JMR

Thank you Glenn and Jack for the suggestions. Umba and ivba are over 2 hours from my location. I will look into the Northlake suggest as that is about 20 mins from my location. I will let you know how it turns our.

Well, it has been 3 years and still no blacksmiths in the Chicago area that I have found. I did find a fabricator in Addison who was kindly gave me some scrap steel but was more into making commercial gates and railings. Over the years blacksmithing has become more popular but I just cannot believe that there are not more people from Chicago...the former steel capital of the world.

Hello Everyone,

I have been searching for a local blacksmith in the Chicago suburbs who can help me learn more about blacksmithing. I have been doing several small project in my garage and I would really like to learn more techniques from someone with more knowledge. I have called fabrication shop throughout the area and there have had no luck with someone willing to teach me a few things. Any information you could provide would be appreciated. 

I am looking for blacksmithing coal in the chicago western suburbs. I have done an extensive search and I can only find coal in southern Illinois. I am hoping someone can help me find some coal locally. 

I recently picked up a load of coal for my forge. I used the coal for the first time and there was an excessive amount of smoke coming off the coal. Obviously there will be some form of smoke from burning the coal but is there a way to reduce the smoke?  I live in a residential area and I am not sure how long it will last with the neighbors.  

Hello Everyone,

I am in need of a hardie hot cut-off tool for my Anvil. I would like to forge one myself and looking for some direction. I have thought it thought it through and I am sure I can pull it off but I figured I could get some expert advice to help in the process.

Thank you,

JR

Here are some excepts of my town's noise related ordinances. As far as I can tell, I am in the clear for forging as long as it is not between 10:00pm and 7:00am. I am also allow to whistle, yell and shout. Not sure what is classified as hooting but I might try it. So I can whistle while I work and yell and shout when I make mistakes. Pretty comical.

It shall be unlawful for any person to use any hammer or power-operated tool for repair or construction purposes between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. within six hundred (600) feet of any building used for residential or hospital purposes if such noise is audible from any adjacent property used for residential or hospital purposes. Repairs to public service utilities shall be exempted from this section.

It shall be unlawful to engage in yelling, shouting, hooting, whistling or singing between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. within six hundred (600) feet of any building used for residential or hospital purposes or indoors if such noise is audible from any adjacent property used for residential or hospital purposes.

Just finished adding a 1/4 steel top with sides to my drum forge. Should work out great. Picking up a load of coal this weekend.

Check out this video!

Sorry for it being so shaky! I had a lot less videography experience at the time!

I use a 5lb rounding hammer for everything...I rarely ever have to pick up a different hammer because i find this hammer so versatile!

:)

I've got one too, I use it a lot these days but I think that is simply because its a nice weight. I have larger and smaller hammers, most of which get used for one thing or another but the rounding hammer is one of the three I use most often.

It isn't a magic bullet, and doesn't do everything. But it works pretty well.


As for a hammer I would recommend, that hard to answer as it can be a bery personal thing and I think a lot comes into play: weight, handle length, handle thickness etc etc.

I like relatively long fat handles with a medium weight head.

You're best off finding several hammers and doing a lot of smithing with all of them. You will soon find there is one particular hammer you always reach for first.

Andy

 Thanks Alec for the video. I have seen the video before and this is what sparked my curiosity in the rounding hammer. All of Brian's video are great and the close ups really help understand the different techniques. Watching has really inspired by creativity and just shows how much you can do with blacksmithing.

Andy, I am going to take your advice and try a bunch of different hammers to see which ones are the best fit. I got lucky and purchased 12 hammers on ebay for 30 bucks!! believe it or not there are a few hand forged hammers and punches...non of which to be anything special but will definitely work. I still do not have a rounding hammer but eventually I might buy one.

I was thinking of trying to modify one of the hammers that I bought into a rounding hammer. Any tips on how I might go about this? Just try rounding out the face of one of the forged hammers?

So you basically can get the same or similar results when using a standard blacksmiths hammer depending on how you use it.

As a beginner I am still building up my collection of hammers. I have a few cross/ball pein hammers but I keep seeing a rounding hammer as the choice for a lot of blacksmiths. Can anyone provide more detail on the advantage of the rounding hammer and its uses? What hammer would you recommend?

Thanks Everyone for the information. I am going to try and make it to the regional event in Pontiac, IL. It is only about 1.5 hours from Chicago.

Do not dismiss paying for instruction.  You will progress much faster with a competent teacher.  Many fab shops will give away steel scraps for coffee beer or doughnuts.  I always give steel to aspiring smiths who darken my door as I typically have 10,000 lbs of material on hand. 

Tim, thanks for the tip on the scrap steel. The scrap yards near me have be brutal with there pricing. I will hunt around and see if some of the fab shops around here will work with me. 

I have just started getting into blacksmithing and in a short amount of time it has almost become an addiction. I have a great deal of respect for the art/profession and I am happy to see that there are people keeping it alive. However, it seems that blacksmithing is almost non–existent in the Chicago-land area. I might be looking in the wrong places but it has been very difficult to find anything about Chicago blacksmithing culture. The Chicago school of arts offers a $400 blacksmith class… I would rather buy $400 in steel and learn my mistakes.  I have looked into the Illinois Valley Blacksmith’s Association and all of their events are 3 or more hours south of the City.

Is anyone aware of any blacksmith events near the city/suburbs? I have been reading several books and online information to help me get started but it would be nice to meet an experienced smith(s) to help further build by skills and knowledge. 

Any information would be greatly appreciated.  

Thanks,

JR

Hello,

I recently purchased this 124 lbs Peter Wright Anvil for $300. It is in excellent shape and has a very nice ring to it. Can any verify if this was a good price to pay? Can anyone tell me specifically when this Anvil might have been produced? From what I have read, it is pre 1900 since the “England” marking is missing on the side.

Any additional information would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Hello, 

Need some help in finding smithing coal near Chicago, IL. Any ideas?