anvil

Nice job! and it looks great especially as an accent for the brick.

clinch nails are good and a test piece is always a good thing to do first. I bend the tip over with scrolling tongs, then tap the shaft parallel with the wood, then set the tip.

Blacksmiths coal, coking coal, is far more economical than gas and a coal forge is far more versatile than gas. Lol, when you use coal and turn to the anvil, you can decrease your fire but when using gas, it always runs at 100%. Gas is more convenient. George sums it up pretty well in his first post.

True, I've also read that for tool smithing in our situation that charcoal is a cleaner fuel, which supports what you say, Thomas. The question is forging is different than smelting, obviously, so is there any significant damage done especially with the added magnesium. My belief is that it is insignificant.

I understand what your question is, and its a good one. Sticking to sulfur in met coal, I believe it is burn't off during the coking process. Perhaps not all, I don't know. When discussed around a few blacksmith campfires, beer in hand, We have discussed why its called green coal. When sulfur burns, it puts off a green smoke and we all prolly have seen this in our forge fires. Does it all burn off? I don't know. Always interested in hearing more on this topic. Actually what I was doing was supporting your question. Many people believe Anthracite is as good of a fuel as met coal (coking coal). Its not because it burns off the sulfur in the firepot in contact with your steel. Thus your question always applies with anthracite. Hope this is a bit clearer.

What Charles said. Its a great way to do it. Find the market value and use that as your price, then take your time making them til you are happy. Shoot for consistency. The macrame lady in the booth next to you is far more likely to trick her work out with your S hooks if your 3" hooks are in fact 3" and not a mix of 2-3/4" and some 3-1/4". The last thing she wants to do is make the straps on her plant hangers different lengths to match your inconsistencies. When you are there, your prices and the money you make will be a fair wage. Basically this is whats called piecemeal or by the piece. Its a viable alternative to an hourly wage with its own benefits and drawbacks. In my opinion, hardware is a great entry level product into our craft. Its a wide open market, especially if you don't limit yourself. We are a nitch market so to only do pintle type barn door or farm gate type strap hinges really limits you. Learn how to do a really good 3 knuckle barrel both hot rolled and forge welded. The time difference is minimal, but they both fit a different nitch. In the '70's I charged a basic $25 for most any 3 knuckle/barrel hinge, then a "by the inch" for the strap. No hourly wage was involved. Crafts Fairs were great practice, but when I focused on Cabinet hardware and stuff for custom furniture makers, My business reached another level, both for challenge and dollars. Cabinetry/furniture hardware is very lucrative, but figure out how to do pulls and knobs as well. Lol, Ya gots to be able to open and shut those doors and drawers. And the variety is infinite. Knobs are really cool and can be very creative. Knobs, bales and teardrop danglie pulls with a rosette or simple Escutcheon are all possible. If you limit your self to one period, you are doing just that, limiting an already limited market. It can work and its a good way to get into a production roll. Colonial hardware on the east coast and elsewhere works well for this. However, check out other styles. English Tudor Is common from the east coast to California and points in between, as an example. Grab a few books on this style for ideas. Southwest is another. Surprising as it may seem, this style works in other than adobe homes and is very contemporary. Log homes too is a great source for work. Not to forget, many of the European smiths from around the '30's have many examples in their books. The Kuhn books are inspirational. A little knowledge of the art periods, focusing on iron and architecture is a cheap investment in books to further this. Custom cabinetry/furniture makers are a great market. I could put $500+ on an armoire that was sold in a gallery in Sante Fe and they doubled that in return. Its amazing to me that their competition used Acorn fittings for their custom work. Beat the streets with a sample board and check out interior decorators as well as custom hardware outlets. Basically once you learn a basic hinge, a bale, a knob, and a nice pull, you are there. Thats the basic skillset for door/cabinetry/furniture. The experience is learning the different architecture styles and applying those simple basics to expand your market. It works wherever you are,,, east coast, west coast, big town, little town and everything in between. As far as bidding custom work, I look at it as "limited production". A hinge is a hinge is a hinge. Substitute picket, collar, right angle bend, on and on. These skillsets can be counted and time figured precisely. So much of the cost of your work is easy to bid. Applying these to different situations is where the challenge begins. I always challenge myself with some design element or new skill that I want to try. When I bid as job, I always make a sample of this challenging part. Its included in my bid and I always keep it. When done, I at least know step one etc. I have a rule of thumb that comes from experience and that is when the sample is done I know the basic time to completion. My rule fits me and is that when I gain the experience, the time is about 1/3 the first time I do it. I now have a number that I am confident with to fill in the rest of the bid. Now I can make a "time and material bid not to exceed "X"$. I do the time bid strong in my favor and nearly always come in under. Lol, this really makes my client feel I've done a great job and usually lets his friends know "wow! And he came in under bid!!!" Great advertising.

There are a number of things we can do with steel that can't be done with wood. Primarily we can change its crossection without adding or removing material. We can upset it. This means it will get fatter and shorter. We can draw it out. This means it gets thinner and longer. Think playing with clay. We can do the same with holes. We can make holes without drilling and removing material. We can slit it, then upset it by hammering on an end. This opens up the hole, then drift it to the size we want. As an example, we can make a half inch hole in a piece of material half inch wide and have a quarter inch material all around the hole. These are just a few examples.

One of the characteristics of metallurgical coal(blacksmith coal) is that it is low in sulfur. The lower the better. Also, when it goes thru the coking process, sulfur and other impurities are removed. I'm sure you know this, thats the reason not to have any green coal in your firepot. The sulfur and other impurities in the coal come into direct contact with your steel. This is also the reason that using anthracite, even when the sulfur content is lower than in bituminous, is a poor quality smithing coal. The sulfur and impurities are in direct contact with your work.

I don't use a chain or a hold fast. They get in the way and take up time and space. I did use them in the past but with experience, they are not needed.

Yup, thats how it works, and a good habit to have. When straightening or taking the bow out is different than cutting. You don't need a plate underneath. Hit the high point hard enough to straighten it but not hard enough to forge it. Straightening takes out the bow, forging changes the crossection meaning the thickness changes. When punching holes hot, punch from one side with only your anvil underneath til it bottoms out, then turn it over and you can see where you punched. Center this over the pritchel hole or a plate with different sized holes, as was described above and back punch to remove the "button".

Well, the primary tools for a traditional smith are a hammer, an anvil, a forge, a blower, and a post vice. Steel comes in basically 20' lengths in many dimensions. There's about a dozen basic techniques you need to learn and an infinite number of variations to apply them. With this knowledge and a bit of experience, you can make anything you want. obviously a huge implication, but its a good start.

Lol, If my portable blacksmith setup could do that kind of work, I'd have an hourly rate in a Texas minute. Alas, thats not the case. I'm not saying don't have an hourly rate, if it works for you then go for it. My point here was to make sure that if you do craft work, ie commission type work, that you be honest with yourself and figure in your skillset and experience. And when dealing with new folks in whatever craft, telling them that their time is precious and to charge $60-$100/hr when starting out is a pathway to failure. Lol, guess it does keep the competition down,,,

Nice job! The shovel is pretty cool.

Awesome work!

I really like the iron in your window. I've made a few singletree clips. Cool forging

My striking style is the one Frosty doesn't use. Lol, go figure. Its very different than splitting wood. It's very controlled. I've never thought of practicing striking by myself. So heres what I would do. Take a piece of hot square stock, an anvil, an adjustable stand, a heavy weight and an "S" hook to hang the weight. Put your iron on your anvil and stand. Adjust your stand til your steel lays flat on your anvil. Hang the weight on your hot iron to hold it in place. Practice striking.

I was away, so great response. Before reading your two posts above, Ive put a lot of thought into my response here, so in fact can answer your questions. The last few daze I've gone thru my journey that brought me to where I am now from the beginning, especially focusing on the myriad of catch 22 economic hurdles that must be overcome. Every time a post comes up concerning economics or the validity of becoming a working smith, I've debated on detailing how I did it. Truth is, it would only be of value to perhaps that 1 in a hundred persons who want to give it a try. And with the absolute belief that my pathway is NOT "the Way", its my way and every one must find their own pathway. It would only be a confidence boost that, sheesh, if he can do it, so can I. The simple answer to your question is literally in my own way everything you brought up was taken care of with my farrier business and a successful transition to being a full time working traditional smith. A wife, two kids, and no exterior source of wealth behind us, just totally on our own. And the kids always had shoes. A background check, My parents came from a lower middle class background. Middle European immigrant coal miners on one side and roustabout gold miners from the Colorado territory daze to present. Mt Dad was the family hope and became a Air Force pilot. They brought me up to be an aerospace engineer/business Military officer. 2-1/2 years at Colorado Uni, I had "a moment", so to speak. I saw myself at the big end of a cone of light, the other end was the door of the engineering building. If I continued thru that door for the next 2 years, the American dream would live in the palm of my hand, Around this cone was just black. If I had the courage to step into that unknown, I may, if I was lucky, find a life perfect for me. So I did. My folks, being rather old school cut all ties to me. Boom, choices create results. I then joined the navy(Viet Nam) to get the GI Bill and started my Journada. I put this here for you, Jen so you will know that I am not here because I have a wealthy background dealing with my economics. I've known a few great craftsmen from that background and I have a lot of respect for them,,, Then their is one of my students,,, still sucks off his family and refuses to sell any iron,,, no respect here, but to each his own. Owning my property was critical. We bought 10 bare acres on the national forest, built a Tiny Home 30 years before they were called that. Lol, I think at that time they were called "a shack on the side of the hill". By choice we heated with wood, hand pumped our water and my wife totally embraced the concept of an alternative lifestyle and everything you can imagine that entails. This too was necessary for our journey to succeed. Perhaps I misunderstand, Jen, but I sense sacrifice in some of what you list above. We, my wife and I realized early on if our life choices meant sacrificing something, it would led to failure. We embraced and cherished every bit of it. We made NO sacrifices to achieve our goals. This too, in my opinion, is critical. When the property was paid off, we were ready to transition to smithing. A rather large litter of Malamute puppies paid for Turley Forge. We had no health insurance and had no major medical bills other than my wife had epilepsy, no small detail. Our medical was paid by cash and trade, both as a farrier and a working smith. We had no conventional retirement, no stocks, IRA's, bonds or cash savings. However, thinking out of the box, consciously we both understood that the equity created by our property and the improvements would serve that purpose, along with SS. Thats how we handled that. Our economics was via our farrier business, goat milk/yougert, eggs, Malamute puppies, Persian kitties, colt and stud fees,tropical flowers, and over time the farrier work was reduced, but never completely replaced by my blacksmithing. We could have dropped the farrier work by year #3, but too many of our clients were long time friends, so we just quit taking in new customers. My last shoeing job was when my daughter got married on horseback and my last trim about 5-6 years ago. I've left out the chaff, but there was plenty of that as well. The chaff challenged me totally wrt my philosophy. Its easy to live when the going is good, but when the living gets hard,,,thats the real test. Heres the highlights to that. I divorced, a few years later we decided to try it again and 6 months later she passed from her epilepsy. About 10+ years later I got involved with an ex best friend and built my greatest project. My log home. I designed it and built it as an example as to what forged iron could do in a log to the max. I hit every detail but one right on the mark. Lol, I missed the one concerning his integrity. He got the house and I got the road. To be real, I wouldn't trade one minute of that project for the loss. I would hope for a better ending. . This was the biggest test of my philosophy. I jokingly say I began my Roady blacksmith phase with 10,000# of stuff, a ton of Pocahontas coal, a broke down Willys PU and no trailer. Sometimes its better to joke about reality than anything else. My belief was in myself and the belief that even in the 21 century, my smithing would handle my needs. My alternative was sell my stuff and get a job at Walmart as a greeter,,,, I choose to test my philosophy. That was about 10 years ago. I have a number of nice commissions spread between here and now, plenty of time demoing and selling at flea markets in Farmington and Durango, two soul saving stints with two good smith in the area, oxbow stirrups sold back where I used to live, etc etc. I made 4-5 moves during that time and 3-4 years ago the VA determined I had a 100% disability from "The NAM". There was back pay involved so I now live on my paid off 20 acres and am building my new shop. When you are 75 and building a shop, trust that its the journey that matters, not the completed shop. It workable, but being on the point of my very own mini-mesa, wind is forever present and the ends are open. So the Journada continues,,, with spectacular views! I think that about covers your questions above,Jen. I stress, this is not The WAY, this is MY way. It took me, as a farrier to being the official farrier for the Colorado Paint Horse Finals at the stock show in Denver for about 10 years, various race tracks, tons of "12 year old lil girls" and transversing the beautiful state of Colorado from end to end. As a smith its taken me to the oldest and largest estate in Beverly Hills(so they informed me), the AFA, churches, gov buildings, business and private residences as well as Prague Cz and chandeliers in a castle near Frankfort, Germany and points in between. Not bad for an ole broke down mountain hippy blacksmith. Jen, my old vids are unpacked and on my new computer that I built(dual bios for win 10 and win 7) set up for win 7. All my old win xp software is available for editing.. I didn't think you were actually interested. I think there are 6-8 clips on some masonry tools I built to do the rock work on my dream shop back between 02 and 07. These were done on the ranch I was caretaker of for 30 years or so in my first roady blacksmith shop. I can show them individually or edit them into one ~30 minute vid. I know Glen doesn't encourage vids posted here and I have a Thing about YouTube, so I'm solving those problems now. I have never had a shop rate, to be honest. I have always done as I explained above. I kept my economic needs low, figured out a time and material bid, not to exceed x$, and kept up with what the smiths I knew and respected were charging for comparable work. That set the dollars and I set the time so I could, at my expense, play as I pleased til the cows came home. Of course, the time is often the most critical with new construction. Not so much with commissions with owners. I've found that the question is most often asked by beginners with minimal skill sets and experience. The ones who who most often answer this question, with max respect to ALL and no disrespect to ANY are those who are not full time smiths and have the skill set and experience of an intermediate+ part time or hobby smith. When I've asked those who I consider great smiths there answer is basically that its a personal thing and you must figure it out for your own situation. The experienced smiths that I know that have an hourly rate have more often than not, a full metal business as well as forging stations. They have the skill set and experience to do most anything from structural steel to fine forging and have a number of employees, not single man shops. Actually, Jen, your post to George is totally meaningful and is the very root problem for starting any craft business. Generally it takes money and a proper business plan and a bank is the answer for any contemporary business, but fails totally for nearly any craft business. No bank in its right mind is going to lend money to a nitch market business. Thats the first catch 22. Unless somewhere somehow you have the equity to back the loan. So you have to be creative and a shop rate and bank works for contemporary but not for craft, at least as a startup source. My GI bill was my source of money to get my farrier business up and running. All of the above was all we needed to transition. I'd say that all the working smiths I've known have been mostly single man shops with no other job. every one of the paths taken has been different.

Shainarue, You have it figured out, Keep it up. Jen, It's hard to believe $75 for a trim. When I changed my product from farrier to general blacksmithing cold shoeing was $40, and a trim was $20. Philosophically speaking, for me value has no dollar equivalent. Again, differences between us. For me,Happiness has nothing to do with payment. By the way, it seems that the answer asked by so many new folks in our craft, "how do I sell my work", is still answered, in one way or another, "Your time is precious, charge $60/ hr", or whatever the amount is or a variation on that theme, with no consideration to their lack of skill set and experience. Thats a pathway to failure if followed. I attempted to give an answer that solves that problem in my posts above.

I don't think you have enough coal. Your table needs to hold the green coal and should be a couple inches above your firepot. You can then add water here to keep your fire contained. But like was said, no green coal in the center of your firepot, this makes smoke and a dirty fire.

JHCC, I agree with this 100%. When you first posted this vid and I watched it I immediately understood what he was saying. For what it's worth, years ago I bought steel from Carpenter Tech due to a Turley suggestion. He said there support crew loved spending time with smiths who heat treated traditionally. Basically they supported Turley and what they presented to me was what Dr. Thomas made clear in his vid. Can't thank you enough!

TW, when I started out, the hardest thing was how to price my work and one of the most common answers was just what you have said, with many variations on that theme. I asked that questions often and when I went to ABANA conferences I specifically went to the business demos. So how do you deal with this very common situation? "S" hooks may be the example, but it applies to literally every job I have done. Lets say that when starting out, I can make one "S" hook in an hour. By your rule of thumb that I set my hourly rate by the average shop rate for any shop in my area ($60), I must charge $60 for a single item. The going rate is say, $6 and if the guy next to me has a skill set and experience to make 10 an hour, he will be in the market range and my choice is to follow (the generic you) your advice and charge $60 for one that is over priced and lacks quality due to my lack of both technique and experience or not put it on the market. To me the answer is obvious, I must sell my "S" hook for $6 or less due to quality differences, and chalk up the loss to my cost of learning. Then I have no loss. I made $6 and invested $54 of my time into my education which in fact is a priceless investment into myself. Thats the answer I have come up with when asked " how do you price your work". Somebody has to pay for our education and I don't charge it to my clients. To do this one must be completely honest with your judgment of your skill level and experience. Jen, I did not understand your response to me. Perhaps the above will better explain what I meant. George, again great words of wisdom. I'd like to elaborate on one item, consumer vs commission and a customer, no matter how satisfied, wont need another railing. Unless you live in a community that can't afford the work of a blacksmith, I've never been able to saturate the market with my work. Even when other smiths have hung out there shingle, there has been plenty of work for all. Its one of the benefits of being in a craft that is very small. Even tho I have never advertised, It continues to blow me away when I get calls from far away. Lol, all I can say is God smiles on fools and blacksmiths,,, and definitely I fill the bill for both ,,, but what a great journey it is!

another guide is to go to the hardware store and look at hacksaw blades. On the package is the suggested stock size. This applies to tooth count in general, so it works for bandsaw blades as well.

My solution for matching lengths on multi legs was to forge a large headed round rivet the same diameter as the leg. Drill and tap the bottom of the legs and thread the rivet. Now you can adjust your level. If anyone asks why, then tell them that often floors are not level and this solves the problem.

Thomas, you hit the hammer square on the anvil. Coming from the side of being a working smith all my life, setting a shop rate is one of the last details you need to worry about. First you have to develop your skill set and experience, or know folks who have made the professional journey as a pricing guide. If you don't have the needed skills plus experience, you will, somewhere between rarely and never, price your work appropriately. Thus the very high attrition rate for being a working smith. When you do hit that sweetspot, and its different for every level of your experience, what Thomas said is quite correct. To paraphrase Francis Whitaker, "Theres plenty of room at the top". My take on that is "the top" is floating and varies with your skillset and experience. When you are just starting out, as an example, making "S" hooks and doing crafts fairs, It doesn't take long to gain the skills and experience to be able to do well enough on the money end and don't expect it to meet your lifestyles economic needs. But if you were to attempt a railing at this level, you would most likely blow it on both time and money. If you find, at any level, that the money is not what you expect, then you either set your expectations too high, or your skills + experience aren't there yet, or both. Thus this point in your progress is where attrition is high. If you look at it this way, then the solution is obvious. And, most important, no matter your decision, to continue or not, is a very personal point and, hopefully, the correct one for your lifes journada. If you continue, you will reach these plateau's many times and the decision never gets any easier. On the other hand, all the rewards do continue to grow. As far as contemporary business practices, without a doubt be aware of them. However, unless failure is your end results, at each of these plateau's, until you acquire the needed skills and experience, as far as determining a "general" shop rate that covers all situations, I suggest you don't. Somebody has to pay to gain the needed skills and experience. It should not be your client, Thats bad business. They are following contemporary business practices and expect a product that has their desired quality and cost. You will not make that satisfactory wage you reached as a crafts fair blacksmith when you attempt a more advanced product. Never forget, your business is not a contemporary business, it is a nitch market business that relies on you first and foremost, having the needed skills and experience. If you choose to be a hobbyist or part timer, then again, contemporary business practices can only be a rough guide. You only need to make as much money as you Want, not need, to satisfy your goals. And this is totally subjective and has very little to do with running a business. Back to crafts fair sales being one of these two, Let the market determine your prices and Have Fun! Worked for me. Pretty old school thinking, but hey,, what can I say.

I'm no chemist either, but, sheesh another but, the salts do add sulphur, borium and oxygen. That's about all the confusion I'm going to add.