Randy

I originally started with an old wagon smith who had learned from the apprentiseship system. After about 3 years on my own, reading books and practicing I finally got a beginners class from Frank Turley at a local school. I wish I had that from the beginning! The basics are so important. Learn how to run your forge, learn the basic hammer blows, how to stand, etc. I still catch myself today doing some of the bad habits I was originally taught. Get a good class from a great instructor first! Plus the class will show you what equipment you really need, or don't need, how to set them up and what to look for. Good luck and have fun in what ever path you take!

Everyone is right on the mark. Only thing I would add is that if on an outside porch that probably means it's not a level floor. It slopes away from the house. So, do you need levelers on the feet or how are they/you going to compensate for the sloped floor? Details, details.

What a hassle! Plus if you paid for the spot, then that's more money down the tubes. When I was doing shows I had to learn the hard way, too. Just wasn't worth the risk of bad weather. It doesn't have to be rain either. We had a gusty windy day and a jewelers' glass display cabinet flew open into a woman's face cutting her nose off with broken glass. It pays to pay for an indoor booth. But shows aren't what they used to be. The fees for some shows are around $1,000 and that doesn't garantee a crowd or a buying one. It's tough to find the right place to sell our work By the way, you have some beautiful work. Keep up the good job!

Even mild steel will make a good bell. Either by work hardening or by just hardening by heating and quenching. I made one bell from a piece of steel pipe and it has such a high pitch ring that it hurts your ears.

ciladog, great job and description! Thanks for the photos. It makes all the difference in understanding it. Matt, in barbing the edges of the tool steel bit, the barbs need to be big enough to with stand the heat and pushing into the other metal and be sure the steel bit is cold and then hammer that the hot piece that you are attaching it to. Yea, you have to work quick. Often I'll lay the bit on the anvil with barbs up and just hammer the hot piece onto it.

I agree. I've had the same thing happen. The reason I did the hammer test on it is because they kept writing in saying that ti was too brittle for a knife. I gave them a visual to change their mind for that application. Here's the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_uO7PU8l8Y

I should also add that titanium is great for making flint strikers. Instead of flint and steel it's flint and titanium. Titanium throws a bright white spark that lasts longer than the steel sparks. My clients love them.

I've been forging it for about 25 years or so. I've forged sheet to 2" round stock. It needs to be at a bright yellow + to forge. I use coal most of the time in order to get the higher heats. It holds the heat well, seems to keep it longer than steel, but as Thomas said, it will let you know when it's time to reheat. The hammer will just bounce off of it! I don't use fluxes on it. Just forge it. It will get a texture to it like elephant skin in appearance, but I like that. I have two YouTube videos of forging titanium. The sword one was done to show how to make something where you can't weld or drill pieces for assembly. The sword was done so I hammered modeling clay to show the process. The second one I did of forging a titanium knife, more of a letter opener. I did this one to show how it worked under a hand hammer and to dispell the nomer of it being brittle. I take a sledge hammer to it in the vise and it just bounces off. I've attached a couple of shot of it from my etsy site so you can see the texture. Twisting is the toughest thing to do. For how hard it is it twists easy, but it's also easy to crack. Even if it does crack it it still very strong. This was made from 1/4" x 1". I've had people tell me it wasn't titanium, because you can't forge titanium. I tell them I didn't know that and did it anyway. Carerful it will burn, but you have to try to do it. If it does get hot enough to burn the end will glow like a welding rod welding. Too bright to watch without damaging your eyes. Plus it burns for quite a while. I love it!

Peter Ross told me one years ago, I'll make it less abusive: How do you know the blacksmiths' dog? When you hollar at him he makes a bolt for the door!

I have more hand tools from spring than from anything else and do demos and classes on making tools from coil spring. One tip I can add is to slightly square up the material once it is straightened. Don't make it perfectly square, but leave the rounded corners for comfort in the hand. This will give a direction for the working end and stops it from rolling off of the anvil. Also on smaller stock it helps to stop the piece from bending when hit.

If you want to get in touch with Norm: Norm Larson Books 5426 E. Hwy. 246, Lompoc, CA 93436 805-735-2095 Evenings larbooks@impulse.com One of the original booksmiths for us smiths!

Great place, but the shop isn't what it used to be. Then again wait until you see the proposed new one.

Posted Today. June 4, 08:17 AM From Kirsten this morning on Facebook: "Bill passed away early this morning, just in time to start off his new path with the sunrise, his favorite time of day." RIP Yes, Frosty, we've lost way too many great ones.

You can do it with mild steel if you add carbon to the piece. Instead of taking the long route and case hardening it, put it in the fire and take it up to welding heat. Don't burn it. Then you'll have enough carbon to harden. If you want to see this work do a spark test first, then heat to welding, cool and do another spark test. Lots of carbon! I also make strikers using titanium. They spark great and no heat treating.

As stated earlier, get rid of the cast fittings! And definitely get protective sleeves for your high pressure hoses. Some are kevlar. They run about $3.50 per foot so it is a very cheap investment to save your life and/or body parts and possibly your shop if it turns into a flame thrower.

Doing craft shows and volunteering at the Farm Museum I heard all of those, too. Plus no matter what I was doing I heard, "Look, it's RED hot!". And no matter what I was making they said it was a horse shoe. Maybe that's why I hate horse shoes and railroad spikes. Oh, and while I'm hammering and have a display of my work nearby, they'd say, "No one does this any more." So what am I doing?! After about 15 years of this I'd just finished a detailed dragon's head and heard it was a horse shoe, took another high heat on it, stuck in the guys face and said, "Does this look like a horse shoe???!!!" It was then I decided to teach, but no more demo's for the public.

Who are the demonstrators?

Great looking tooling! Here's a tip: during the filing and shaping stage use a piece of modeling clay and push the tool into it cold to see if you have the shape, thickness and size you want. If not then you can do some more filing/shaping. Once you do have what you want then you can do the heat treating. Another tip is to make a tool stand to put your tooling in with the working in up so you can tell what's what. I put casters on mine so I can roll it to where I'm working or roll it out of the way if I need to. It also holds my other punches, files, bending forks, etc.

Sounds neat! How about a picture or two or three?

Andrew, I really recommend you get "Build Your Own Hydraulic Forging Press" by Jim Batson, you can get it at the American Bladesmith site: http://www.americanbladesmith.com/store/s-pages/ABS_Store_Forging%20Press.htm That will give you all the specifics on cylinders, pumps, motors and set-ups. BTW my motor is 3,450 rpm. Stay safe!

Andrew, they are 6" cylinders, 7-1/2' square with 2-1/2" rams and the pump is a Northern Tool,16 GPM,2 stage, w/ 1/2" shaft. 2,500 PSI / MAX 3,000 PSI

That's my press. It's a 60 ton two cylinder hydraulic forging press. It was made from a 24" I-beam, 23-3/4" x 7" by 56" high. Note all the extra bracing welded on the ends, top and bottom. One of the things not covered in safety on the video is to get protective sleeves for the high pressure hoses. There is also a part 2 to the video. If I can help you with anything let me know.

Here's a nice setup. The seat pivots around the anvil stand and also swivels.

I'm teaching a class in May at Peters Valley in Layton, NJ, on "Forge Welding Simplified". I know it's not Wisconsin, but the main thing is putting the time into it. There's only two things you can do wrong. It's either too hot or it's too cold. Forget the hype about it and just do it! It's fun!

Oh, No! Frank, look what you started!