I took a weekend 'smithing class about 8 years ago. The first thing I forged was a welded round ring from a square bar. We rounded the bar and then scarfed the ends. Next, we rounded it into a ring over the anvil horn 'til the scarfs mated up and made a forge weld. Then we heated the whole ring and trued it up on a floor mandrel. The best thing though; I was taking way too much time with the hot steel. I would pull it out of the forge roll it on the anvil and study it for awhile, trying to figure where to hit it next. My instructer, an old WW2 vet, came over too me and barked "If you're gonna just stand there and study that iron all day, you better take up wood carving, 'cause you'll never be a 'smith! When you take that iron out of the fire, you better already know what you're gonna do with it and do it fast!" I'll never forget it. What great memories! I was very lucky to spend some time with that old smith. I learned a great deal from him in just two days. I understand that he's not teaching anymore, but he still makes it out to the blacksmithing classes when he can and helps the instructors.