Blacksmiths?

[blueeyeddevil]

How many of you have a forge or are a blacksmith? I believe that having some sort of forge/anvil and skill,will be very important to long term survival, especially if you are working land. If you have a forge set up lets see some pics.. Im in the process of building a portable (somewhat, its able to roll around on uneven terrain) charcoal/coal/whatever will burn hot enough, forge with an old Buffalo Forge hand crank blower.

[Quietus]

I have been known to dabble in such things. Mostly blades and small practical items (fire steels, cloak pins, pot hangers and such).
Picked it up over many years of reenactment.

I don't have a vast amount of time for it anymore and therefore don't have a forge at home. But I do have access to a proper smithy, that I use from time to time.

[maldon007]

I want, but don't have one yet... But I do a decent lot of metal work by cutting/grinding/whatevering. And I have a little kiln I can heat treat small pieces in. If I had a farm, a forge would be a must.

[azrael99]

I'm working to make my own, i found a blacksmith who can teach me the skill. i have a basic metallurgy class too. i also been reputed to be able to tinker my tools too.

[cv66er]

I did some about twenty years ago, working with a guy that makes medieval armor. He owned the forge, anvils (ever seen a chevalier anvil), (over a hundred) hammers, tongs, and a monster pile of other toys. I'm married now, with a 9yo. I've been saying maybe again someday for oh, about twenty years now.

[Crow]

Have a forge house with a forge, that has a little beater electric blower. This summers project is to make a new house and 55gallon foundry. Will post pics tomorrow.

[blueeyeddevil]

Where are those pics?!

[Bonecrusher Doc]

I know of at least one community college that teaches blacksmithing to those who want to pay a few bucks to take a few "enrichment" classes. You don't have to be a full time student or anything.

Just for those who are looking at this thread, wondering how they could get into blacksmithing if they don't already know a smith to apprentice themselves to.

[bigmattdaddywack]

I very much plan on taking it up when I can.

[Crow]

Hopefully facebook will allow linking. I will try to answer questions as quick as I can. I can find smithing hammers at the local flea market for like $5, its awesome! Currently need to goto KY for coal =(

This is the forge house. It is older than I am, and I am 32. The yellow barrel is full of aluminium, and the pile behind it is aluminum. Both medical grade. The frame by the barrel is for a handemade forge. Also our 2 draft horses love to hang out in here more than the barn.


The forge and the anvil. We need a new block as the ants are killing that one


All our tools. The bench broke this winter =(

[maldon007]

Better forge up some braces for that building's walls before much else

...wish I had a place, leaning a bit or not!

[Crow]

Got some coal. Currently cooking a very old (horse drawn) plow wheel spoke, found half the plow out back in the woods. Attempting to put a blade on one side and use it for scraping hides.

[Crow]

Just got done building a foundry. Smelted bronze and aluminum in her so far. Next step is pure copper then iron.

She is made out of:
An old chimney stack about 8-10 brick tall

3 inch clay + horse poo base
clay + grass/horse poo on top to even out the bricks and to seal around door
the door is an old pot belly stove door.

I took the blower from the forge made a ghetto connector to some pipe that was laying about and viola Dixie Flyer(name on the door) was born

Currently only burning dead wood from around the yard. Next step is to mov her where I can dig a hole and or build a mound around her.

All this was found in the woods, where people back in the day would throw their garbage into sink holes. Bottom of the hole is where the clay was.

[TheFishinMagician]

Blacksmithing doesn't require fancy equipment. You'd be surprised what you can cobble together with basic tools.

Here's a great DVD that shows you not only how to make your own forge, but how to make things with your forge, too...

Primitive Knifemaking DVD


Here's another set of videos on constructing your own foundry and making things out of bronze...

Bronze DVD

Bronze II DVD

Bronze III DVD

The good thing about video instruction is that you can go back and watch them over and over again until you master the skills. When you take a class from someone, you better pay close attention and take good notes, cause you only get one shot at it.

[DarkGhost]

I'll get pics up of our Forge at school, it's simply made and propane powered!

[Trippy]

I couldn't imagine learning to cast through six hours of video. After five classes as a student, three as an informal TA, and dozens of pours, I still learn something every time.

I haven't done any forging but have a line on a class if I ever get time.

[TheFishinMagician]

I couldn't imagine learning to cast through six hours of video.

Meh. To each, their own.

[maldon007]

I know it is much simpler, but I learned to heat treat steel from a few posts on ZS, no pics/vids

[Trippy]

I'm not saying that you couldn't learn anything through the videos. I'm sure you can learn basic mold construction and how to melt and pour aluminum and bronze. Its just that casting is such a complex technical and artistic field that you can do it for decades and still learn new things.

Think of it like working on a car: You can learn to fix your breaks by watching a video, but it takes years of experience to be able to do everything.

[TheFishinMagician]

I'm not saying that you couldn't learn anything through the videos. I'm sure you can learn basic mold construction and how to melt and pour aluminum and bronze. Its just that casting is such a complex technical and artistic field that you can do it for decades and still learn new things.

Think of it like working on a car: You can learn to fix your breaks by watching a video, but it takes years of experience to be able to do everything.

No question about it. The videos won't teach you everything you need to know. They are a great starting point to gain a solid foundation, though, and they can teach you enough to "get by" in a "society collapse" situation. Taking it beyond that, into the science and artform, is the individuals choice to learn and practice further (through apprenticing, etc.)

[john917v]

Agreed on making your own forge over buying a $500+ forge. I made mine from a steel spare-type truck rim. I welded legs onto the bottom, and welded an L-shaped pipe to the center hole on the rim to provide air from a blower fan from an punctured Xmas yard decoration. I'll post pics tomorrow.

[Kochman]

I am an Ironworker for a living but dont know anything about true metal working in the blacksmith sense. I would really love to learn though.