Support Your Local Blacksmith

[louosten]

Hello to All;

I had some bent up metal to straighten out, and thought it would be fun to go by the local blacksmith's shop and see what he could do for me.

Lucas House runs Iron House Forge (www.ironhouseforge.com) in Raleigh, NC, and is quite a talented guy. He has done some elaborate 'commissions' and does small jobs as well. He is an NC State Graduate who decided to hang around after graduation (originally from the Asheville area), and collaborate with other crafty people in a local group call the "The Ant Farm".



So I brought him this bent up door from an old surplus machine stand, and he used his hammer and anvil to straighten it out:


I thought he might fire up the forge and get it hot, but he recommended 'cold forming' due to the time involved, and the possibility of lead paint on the door:


Anyway, he got the job done in short order, while I observed, wearing the required hearing protection...as I thanked him and got ready to leave, I noticed he had an Iron Worker, and asked if he could punch out some base plates for my Atlas 10F mounting:

About 3 minutes later, it was all done. I gave him a $20 and we both happily parted company.

If you get an opportunity to support your local craftspeople, please do so. It's great to see some of the Old World skills still at work!

Lou O.

 

[RJSakowski]

Not just an Old World skill. Blacksmiths were the foundation that built this country. If you needed anything made of metal, you went to the blacksmith. Everything from nails to build your house to guns to protect yourself. They were the original machinists and some of the work they did was quite amazing given the tools they had to work with.

They were still quite common until after WW2. We still have a few around, mostly artist- blacksmiths. I have a small shop for my own personal use. It is highly gratifying to be able to turn a rusty old piece of iron into a useful product.

 

[markknx]

Would love to learn this art.

 

[RJSakowski]

Would love to learn this art.

There are a number of good books on the subject. A local technical school or community college may offer courses as well.

It does not take a lot of expense to start. I have seen coal fire forges made from old wheel rims and you can use charcoal if you can't or don't want to to use coal. An anvil can be as simple as a block of iron from a local scrap dealer. Many have been built of railroad rail. I have a very nice railroad anvil that I made almost forty years ago in my basement which I use for sheet metal work . A cross pein hammer, about two to three lbs., and a ball pein, about 16 to 24 oz., will suffice at first. Vice grips can work as tongs until you acquire proper smithing tongs.

One of the beauties of blacksmithing is that you can make your own tools. I have made hammers, tongs, several anvils, punches, chisels, anvil hardies, and a myriad of special tools.

Blacksmiths are surpassed only by foundry-men in their ability to convert scrap into useful products.

 

[markknx]

Yes I have Played a little and get the basics, like making holes and what not. but I thought coal or Coke where required, and getting coal or coke in the small amounts I would need in my area seems to be hard. I have a small blower, a piece of RR rail. I have a few RR spikes I was going to try to make a Knife from one.
The rim thing just fill the rim with your fuel?
Thanks
Mark

 

[pebbleworm]

Here's my local blacksmith in San Francisco:
http://renaissanceforge.com/
He was able to hammer weld a crack in wrought iron bicycle frame from 1869 and get the machine back on the road. Like almost all of the local blacksmiths he is more at the artistic end than the repair, but he was honestly excited about working on that old bike. For learning the trade, there are classes and shop time available at the Crucible in Oakland:
http://thecrucible.org/

 

[RJSakowski]

Yes I have Played a little and get the basics, like making holes and what not. but I thought coal or Coke where required, and getting coal or coke in the small amounts I would need in my area seems to be hard. I have a small blower, a piece of RR rail. I have a few RR spikes I was going to try to make a Knife from one.
The rim thing just fill the rim with your fuel?
Thanks
Mark

Charcoal was used for centuries before coal came into use. Charcoal briquets should work fine. You might have some difficulty getting to a good forge welding heat but otherwise, no problems.

A forge has a firepot (the rim) and a source of forced air. The rim is not ideal since the steel will burn with continued use. I have also seen differential covers from large truck used as a firepot. Cast iron works better and many commercial firepots are made from it. You can also make a firepot from fire brick. Keep in mind that sparks fly from blacksmithing activities. If you are not working outdoors, make sure you do not have flammables nearby and that you have a fire extinguisher close by. Coal fires also generate obnoxious smoke. Not good if you are in a residential neighborhood. Many modern blacksmiths use gas forges. They are cleaner to operate and more portable. They are not well suited for forge welding however.

The air stream is best brought in from below although many old forges had bellows blowing from the side. Additionally, a grate of some sort to keep the coals from falling into the air box. The grate in coal forges often took the form of a clinker breaker to break up the clinker which formed from the ash from the coal. The exhaust from a shop vac can be your air source. You should have some means of regulating the air flow and turning on and off. As with working with gas heating and welding, you want to be able to control the oxygen content in the fuel-air mixture. Too much oxygen will burn the steel.

I would not try to make a knife from railroad spikes unless it was strictly ornamental. They do not have enough carbon content to harden properly. Files will work but you should grind the teeth off first. Other high carbon materials would be things like saw blades, old chisels, etc. Think cutting edges.

Check the internet for information. There is a huge amount of material, including design and construction instructions on home-builts. Have fun!

 

[cdhknives]

Lots of bladesmiths are still working with hammer and anvil...but many have upgraded their forges to natural gas or propane. Much cleaner. much better for your lungs. Much easier to fuel unless you live in coal country.

Old leaf blowers and vacuum cleaners with exhaust ducts also work as makeshift blowers to try out the trade...and a stack of fireplace brick makes a dandy forge.

 

[markknx]

I thought there was I forum for blacksmith work here but I can't find it. looking for sources for equipment and consumables. Ideas on building/buying. coal vs LP. and the like anyone still following this tread have any ideas or opinions?
Thanks Mark

 

[davidh]

i saved a camshaft from a 4 cyl chev malibu, is it a suitable piece for forging ? or is it cast steel and just junk?