Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!shelby!neon!lucid.com!friday-13!jrm From: jrm@lucid.com (Joe Marshall) Newsgroups: trial.rec.metalworking Subject: Getting started in blacksmithing Message-ID: Date: 4 Nov 90 02:08:55 GMT Sender: jrm@lucid.com Distribution: usa Organization: Lucid, Inc., Menlo Park, CA Lines: 87 Well, since I just got started, I can tell you what I have. 0. SAFETY EQUIPMENT: fire extinguisher, first aid kit, goggles, leather apron, gloves. 1. Most important, a forge. It fairly easy to make one from a barbecue or a brake drum. I bought mine for about $170 and a bag of refractory clay to line it cost me $40. I'm not an expert at scrounging yet, so I think the money was well spent. The forge came with a hand blower. It had a mouse nest in it, but it was easy to clean up. 2. Coal. Most smiths use bituminous, but contrary to the popular literature, anthracite will work fine (yes, I can forge weld with it). Anthracite is easier to get than bituminous, and I could make the argument that it is easier for a beginner to use. 3. Second most important, an anvil. You probably want to start with one about 100 to 150 lbs. I hear that $1 a pound is a good price for a used anvil. Since this is half of your tools, I would shop around. 4. Hammer. A cross-peen is a good starting hammer. 5. Water barrel. 6. Tongs. I don't have any yet, I'm making some out of rebar. 7. various other tools, hardies, chisels, punches, etc 8. Metalworking vice. I don't have this yet, so I'm pretty limited in the fancy work I can do. 9. Steel. Hardware store has expensive steel. Steel company has cheap, but probably won't sell small lots. Scrap metal company has it real cheap, but it will be rusty and you won't know what it is(! do you like surprises?). Total cost, probably a minimum of $200, maximum of $2000 (all new equipment). I got a lot of help from some blacksmiths in the area (great guys, these blacksmiths!). I think I've invested about $350 altogether, and I expect to pay about $200 more to really get going. All things considered, this isn't a bad investment (I'll bet I recoup it in a year). I saw a knife made from an old file. The trick is that the file is tool steel. It was embedded in some mild steel by folding the steel over the file. The blade was shaped with a grinder. This is an attempt at an end view, you can see the file (rectangle) with the steel holding it. ____ __/__ \__ |_____| __) \____/ I'm just a rank amateur, but it is a lot of fun to just go out, fire up the forge and pound away. There are a lot of good books out there and I can recommend a catalog from centaur forge. Centaur Forge, ltd. P.O. Box 340 117 N. Spring St. Burlington, Wis. 53105 Phone (414) 763-9175 Call for a catalog, a list of used equipment on consignment, and a list of blacksmithing groups in your area. The real trick to getting involved in anything like this is to get involved with other people. Seek out the smiths in your area (look in the yellow pages). I saw a smith shop in back of a hotel near where I lived. I dropped in one day and he gave me a catalog, loaned me a spare anvil and forge, gave me some steel and some coal, and I was hacking blacksmithing. I learned about New England Blacksmiths from him and attended a 3-day meeting where I bought my forge and met a lot of great people (who don't know UNIX, guaranteed!). I'm trying to find a local group that meets about once a month in order to get more involved. For those of you in the bay area, there is a blacksmithing club that meets about once a month at the San Jose historical museum. ~JRM p.s. This stuff is pretty easy to learn. It succumbs to common sense and experimentation quite well. A little encouragement from a practising smith goes a long way.