Daryl

I sometimes put a small electric fan in the shop and point it at me. Here in Saskatchewan, it does get quite hot - high 30's to the mid 40's (Celcius). Another idea is to have a kercheff soaked in water to wrap around your neck; use two and one can cool off in a small pail of water while you cycle them from time to time.
That works for me.

While I am a born and bred Canadian, I do know some American History. I know that during the American Revolution, blacksmiths forged a chain that was draped across a river to prevent British ships from crossing. I do not know if this is already being done, though anyway my idea is this: as blacksmiths, it is our obligation to demonstrate the importance of the smith in History and make a chain, that article of both the Master and the Apprentice.
As I can not remember the particular location of said event, nor the date, someone will have to fill that in, do the ceremony or whatever you wish to call it on that date, maybe nationwide
Have smiths gather together, each to forge three to five links (maybe even thirteen...original states) and link them all together
The links would of course be of similar dimension
Each year, keep adding to the chain, or exchange the chain from one location to a neighboring city or state and keep adding to it
I don't think it is utterly important to have proof quality chain - as I believe smiths of all skill levels should be able to contribute.

Any comments?

You probably already have everything done by now. Try looking up http://www.anvilmag.com/smith/204f4.htm
This is Doug Newell's shop. His forge chimney can be raised or lowered, also he is a very impressive smith.
The shop I am renovationg for me to move into will have a simlar chimney.

When buying hoses or a kit with hoses, be sure to buy a kit with hoses larger than 1/4". The small size will limit your ability to cut thicker material effectively, and the difference in price is easily offset.

I have never minded the redundant questions and what may be to we blacksmiths as stupid questions which we all get during demonstrations. To me, any questions show at least a passing interest in a craft that not long ago was in its death rattles, maybe with any luck, a new younger generation will follow with all the enthusiasm we showed when we first started!
:idea: I have a suggestion for those who demonstrate and have children running amok in the shop: do this especially if the parents are within earshot or better and haven't pulled the leash in on the little beggars. First, get the undivided attention of the youth, ensuring that all those in the shop can see and hear you, and present him/her with a small lump of coal along with the words "Santa phoned me and left a message for me to give to you, he said to give you your Christmas present early this year".
Reserve this for the one that comes along every two or three years, and really should deserve to be wound a little more tightly. Word gets around, and the other 99.9999% of the kids are a joy to have in the shop!
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For those who have adult spectators who insist on 'helping', it is important to have made up a fake sledge hammer. I made one out of a piece of 5"x5"x10" square - took half a day to drill a hole in it. Provide your new helper with safety glasses - and have them stand at the ready next to the anvil with the sledge raised to a point just above the level of the face of the anvil, yet not over. While still forging and doing whatever it is you are doing, keep asking them if he/she is ready. Constantly remind them that a good apprentice is always at the ready, correct them if the hammer begins to falter from its designated height. After a few minutes, most will decide that being so close isn't so fun - mind you, if they HAVEN'T faltered, hire them and put he or she to work. Otherwise, before they leave, it is worth it to give them one of your trinkets, after all, I do pay for my own entertainment and the person should still be appreciated. I find that employing the 'Apprentice Sledge' with the associated helper/victim is normally a sublte enough hint.
Another helper task is to keep them at bay by having he or she retrieve and put away punches, hardies, files etc.. One fellow stuck around for three quarters of an hour! I had to buy him lunch. :lol:

Ed thomas has it right, and I could not agree more. As he put it and I will reinreate that once you have the concept of puddling with the mass of the material, everything else is a cakewalk. :D

The question you are asking is the same as how long is a piece of string? There are many different formulas for calculating BTU's et. al.; but to get in a dither over it is of no use.
Charcoal will burn quicker and provide less BTU/# than quality coal, and even less than quality coke. My suggestion is to beg, buy or steal about 5# of good smithing coal and make identical items using coal then charcoal, then compare the price per item, include you time.
As far as containing your fire to conserve charcoal DO NOT EVER USE WATER FOR ANYTHING OTHER THAN WETTING IT ENOUGH TO KEEP FROM FLYING EVERYWHERE! If you feel you must make mud puddles, do it outside the shop. Water does not aid combustion, it acts as a cooling agent to lower the temperature below the point of combustion - otherwise, everyone who has put out a fire with water must have got it wrong. If you wish to conserve charcoal, then cut two pieces of heavy angle iron about 14 to 18 inches long, and place them on either side of the fire to crop it in. When you wish a larger fire, simply move them farther apart, or remove them altogether.
If it is available, I suggest good quality coke (obviuosly not the illegal kind), you will find the fire is much cleaner and hotter, so much so that a regular sacrifice of iron to the Fire Gods will occur all on its own.
Regards

My great-grandfather was a blacksmith, don't know about the ones before him, but my dad and grandfather were 'fixers of everything.' When I was in high school, my shop teacher noted my interest and remarked that, as much as the Craft was for highly skilled and talented people and I would most likely do well (a nice pat on my back) , there would be no money it, as it was almost dead. 8) He was right, it was the early 80's (now I'm dating myself) and no one wanted anything of any quality, let alone ironwork. So I concentrated on being as close to the trade as possible - studied mechanics, took drafting and design and dabbled in everything but actually lighting a fire. One day, while walking through a mall parking lot, I noticed a pickup with a blacksmith shop name and phone number on it. I phone him up that night. The next day, I went and visited with him... I was hooked. quit my job and went smithing... haven't looked back.
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I must admit, smithing is an incredible ego trip: make stuff that less than 1/2% of the population can do and less than 5% can comprehend; it lasts forever; anciently, it is a trade that was associated with favor from the Heavens; best of all - 4 things:
1. you make noise
2. you play with fire
3. you hit stuff
4. you get dirty
everything your mom didn't want you to do 8)

Initially, I named my shop Blackwater Forge. The name was gleaned from my first day as an apprentice; when we went to break for lunch, I thought I would rinse my arms off in the slack tub...... then I went to the garden hose to wash the black water off of my arms (Blackwater). When it came time to register the company name, the government informed me that "& Ironworks" was to be added to the name. So, been that way since I registered in 1995.
Also heard of a fellow in B.C. who named his shop Black Booger Forge. Use your imagination. :roll:

Check with the HABA site. They have set out similar criteria for smithing that I was screaming for up here for years before I gave up.

As far as grain in the handle goes, if you look at all the old splitting mauls and sledge handles that last..... all have the grain in the same direction of the strike.
As far as impact reducing or absorbing handles... that still doesn't cure the problem. One might as well throw pillows under the anvil to soften that part of the impact! :x Learning correct technique does not always come naturally, and for some it takes dilligence AND either someone who can critique your form or video tape yourself and see what is happening. Me, I can't sing or dance and I'm too fat to fly; though I am sure that if I took enough lessons, I might sing or dance okay, but even with dieting and helium underwear I won't fly. We all have attributes which may make it easier or harder to do something; we do have to work at it.
If anyone has learned martial arts or studied the philosophy of Bruce Lee, 'Absorb what is useful (for you), do not forget what did not work for you.'
Also, for those of you in the SCA, you should understand that holding a hammer is the same as holding a sword.
Regarding incorrect hammering because you did it this way or that way - correct the problem if it isn't right or working for you. ie: If you come home one night and kick your dog, is it right? So does it become right if you do it for ten years?
Lastly, when hammering DON'T CLENCH YOUR TEETH OR HOLD YOUR BREATH! (It's okay if you catch yourself once in a while, I still do from time to time.)

First, I had to learn from an older fellow from the old country who learned his trade from master smiths. When I was told to do something a particular way, it wasn't because he was fashioning me in his mold; it was because the Craft of the Blacksmith has been around for at least three-thousand years and the kinks have been worked out. I had to start my apprenticeship with a 2kg (4.4#) hammer, and use it for a full day every day. I have never, ever wore a sissy band, nor taken drugs or alcohol to deal with any discomfort (and I ain't tough).
Now, make the hammer handle fit your hand. If after a while it does not feet EXACTLY right, remove the handle and re-shape it again.
Next, get rid of your death grip on the handle, the hammer is your friend, and if you ask it nicely it will do your bidding. Grip firmly with the thumb and first two fingers, the last two fingers will be used to accelerate the hammer as you swing.
Here is the controversial part for every blacksmith: anvil height - set the height of the anvil at the height where the hammer face is dead horizontal WITH THE AVERAGE THICKNESS OF THE MATERIAL YOU WILL BE COMMONLY USING AND YOUR BACK SLIGHTLY BENT OVER, YOUR KNEES SLIGHTLY FLEXEDAND YOUR ARM EXTENDED AT THE END OF ITS POWER. This is different for each and every person, as we all differ slightly in body height and proportion. If you are five feet tall and work primarily on 3" thick iron, the anvil may only be up to my knees (I am 6'2" tall), if you are an ex pro NBA player and only work on sheet metal, most of us may never see the top of the anvil.
Learn how to swing a hammer. Keep your feet almost together, as it is easier to move around; there's only two things you can ever do with a wide stance - play center for the GreenBay Packers, and answer nature's call. Imagine your body as a whip, the strike has to start at your feet with your body straightening up, the arm moving up as well, then whole body contributing to the swing, the bottom two fingers adding to the acceleration of the hammer. DON'T FORGET TO STAND UP IN BETWEEN EACH STRIKE.
I have taught many smiths. I have even taught some accomplished smiths how to swing a hammer in order to correct the very problem everyone describes.
Why is it that the two things done the most in blacksmithing recieve the least attention? Hammering and managing a fire. :x

While demonstrating at a Historical site, a fellow smith was helping me as striker. A group of pre-school kids were in watching the goings on and asking questions while we hammered away. Then they ALL fell silent while my partner and I stood there. Then one of the teachers said calmly, "As you can see, the blacksmith shop was very dangerous. They always had to be careful with thier fire." Then they were all hustled out of the shop. :shock: We looked up, and part of the roof next to the chimnet had already burned through. Luckily, we had the fire out in a couple minutes.
God has a sense of humour, too. It was scorching heat for weeks before and up that point. After a hole was burned through, it promptly rained before we could repair the damage... a steady stream to right where you stand at the bellows. :roll:

I keep my shop as clean as possible. Used to work for a guy that ensured the floor was spotless every morning, coal and slack pails filled, and fires going. Fred Holder from the Blacksmith's Gazette happened by the shop once when we were out and later wrote that the shop probably never gets used.

DO NOT WEAR GLOVES! However, I trust you are wearing safety glasses. If you have excess amounts of scale flying on to your hands, it means either you have a gas forge that is scaling the bejeepers out of the iron, or your coal fire is oxidising too much. In either case, correct the cause, not the condition.

Old German Blacksmith saying for those who pause and look at their work after pulling iron out of the fire, "If you want to think, be a priest; If you want to get something done, get hammering!"