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Post by Grizz on Feb 1, 2008 14:25:51 GMT -5
Me and Billy are very interested in trying our hands at blacksmithing. Any how-to's or pictures or whatever would be greatly appreciated. Yall come on out of the woodworks and post away. ;D
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Post by beaudro on Feb 1, 2008 15:49:47 GMT -5
I do some smithing! Love it, right now it's good weather for it! I started out with a propane forge, but soon I went to coal. It's cheaper and better to work with anyway. Coal is dirt cheap! I can fill my truck bed for 20 bucks, and it's easier to find that most people think. It's worth a short drive just to get a few buckets of it,, and you can find it raw is some river beds, it works great also. I used a bellows type blower at first, if you make one I wouldn't put much effort into building an elaborate system, almost anything works. I know a guy thats using an electric hair dryer,, he's 80 and doesn't want to crank a blower. The forge is the easy part, anyone should be able to build something that will work. I use an end bell off a small 18 inch tank. I use real small holes in the air duct inlet, and keep my coal piled up on that. I'll heat a 1/2" stock a little slower than some forges, but I mainly work with 3/8" or smaller and I do just fine. I'll try to post a few pictures of my forge soon, for now here's something I made last month, I sell these to rendezvous folks.
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Post by beaudro on Feb 1, 2008 16:00:21 GMT -5
here's a few of my forged small items. I like making strikers and the hooks are really nice to have around. If you use a meat hook in camp like I do, i can hang a hind quarter and cook all day and only carry a simple little hook with me.
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Post by phoenix1967 on Feb 1, 2008 16:12:46 GMT -5
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Post by threetoedwolf on Feb 17, 2008 16:04:59 GMT -5
i'm do a little blacksmithing as well as bladesmithing. No photos right now; when Clubphoto went under they pretty much deleted about 1100 of my photo's
TTW
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Post by manitou on Feb 17, 2008 16:58:46 GMT -5
All you need is something to hold your coal or charcoal, an air source and something to hold the hot metal, something to hit it with and something to hit it on. There are all kinds of setups. You can buy a coal fire pot and weld up a table,use a truck brake drum ,a wash tub(like Tim Lively). Phoenix makes some nice knives with his set up. You have to be creative. If you don't want to buy and anvil a piece of railroad track works nice if you can get your hands on some.
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Post by metalbender on Feb 17, 2008 17:21:18 GMT -5
griz before I offer tips or advice let me ask ya a couple of questions to narrow down a bit what advice tips etc TO offer heh. how serious are you two about the idea? i.e. how deep are your pockets for equipment and what kind of time yall want to spend on it...careful its addictive lol are you going with a outdoor setup or indoor one? if its a indoor one are you building a structure or throwing it in a garage?
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Post by Grizz on Feb 17, 2008 17:42:09 GMT -5
Well I'm pretty serious about giving it a try just don't have a clue as where to start. I'm a cheapskate so as little as I can spend the better. My dad works on lawnmowers so I can get all the old mower blades I want. I could probly round up a piece of railroad track. I'd be doin it outside behind my shop. I'd like to be able to make knives and strikers and such...nothing real big.
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Post by metalbender on Feb 17, 2008 19:08:28 GMT -5
ok welp lets start with the basics for a anvil, don't use a piece of track if you can help it, just doesn't have the mass, more mass = easier forging and less shock to your wrist and elbow. go to the scrapyard, buy yourself the biggest chunk of steel ya can, around 125# and up, look for something thats at least 5x5 inches square on its end. heres an example of what your trying to make; www.dfoggknives.com/Anvil.htmmind you thats a tad fancy but you get the idea. a upright hunk of huge metal on to blowers dont skimp here, you really want a good blower, trust me, it makes ALL the difference in the world. a good hand crank blower will run you about 150 - 200 on ebay. DONT get a little bufco blower, ( i made that mistake) it just doesnt put out the air, get a nice champion in the 400 series. forge pot forge pots are easy if labor intensive, the lively design is nice and not that hard to setup, take 2 days total, with a overnight drying time for the clay. 64.176.180.203/washtubforge.htmtongs and hammers again dont skimp here buy retail, buy new, pay the man lol good tongs and hammers are a pleasure to work with, bad tongs and hammers are not only a pain in the rear but can be very dangerous. this fella makes and sells good tongs via ebay, he sells a tong set that will likely be all the types of tongs youll need at the begining. stores.ebay.com/Poor-Boy-Blacksmith-Toolsfor a hammer I recommend ya go with 2 and 3 # cross peen hammers to start. start with the 2# and once you've learned hammer control switch to the 3#. books BEFORE you start building the forge get some books and read them especially "Practical Blacksmithing" it covers all the basics hope this helps
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Post by threetoedwolf on Feb 17, 2008 19:58:38 GMT -5
Lets not get to into the "Buying" side of tools. Grizz, All of my tongs I made. I bought my hammers, and my anvil was given to me. A firepot can be as simple as a round BBQ. My bellows are a Japanese box set that I made You can get alot of forging info from www.anvilfire.comI can also point you to a really great forum full of really great people in regards to blacksmithing and knifemaking. PM me and I'll give you the link TTW
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Post by metalbender on Feb 17, 2008 20:29:21 GMT -5
welp Ive used every kind of bellows from a 6 ft monster doublelung, to goatskin, to box bellows to doublepump "viking" and just about every sort of hand operated crank ya can think of, and if your not going electric blower with footpedal rheostat Ive found the best CFM airflow and control is to be found with the 400 model champions, but hey if yer not in the spendy mood thats understandable. one thing tho, BUY your first pair of tongs, at LEAST get a pair of wolfjaw....learn basic smithing, THEN consider making a pair of tongs, I cant stress this enough, life is ALOT easier with a good solid pair of tongs to start with. in a total pinch you can use vice grips ( heck they were invented by a blacksmith after all) but be aware the shock and heat stresses will eventually fry em, Ive gone through about 4 pair. the forge pot i suggested is as easy as it gets to build and costs about 30 total if your paying retail. scrounging it can be had for close to cheap, in fact the only thing youll be spending money on if yer a uber-scrounger is the unscented cat litter for making clay. anvilfire is a darn fine site. as is the primal fires group
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Post by threetoedwolf on Feb 18, 2008 6:26:06 GMT -5
BUY your first pair of tongs, at LEAST get a pair of wolfjaw....learn basic smithing, THEN consider making a pair of tongs, I cant stress this enough, life is ALOT easier with a good solid pair of tongs to start with. in a total pinch you can use vice grips. Well, in 10 years of black smithing I've went through two pair, and they were both made by myself, both from rebar. Granted, over time you will indeed fry tools that come in contact with the fire (Like hot chisel, punches, etc). It takes me about half an hour to make a set of tongs, and about 10 minutes to make a hot chisel or a punch. If you want to buy your first set, by all means do, then try to copy them in your forge. They are indeed. I moderate over at the primal fires site. Yall come on over sometimes Bob
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Post by phoenix1967 on Feb 18, 2008 7:40:35 GMT -5
Me, I'm all about cheap. I have forged for 20 years; the last ten on a piece of RR track. My ex sold all of my stuff for a song while I was outta town. My 250 lb double horn anvil, my coal forge, etc. The main reason she's my EX. Let me put it this way... ALL of my tools, stock, blanks (including complete sword blades) damascus billets, handle materials etc. FOR $250 !!!! But I digress... The point is, my second go round, I gathered, improvised, made do, and I still make decent knives. I recently met a friend who is interested in bladesmithing. He already IS a blacksmith/farrier, but knows nothing about heat treating. He DOES however frequent the antique shops in the mountains around here (mining country) and has found a nice champion 400. Look around you, get what you can, start bangin', upgrade when you can, keep tryin', keep lookin' etc. I'd add Paleoplanet's metalworking forum to the list. Lots of beginners there, as well as old hats to help out with questions. I usually have browsers open to PP, Primal Fires, and the Buck Rub, most of the time. Grizz I will PM you a good blacksmith manual for the basics.
Lawren
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Post by threetoedwolf on Feb 18, 2008 10:07:47 GMT -5
My ex sold all of my stuff for a song while I was outta town. My 250 lb double horn anvil, my coal forge, etc. The main reason she's my EX. Let me put it this way... ALL of my tools, stock, blanks (including complete sword blades) damascus billets, handle materials etc. FOR $250 !!!! Here in TX that falls under Justifiable Butt-Kickin' ;D Bob : )
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Post by metalbender on Feb 18, 2008 11:42:54 GMT -5
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