David Einhorn

Check to make sure that your punch and anvil surface are flat, square, and meet evenly, and that your punch is perpendicular to the surface. You will need to reheat, harden and temper if your tool lost its hardness. Your anvil looks ok to me. Learning to work around an anvil's unique characteristics can be a useful skill.

Dwight and Kim Neely came over yesterday to help put tires on the wheels for my Traveling Forge. Photographs may be seen on the photo album area of the BGCM discussion forum at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BGCM/photos/album/348323920/pic/list Each wheel weighs over 200 pounds. Dwight did an heroic job of helping and was at my shop for over 7 hours to accomplish this task. As you can see from the photos we heated the tires the hard way, by rotating the tires vertically in the forge. Building a bonfire in the driveway was not an option due to local codes. The second tire needed to be cut and re-welded in order to both change the size of the tire, and to correct the weld. The old weld created a flat spot causing the tire to be oval rather than round. An oval tire acts like a spring, and wants to jump off the wheel rather than slide onto the wheel. A wheel of this size is definitely a 2 or preferably 3 person job to tire. To finish up the wheels, 1/2" tire bolts need to be installed, soaked in linseed oil, the edges on the fellows tapered, and then painted.

My humble understanding is that there are two ways to make something look "hand made". First is to "break edges" and provide an organic look and feel to a piece. Second is the accidental dings and dents that a person may or may not know how to avoid in their work. I may not be the brightest person in the world, but if something looks like it was run over by a truck it may not be a good example of quality.

I was a software engineer for over 19 years before I "became too old" for that industry. Employers prefer hiring pimple faced kids, as they are cheaper, don't have health insurance costs, and work extremely long hours. I went back for a second Masters degree an now work in a community mental health clinic as a "counselor". I also do a bit of woodworking as a hobby, and have projects where I combine wood and iron. A friend is scheduled to come over today to help put iron tires on the wheels for my Civil War era Traveling Forge. P.S. I am also writing a book.

Sorry to hear about your difficulties. A number of professional smiths in my part of the country have sold their equipment and gone out-of-business. I certainly would not try to guess what someone else should do with their business, especially without an intimate understanding of your business challenges.

Since I live near Gettysburg, PA and have had "friends" a few years ago that had shops there that sold to Civil War (CW) reenactors, I reluctantly acceded to the requests of these folks to make them ironwork. Being a vendor to that cliental is a challenge to stay in business, and the two gentlemen I was supplying closed their doors because they could not survive financially. They struggled daily to find and sell quality merchandise to a market reluctant to pay for quality, and at the same time take proper care of themselves and their families. Vendors that sold cheap imitations survived. Such is the truth about the “evil sutlers” that overcharge reenactors. Any new item that I put in their shops appeared as cheap and sloppy copies in a matter of weeks in many other shops in town. I was a bit disappointed when they started buying and selling cheap versions in their stores, but I could understand their struggle to survive. Besides, I really didn’t want to make that junk anyway. Historically, CW soldiers did not carry around more than they had too, especially heavy iron stuff. Tent stakes were wood; cooking was in a pit or circle of rocks just like the old boy scout manuals. I have a additional worries about historical events besides the potential financial harm to professional blacksmiths and vendors. Most stuff sold at CW reenactments reinforces the expectation that “real” blacksmith stuff is crudely made by unskilled smiths, since much of the stuff is badly formed, bent, and dinged. As I said above, a lot of the stuff is not historically correct. Yes, there may have been a few examples actually used during the CW, but an encampment should *not* have an overabundance of ironwork, railroad lanterns, modern chairs and other conveniences. For more years than I would like to admit to, I have tried to instill in the public’s mind that smiths were and are professionals, providing quality product at an honest price. Since the 1970s, the number of individuals practicing blacksmithing has increased from a relative handful to many thousands. While we always seemed to have individuals selling ironwork for less than it cost to make it, eventually the decrease in their bank balance eventually ran them out of business. With the increase in the numbers of smiths came the increase in numbers of individuals selling to the public at bargain prices, and at the same time “educating” the public that they were providing historically correct ironwork, at the same low quality as smiths used to produce, and at a “fair” price. The “fair” price defined too often as half or one-third as the price asked by other smiths and vendors. I admit to being at a loss. I feel that I have been partaking in a loosing effort to educate the public on the quality, honesty, and professionalism of blacksmiths. With the increase in the number of people going to historical presentations and reenactments, and the advent of the Internet (and EBay) where smiths can advertise their wares, extremely large numbers of people are being exposed to information that says that blacksmiths produced banged up bend stuff, that it has to be crude and “textured” (dinged) to be authentic, and that blacksmiths tend to over charge for their work. I just don’t know what to do about this mountain of misinformation. Polite suggestions welcomed.

I also use RV antifreeze, the type that is supposed to be pet safe. Of course I never let them near the antifreeze. I also don't let them in my shop because of metal slivers on the floor.

Plastic breaks, iron rusts, wood leaks, I finally found a large 5 gallon aluminum cooking pot for my shop. Aluminum does not rust or leak. I also found an aluminum wash tub at a yard sale that I plan on using to hide a galvanized tub for historic demonstrations.

For information on how people dressed throughout history, your best source of information is likely to be the books by authors that have researched the history of clothing, especially the books on historically correct costumes for the theatre. A few examples found were: Historic Costumes and How to Make Them (Paperback) by Mary Fernald (Author), Eileen Shenton (Author) List Price: $8.95 Paperback: 176 pages Publisher: Dover Publications (June 23, 2006) ISBN-10: 0486449068, ISBN-13: 978-0486449067 Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches What People Wore When: A Complete Illustrated History of Costume from Ancient Times to the Nineteenth Century for Every Level of Society (Paperback) by Melissa Leventon (Author) List Price: $29.95 Amazon Price: $19.77 Paperback: 352 pages Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (July 8, 2008) ISBN-10: 0312383215, ISBN-13: 978-0312383213 Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.8 x 1.2 inches What People Wore: 1,800 Illustrations from Ancient Times to the Early Twentieth Century (Paperback) by Douglas Gorsline (Author) List price: $19, Amazon price $13 Paperback: 288 pages Publisher: Dover Publications (August 22, 1994) ISBN-10: 0486281620, ISBN-13: 978-0486281629 Product Dimensions: 11.8 x 8.8 x 0.8 inches Pictorial Encyclopedia of Historic Costume: 1200 Full-Color Figures (Paperback) by Karl Rohrbach (Author) Amazon price $11.21 Paperback: 112 pages Publisher: Dover Publications; Dover Ed edition (October 19, 2007) ISBN-10: 0486461424 ISBN-13: 978-0486461427 Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.3 x 0.4 inches

DonA makes good points. I remember back in the stone-age a professional smith told me that the most important instructional object in the shop is your clock. If you are not making the object in the same amount of time as a professional smith (with comparable quality) then your technique is wrong. Towards that end, don't hunch over your anvil and go dink dink dink. Stand up straight, have good posture, hit the work while hot, hit the work decisively and powerfully, and use good hammer technique. Watch videos of Hofi, and practice until you can make decorative twisted S hooks "without hammer marks" quickly and nicely without having to think much about what you are doing. Where you get reimbursed for your learning time is when you can make quality product quickly.

I have posted my thoughts at: http://www.iforgeiron.com/forum/f7/how-do-you-set-price-your-work-11287/index2.html#post109106

I would like to take this opportunity to share some hopefully useful information and also to share a concern or two. Over the years, as a hobby-smith, I have found books and magazines that cover pricing crafts and doing craft business including: The Woodworker’s Guide to Pricing Your Work: How to calculate the value of your time, materials and craftsmanship to make money from your woodworking (1995), by Dan Ramsey, Betterway Books, Cincinnati, Ohio, ISBN 1558703721. You can make money from your arts and crafts (1988), by Steve and Cindy Long, Mark Publishing, Scotts Valley, California, ISBN 0937769045. I also suggest looking at craft magazines that focus on business practices and pricing. My personal philosophy is that I do not under-price people that are trying to make a living at blacksmithing. If I was to sell items for less than the asking price of professionals, then the public would come to expect lower prices and the professionals would not be able to make enough money to cover their costs including but not limited to materials, consumables, electricity, equipment maintenance, insurance, fees, property taxes, building maintenance….. and a living wage. Over 35+ years, I have yet to meet a “rich” smith, just folks struggling to make a living for themselves and their families, a struggle that I have no desire to make more difficult. I also do not undercut the prices of vendors that are trying to make an honest living. I doubt that any hobbyist would appreciate it if someone went to their boss and offered to do their job as a hobby for $1.00 per hour for “fun and extra beer money”. As part of my philosophy I do not denigrate other smiths, especially the professionals. Towards that aim, I do not go to demonstrations and tell the public that other smiths charge too much for their goods, or that the other smiths are trying to get rich off of the prices. I do not in any way imply that smiths or vendors are trying to take financial advantage of them. I do not state or imply that a lower than market price is the fair price or value. I also don't criticize other demonstrators. I don't tell the public that the other smith's demonstration pieces require less skill than my demonstration pieces. I limit the size and scope of publicly demonstrated projects to simple objects that can be viewed from start to finish in about 10 minutes or less, and don't appreciate being criticized to the public for that. I also don't complain if a smith is not capable of demonstrating. As we age, health issues can take their toll on our ability to pound iron. Yes, I might suggest once in a while that a smith might wish to consider the welfare of people trying to make a living, when setting their prices and when talking about other smiths to the public. If the recipient of my advice is offended, they have my deepest and most sincere apology. They also receive my hope that they will start considering the well being of other smiths and their sometimes financially struggling families.

Very nice. First time I have heard of the Can Blower and Forge Co. I wonder if your find is the last example of firepots made by that company.

I have become more selective of what I purchase. Funds and storage space have become more limited. I have even, gasp, taken stuff to blacksmithing events to reduce the piles. I used to purchase any blacksmithing equipment I came across and taken it to blacksmithing meetings in order to keep it out of the landfills. However, it was a pain to drag the stuff around, and I was loosing too much money. Now I just tell people what I found and where it is.

Yes, our secret plot to hook the world on blacksmithing seems to be working.

Mike has a point, all the elements of the brand should be welded into one branding iron, so that the bent line is not mistaken for a "running iron", ie an iron designed to change other people's brands. Also, so that you don't have to brand the animal twice, once with each part of the element. Secondly, I have seen a lot of brands either attached by bar(s) running across the back of the various design elements, with the handle attached to those bar(s). That way you don't have to worry about the connectors being too close to the branding edge as it wears.

I agree with Charlotte. I have a Craftsman crosspean and it has lasted very well these many years. However, my preference is a Hofi hammer, and sometimes a Swedish hammer. But for cheap, you can't beat a crosspean from Sears.

Perhaps I am oversimplifying things but I posted some information on a Civil War era side-blast forge over here: http://www.iforgeiron.com/forum/f7/hot-cold-air-11199/

The igniter that came with my NC forge still works after many years. I may be mistaken but it seems that the igniter is in a spot prior to where the flame is, once the ignition has taken place. The end result seems to be that the heat is not so hot where the igniter is sitting. I could be wrong, that is just my humble observation. Gas forges are still a bit of mystery to me.

Very nice, keep up the good work.

During the American Civil War, Traveling Forges (also called Battery Forges) had iron boxes with nozzles that were intended to preheat the air in their side-blast arrangement to the forge. Reproductions of this airback are available from Museum & Collector Specialties Company This is the drawing by Captain Albert Mordecai circa 1850s of the airback specified by the U.S. Government.

Years ago Centaur shipped an anvil about 165 pounds to me. It had a board the size of the top strapped down with metal bands and some goo coating the face to protect it from rust. You may need to ask the shipper what they allow, but protecting the face with a board firmly affixed may be sufficient.

You also might wish to consider constructing a roller mill if you are doing knifemaking and/or Damascus. Here is a book review of the plans for The McDonald Mill roller mill. This is on my list of stuff to make, after the Traveling Forge is finished.

Bellows have been documented as the source of air in blacksmithing during the American War Between the States, 1860s. I have been researching the subject in The Official Records (http://www.civilwar.com/) and other sources, and do not believe that hand-cranked blowers were available till after the Civil War. Personally, I enjoy using bellows and find them relaxing. Here is some useful information on bellows: BP0141 Building a Bellows | Blueprints 100-200 BP0127 Bellows Construction | Blueprints 100-200 Bellows Guru - Bellows Tandy Leather Factory - Choose Your Country

Coal forges that size and shape are old rivet forges. They used to construct buildings and bridges with rivets, so these forges were pretty common. They usually heat up a small area of a bar, about 2 or so inches in length, in my humble experience.