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Post by ohiodreamer on Oct 14, 2015 17:58:21 GMT
DH and DS will be taking their second blacksmithing class this week. It will be "all hands on" so they should get some nice experience under their belts. What then came home with last month was great! We have NO equipment at home. This is something both of them want to pursue, at least in their down time. Christmas is coming....any suggestions of what would be a good place to start. An anvil is outside my Christmas budget (and we may get one before then)....I'm thinking the smaller "nice to haves" or smaller "must haves". Here is where I show that I did not go to classes with the boys.......um.....I don't even know what stuff is called. SO...if you could add a link or picture to what you are talking about it would help. Our local Tractor Supply store has bags of coal this year (a first ever).....yes both boys will get coal for Christmas They learned in the first class how to "coke it".....so it will be funny, and useful. We are planning, at least at first, to use coal for fuel. Wonder if any of our cars need breaks, lol??? Be cool for one of them to get a break drum for Christmas, lol.
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Post by shellymay on Oct 14, 2015 18:33:32 GMT
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Post by ohiodreamer on Oct 14, 2015 19:46:25 GMT
Holy cow...no small priced items!
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Post by shellymay on Oct 14, 2015 23:24:35 GMT
Use it as a guide and shop around, it at least gives tool names and some info!
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Post by beowoulf90 on Oct 15, 2015 12:18:02 GMT
A brake drum is useful, but you can substitute an old water heater also for the brake drum. I build my first one from an old elec. water heater, sand, fire brick and some 1" black iron pipe and an old hair dryer.. It worked great for years. But understand it is a side draft not a bottom draft (in plain words the air is coming from the side and not from below like most forges) If you have any auctions around you might be able to find an old rivet forge for about $100, hopefully less, but around here that is about the asking price. See link for pictures of rivet forges. Old brand names like Champion or Buffalo are popular forges and blowers.. I have both but prefer my Champion, but then it was made in Lancaster County, PA and I'm from that area. www.centaurforge.com/Rivet-Forges/products/385/Once they learn how, they will start making the tools they need, it's part of the process of learning.. Maybe a member ship in one of the blacksmith associations would be helpful.. such as ABANA.org (Artist blacksmith Assoc. of North America) or PABA (Pennsylvania Artist blacksmith assoc.) When I used to below to PABA the members were great and taught me a lot and the meetings even got my wife involved, no she wasn't swinging a hammer, but the family atmosphere etc was great. She looked forward to the meetings as much as I did. The meetings were normally held on a Sat at one of the members shop and included demos and plenty of food and friendship. There are also a lot of good books out there that these associations recommend, so they may be a good Christmas gift as well. I hope that helps..
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Post by ohiodreamer on Oct 15, 2015 13:50:42 GMT
Use it as a guide and shop around, it at least gives tool names and some info! Great point. I only took about 5 min and didn't "think" about it. That site is a good "dictionary".
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Post by ohiodreamer on Oct 15, 2015 13:54:32 GMT
A brake drum is useful, but you can substitute an old water heater also for the brake drum. I build my first one from an old elec. water heater, sand, fire brick and some 1" black iron pipe and an old hair dryer.. It worked great for years. But understand it is a side draft not a bottom draft (in plain words the air is coming from the side and not from below like most forges) If you have any auctions around you might be able to find an old rivet forge for about $100, hopefully less, but around here that is about the asking price. See link for pictures of rivet forges. Old brand names like Champion or Buffalo are popular forges and blowers.. I have both but prefer my Champion, but then it was made in Lancaster County, PA and I'm from that area. www.centaurforge.com/Rivet-Forges/products/385/Once they learn how, they will start making the tools they need, it's part of the process of learning.. Maybe a member ship in one of the blacksmith associations would be helpful.. such as ABANA.org (Artist blacksmith Assoc. of North America) or PABA (Pennsylvania Artist blacksmith assoc.) When I used to below to PABA the members were great and taught me a lot and the meetings even got my wife involved, no she wasn't swinging a hammer, but the family atmosphere etc was great. She looked forward to the meetings as much as I did. The meetings were normally held on a Sat at one of the members shop and included demos and plenty of food and friendship. There are also a lot of good books out there that these associations recommend, so they may be a good Christmas gift as well. I hope that helps.. Thank you. We have an auction barn not far from here....we'll have to go looking. Sounds like there are lots of options for cobbling together a starter kit. We are about a year late on a water heater....neighbor replaced his last year (we replaced ours 3 yrs ago). But that idea gets the creative juices going....which is the heart and soul of blacksminthing in my mind
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Post by farmchix on Oct 15, 2015 23:30:19 GMT
From his first few classes on, Hubs preferred to make his own "tools". They can never have enough clamps, though. Every shape and size. A cone is good. Keep an eye out for auctions. Also google the local "Blacksmithing Organization" in your area. We have one in Ohio that meets once a month. They have a big blow-out/party/convention at the fairgrounds. There are always a lot of vendors and you can get everything from leather aprons to used tools to new tools. Hubs has a couple great blacksmithing books we got on Amazon. Just read the reviews...you will pick the right one. Keep an eye out for things they can use to make their forge. (Someone throws an old smoker away in the trash, etc.) Getting them a lump of coal might be a good thing! LOL Nice leather gloves, the aforementioned leather apron. Heck, I have even gone to a local company and they gave me their junk steal. They were just leftovers from where they installed the steel girders for a new building. I could go on and on....Hubs has turned into Sanford (remember Sanford and Son??) Bed springs, old steel shelving, etc. - he's pretty easy to please!
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Post by Deleted on Dec 1, 2015 15:11:44 GMT
Something overlooked usually is a personalized stamp. A punch or a set of punches that will make you mark. Not a necessity but adds a personal touch to each piece. Not that every piece isn't going to already have a few thousand personal touches under a hammer. Even if its a cast piece being made, there was still personal effort put into making the cast.
And there is always a need for another hammer in all shapes and sizes and weights. Hope the hunt for ideas goes well.
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Post by farmchix on Dec 1, 2015 15:24:47 GMT
Something overlooked usually is a personalized stamp. A punch or a set of punches that will make you mark. Not a necessity but adds a personal touch to each piece. Not that every piece isn't going to already have a few thousand personal touches under a hammer. Even if its a cast piece being made, there was still personal effort put into making the cast. And there is always a need for another hammer in all shapes and sizes and weights. Hope the hunt for ideas goes well. We got some of these super cheap at the antique mall.
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