having used everything from the old gravity coal furnance to electrical induction for heat, I'd suggest to start you simply use stacked up fire brick and a propane weed burner for your heat.
In the 90's I gave away over a ton of blacksmith tools, including 2 anvils. Have not fired up my coal forge for over 15 years, always use the propane.
You probably won't be doing horses. On my mothers side of the family most of the men were blacksmiths going wayyyyyyy back. As a kid in the fifties in England I used to watch a cousin (many times removed) work in his forge with a big bellows, shoeing horses and making shoes. I still remember lots of the tools he used to make different things. Even now after all these years whenever I'm hammering something on my vice, my hammer still beats to a rhythm. Bang,bang(on the piece) and tap, tap on the side. My grandfather said when he took up blacksmithing around 1905(?) they had to learn the complete anatomy of a horse so they could correct any problem (or try) with corrective shoes or fix their hoof's. He also used to talk about the people who were killed or severely crippled doing blacksmithing.
Hope I didn't bore you.
roger
The best sources are the knife magazines .... Knives Illustrated, Tactical Knives, Blade. All spend part of each issue visiting different shops, and showing you how to make different equipment. Blade also publishes some superb books, including "The $50 Shop."
Well, there's Will Smith, Emmett Smith
probably lots more, but I don't know if they're BTers
Forrest - trying to help
I started to make that joke when I first saw this thread this morning. Glad I reigned myself in. Whew, that was close.
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"he ot the placed closed down whyyy thhhattt nnooo gooodddd" - sancho