Once upon a time, a middle-aged electrical engineer decided to try something
new. Something about heating a piece of iron 'til it glows and then hammering
and shaping it to his will was strangely appealing. This web page is my chronicle
of this adventure while it's still fresh in my mind. Hopefully, I can spare
some future newcomer some of the pitfalls I fell into. And maybe I'll also
be able to remind some of the old-timers of the joys of discovery, of how
the simple twist of a hot piece of metal can bring so much satisfaction.
(12/26/00)
Safety
Some of the stuff I deal with at this site have the potential to cause injury. Propane can explode and the fumes can make you sick (or dead). The things, processes, and procedures I describe are relatively safe for me, but everyone is different. The safest rule of thumb is, if something doesn't feel safe or "right" to you, then don't do it. If you do see something on this site that looks unsafe to you, feel free to fill me in. Whatever you do, please understand you do so at your own risk. I, Marc Godbout, may not be held responsible for any injuries, sickness, or damages resulting from any of the information published at this site.
Advertising
Throughout this site I will mention, and possibly link to, companies or other commercial entities. Chances are, I am not affiliated with any of these companies in any business relationship other than maybe being a satisfied customer. By day, I'm an engineer with a company that makes fiber optic Ethernet access products - hardly a cross with anyone doing anything related to blacksmithing.
(or, How I Got Hooked)
My foray into blacksmithing began way back, about two years ago, in one of those human interest columns in the paper. This article was about the last blacksmith in the Manchester, NH, who had retired and decided to sell his tools because he couldn't find an apprentice to learn his trade and take over the shop. I thought, "What a great hobby that would be." Deep down inside I was really thinking, "What a great life that would be." Back then there wasn't much I could do about it because he was going out of business and I had no idea how to find someone to help me learn about blacksmithing.
Now turn the calendar forward almost two years to another article by the same author, in the same column, in the same newspaper about a farrier in my hometown of Derry, NH, who has opened his shop to teaching blacksmithing through our community education program. Well, I signed up the next day.
The first night of class Ken, our teacher, showed us the basics, taught us smithy safety, then taught us how to make a hook. We then fired up the propane forges and made hooks, which involved tapering, bending, hot-cutting, twisting, and drawing. So the first night of class we made a thing and brought it home. I guess the project was appropriate, as we were now completely hooked. One of the students went out after the second class and bought himself an anvil, tongs, and a small forge. Since then we've built skewers, turkey forks, spatulas, utensil racks, leaves, and we're now working on a scrolled trivet with a flower center. That's all after 10 weeks of one, two-hour class per week.
Overall, this class has been a great thing for me and, I believe, the other guys in the class. We all show up early and Ken has to shut off the gas at 9:00, or we'd be hammering away until who knows when. Ken, when he's not showing us a new technique or giving us advice here and there as we work, usually works on some little project during class. This is an education in itself. One nice thing about blacksmithing is you've got to take breaks while the metal heats up. Ken's work area is next to mine, so I just watch what he's doing and try to remember what I see.
For any of you experienced smiths out there who might be considering teaching your craft, I say "Go for it". Keep it as hands-on as possible. There's nothing like coming home with something new every night of class. It might just be a piece of a project, but it's new, it's different, and it makes me want to show up early for the next class.
(2/4/2001)
Since this is a class that has no end in sight, check
here occasionally to see how we're doing.
Of course, one class per week is not nearly enough to feed this new mid-life crisis. But in order to do homework, tools must be gathered. The basics are the forge, hammer, and anvil. So far I've got an anvil, and that's about it. I'm building a forge and will chronicle that adventure elsewhere.
The anvil is an inexpensive 55lb "carbon steel" job from Harbor Freight. I did quite a bit of research through the Internet and learned enough to stay away from cast iron. Cast iron is just too soft for this type of work. My problem, though, was cost. A proper used anvil will set you back about $2 per pound, if you look through auction sites and classified ads, assuming you can find one at all. I haven't networked enough yet with local blacksmiths to get a really good deal, so the HF anvil will have to do. It's smaller and its face is not quite hardened to the same quality as the one I use in class. Hopefully, in some future addition to this page I'll be able to report that great find.
No hammer, other than my little ball peen, yet, but I'm hoping Santa will be good to me this Christmas.
So I guess, my smithy is still in its cocoon. It also doubles as an attic, shelter for the snowblower, camping storage, wood shop, and in a former life actually saw use as a garage. I fully expect to have my forge and anvil mounted on wheels, to match the table saw.
(1/23/01)
I put together an anvil stand this weekend.
The base came with a drill press, but I never used it because it really was
too short. But it's just right for the anvil. If you checked the picture,
you'll also see there's an I-beam in there. The anvil is only a 55 lb'er,
so I felt I could use the extra mass. I bolted the anvil to the I-beam to
the stand, with roofing shingles in between each piece to help deaden the
noise. The anvil doesn't ring too badly by itself, but combined with the
clang of the I-beam and the twang of the metal stand, it was pretty noisy.
The shingles cut that down greatly. After putting this together, I noticed
that the I-beam also makes a nice two-level upsetting base.
I also put the forge on a wheeled stand, matching my table saw. Well ... it is my table saw. It's only temporary, but I like the height.
This, combined with a 2-lb ball pein hammer, gives me a working smithy. I've started working on a pair of tongs and I'm beginning to feel like a real blacksmith. Life is good.
(2/4/01)
Got a 2.5 lb cross-pein hammer head from Ebay. This cost $12.50 with shipping,
but until the flea markets open up again it's probably the best deal I'll
find. It's at least not as overpriced as most of Ebay's stuff.
The anvil is holding up OK. I've been pounding out that pair of tongs, drawing about 2 ft of 11/8 X 3/8 stock down to 3/8 square. On those rare (?) occasions when I miss the stock, the anvil face will show a ding. I'm also thinking that the anvil stand has a little too much flex in the legs and may be absorbing the blows too much. It's just a feeling, and not stopping me, but I'll have to fix that some time in the near future.
(2/11/01)
Finished my first set of tongs. Now the basic
set of tools is complete, if sparse.
(7/5/01)
I got myself a real anvil. One of the members
of the New England Blacksmiths had this one laying around and gave me a good
deal. It's a 140 lb. Fisher, made in 1908. Face and edges are in great shape.
It's so nice to feel that rebound compared to my Harbor Freight anvil. And
since the Fishers were made with a tool steel face onto a cast iron body,
this one is much quieter than the HF and the Peter Wright in class.
It pays to network, folks. Thanks, Tim.
As for other tools, I've aquired a 2 lb. farrier's rounding hammer from a somewhat local (same state that I live in) farrier supply house. We use these in class (we use lots of farrier tools :-) and I like the rounding face when working scrolls and other radii. On top of that, I've made a twisting tool, hot chisel, and scrolling pliers. I've gotten a few more tongs through Ebay and flea markets. Basically, I've got a workable, if small, collection of rusty things. Next up, it's time to start making tools for the Hardy. Luckily, a section of wrought iron railing I picked up from a scrap yard to use as stock has about 6 feet of 7/8 square which is about a coat of paint too large for my anvil's Hardy.
Oh, yeah, I also picked up a used Miller AC/DC arc welder. Do I have a problem? Does it matter?
(8/8/01)
It's pretty hot working the forge in the summer. I bought a post-mounted fan at the flea market and point that at my head and chest, away from the work. This does wonders for feeling cool. Keep that water bottle handy!
Ah yes, gotta have a forge, but again, cost is an issue. I wanted to stick with propane as a fuel source because coal is hard to get around here and I've already got the propane tanks. Plus, I've been learning on a propane forge and it seems that I'll be able to do most everything I need with one. New propane forges, however, start at around $300. There had to be a way I could build something that would achieve forging heat and save money. You can check out my photo essay of the forge project here.
One of the great things about the Internet is the abundance of information out there. One of the problems, though, with the Internet is the abundance of information out there. More on that later. But it didn't take long to find a site which covered building your own forge. Ron Reil has put together a site, Ron's Forge Page, that far and away is the most complete source of forge-building info I could find anywhere - online or off. His burner design has become a de-facto standard for home-brew forges. Yet he's got this great open mind and has modified his plans to incorporate ideas from other tinkerers. He also gives out info on other designs. So if you're going to build your own, propane or coal, I highly suggest visiting his page. Even if not, the tinkerer in you (every blacksmith I've met so far was a tinkerer and scrounger) will be more than interested in the stuff on his page.
My choice of forge design was Ron's burner and a body made entirely of insulating firebrick. I chose firebrick because I have no welding tools, nor skills, and couldn't produce a decent sized metal tube with all the fittings. Insulating firebrick is a special animal, different from the stuff used to line fireplaces and woodstoves. It's much lighter than regular firebrick and cuts easily with a hacksaw or any fine-toothed saw. The stuff I got is made by New Castle Refractories, but they don't sell to small users. I found my supply at a local refractory contractor who also sells the stuff they use. At $2 for a standard 2 1/2" X 4 1/2" X 9" for 14 bricks, I felt the cost wasn't all that bad.
Finding materials for forge building is going to require some clever thinking, as you'll be using material usually meant for other applications to build something non-standard. It's kind of like building furniture out of PVC pipe. PVC's easy to get, but you're not going to get much advice from the pipe people. Getting refractory materials, those are materials used in high temperature applications like kilns, incinerators, etc., was a bit of a chore. Others have had luck with local potter supply shops, but for some reason that didn't work out for me in my area. I could only find one who sold kiln supplies, but they had no idea what I was talking about. Building my own kiln? That's just crazy. "It would be cheaper to buy one, like a car is more expensive if you buy just the parts". That's the line the local ceramics place gave me. I guess a blacksmith has a different outlook than a potter.
Most of the plumbing-type parts were pretty easy to find in my local hardware store and Home Depot. They really are common things, but another thing I learned was that plumbing supplies have different standards depending on what you're buying. For example, a 1/4 Male Pipe Taper thread seems to fit in a 3/8 Compression nut. They don't really, but it feels that way. You've got to match the size and the type thread.
A good source for pieces for a "standard" tube-type forge is through Jay Hayes. He's a blacksmith/metalworker who's taken the time to stock and sell pretty much all the pieces to build a forge, right down to the custom-rolled tube with all the holes and fittings, the gas-saver manifold, fuel lines and fittings. Email him if you're interested and he'll get you a price sheet and probably answer any questions you might have.
Another place to look is welding supply shops, at least for the burner pieces. They're used to setting people up with gas fittings and will also sell you the propane. They're also small shops, usually, and are much better able to give you decent advice than the Big Orange Vests.
Speaking of the burner, here's a piece of advice which could save you mucho
time. If you're going to build the Reil burner, then follow his plans to
the letter. This is where the Internet's abundance of information screwed
me up. I found a different way to lock in the jet tube from someone else's
page. Basically, Ron suggests drilling a hole for the jet tube just below
the lip of the bell reducer and locking it in with a short piece of 1 1/2
pipe nipple. You can follow his page to see what I'm talking about. I found
someone who tried putting the jet tube through the nipple, instead, and locking
it in with the reducer. After much emailing back and forth with the designer
(thanks again, Ron) we found that the jet tube was too far away from the
burner tube. Eventually I ended up with a nice flame, after I modified my
work to be exactly the same as Ron's plans. It was fun to experiment, and
I learned a lot more about how gas burners work, but it might have been a
good idea to start with what works.
(12/26/00)
This has been an incredible group. Since starting this adventure, I've met,
both online and off, lots of folks who are more than helpful. It seems as
if helping a new blacksmith, sharing knowledge, and just plain showing off
is part of a blacksmith's duty. And I haven't even been to any blacksmith
meets. Ralph Sproul, the New Hampshire Representative for the
New England
Blacksmiths, actually invited me up to his shop. I took him up on it
and he was gracious enough to show me around. Here's a guy who seems to be
doing exactly what he wants to be doing. Dick Gilbert, the President of NEB,
has also offered to give me the grand tour. I've yet to meet him, but hopefully
will do so after the holidays. And, of course, Ken DeRoche, my teacher, and
the guys in the class, have enriched this whole experience to something more
than the thrill of pounding metal into submission.
Then there's the online folks. The mailing list, TheForge, has been a great source of information. Just send an email to majordomo@qth.net with the words "subscribe theforge", no quotation marks, in the body. A couple other useful forums are the Blacksmith's Junkyard and the newsgroup alt.crafts.blacksmithing. Ron Reil got me through my first burner, and the list goes on.
So, a big "Thank you" to all those I've met so far and to those I hope to meet in the future.
(05/19/01)
I've joined the New England
Blacksmiths. Not only joined, but jumped in and volunteered to
help out as Membership Coordinator. I've met a lot of good friends in the
few months I've been a member. I made it to my first meet, held at Saugus
Iron Works, in Saugus, MA. From watching Tom Letane, to the Green Coal area,
to just gabbing with other smiths, I'm pretty sure I've fallen in with a
good crowd. Thanks, guys!
(12/24/00)
Here's a collection of the links I've come across. Hopefully they'll be of
some use. They're in no particular order, but are mostly chronological as
I discovered them.
Some suppliers:
Lytherm® 3000-L
Alumina Paper
Southern Manufacturing, Inc.
RM Engineered Products.
M Supply - Insulation for marine and aviation thermal
and acoustical applications
PSH Pottery Supplies Home Page
Pottery equipment, pottery
supplies, arts and crafts, ceramics!
Fairey & Co.: refractory
supplies; firebrick, castable, ceramic fiber & more
E.J Bartells Refractories
Axner Secure Store
General blacksmiths and other info:
Melting Furnace
Chris Ray - Contemporary
wrought metal sculpture - forged iron, hammered copper, bronze
[ABANA] The Artist Blacksmith's Association of
North America
Riser's
Small Propane Fired Forge
Blacksmith Forge Blacksmithing Links
Ron's Forge Page
Free Gas Forge Plans
anvilfire.com - Blacksmithing and Metalworkers
Reference
Bramblebush - Forging Forum
- YAK Board #2
ArtMetal
TechTalk - Forging Forum - List
Blacksmithing Resources
for Blacksmiths
The Elektric Anvil
Blacksmith's Gazette Home
Page
Blacksmith's Journal Homepage
MetalWebNews BLACKSMITH
Blacksmith Fundamentals
keenjunk.com - Blacksmiths Virtual Junkyard [Home
Page]
Optical Pyrometer
Steel
Metallurgy FAQ v1.0
Blacksmithing
Book
Blacksmithing
Manual
Sketchbook Drawing/Spark
Charts
Rusty Dog Forge - Blacksmithing by Harry Foster
(12/31/00 - Happy New Year!!))
Here are those tidbits I'm picking up as I move along. They don't really fit any special category but they somehow struck a chord.
I hope my little effort here helped you out somehow. If you've got any suggestions (constructive works best), ideas, or just plain praise let me know. This site is a work in progress, so check back often.
