primtechsmith

When pouring the pewter do you have a roughed out mold to keep the pewter from running all over the place? The knife looks great Don!

Peyton

What do you think is the most helpful piece of knowledge. hint, or trick that you do or could pass along to a fellow smith or a beginner. This could be anything from fire management, shop layout, technique, hammers, drawing out, square to round. Anything you feel is an important halmark you want to, or do pass on to others....

Peyton

I am heavy into hooks. Been turning out S hooks of different sizes, material, and style the past while.....will keep on keeping on with them too! they are a great seller and even more important good practice!

Peyton

RR spike knives also sell really good for us as well. When we demo the other guy makes those and gets the crowd really involved watching him make those and roses.

What is the magic money price that seems to go well for you? It seems for us a lot of things come out to be around 20 bucks....

peyton

In my very limited demonstration/craft show tour it seems that S hooks are the best sellers! I am in the process of making some different style S hooks from different sizes, materials, and decorative ends. Hoping to increse sales of the best selling item! Any suggestions would be cool!

From you guys' experience what seem to sell the best for you?

happy holidays all!
peyton

This reminds me of a thing yesteryearforge told me when I started learning under him. He smiled and said the ball pein hammer is a blacksmith's hammer and the actual ball pein is to smack the idiots in the forehead who think other wise.....I always laugh about that when dumb people show their face! haven't hit anyone yet, but I'm still young!

Peyton

I made a small hand mallet for knapping off large chunks of chert out of a piece of dogwood i found. It has held up so far in 3 or 4 uses with no splits. Seems to also be some very hard wood!

Peyton

could you just drill 2 holes(off set from one another) slam through the buisness end, put the band on, and rivet the thing tight. I realize if you go too tight it will split, but if you snug them up then later on down the road if it loosens up then you can tighten it.....works for tongs. and i see knives, and some hand tools with 2 piece handles like this. Maybe it would work here too...?....?.....?....?

This would be a great demo from on of "yous smart fellers..."

Peyton Anderson

A job well done is due to the individual who has done the drawings dealing with Tinker's "World Tour". It is a great addition to the website!

peyton

how about something that happens on this site!
Forging new friendships

peyton

Hello all! This is my first year teaching, and I have an idea that maybe ya'll can help me with...I am trying to make some rainy day lesson plans to kill some time while the other class in the grade may need to catch up. I have been showing videos, but that's a little too ordinary for me. I am thinking of using the figures in my curriculum in new ways. And what way is better than blacksmithing...Founding Fathers "Forging" America.

I am looking to see if some of our founding fathers were ever blacksmiths, or did anything for the craft. I pretty much have Thomas Jefferson and his nail manufacturing plan laid out. But I am looking for others. If anyone has ideas or info that would be awesome. Also websites or books to look to would be great. I would hate to teach a story that isn't historical for a social studies class.

Thanks for the potential help!
peyton

Also check if you have any custom leather shops around. Here in town there used to be an old couple that did shoe repair that had lots of scrap laying around of sometimes some very thick leather. A friend of mine made lap pads for flint knapping out of some free pieces he got. It is worth a shot.

And as for those how talk bad about your forge probably don't forge enough to have their opinion count.

peyton

A local guy was trying to rid his barn of some clutter. And I heard exactly what he thought was "clutter": A 3ft. section of rail road track with a horn on on one end, and a crude pritchel hole on the other, 6 pairs of old loose rusted tongs, and a 1.27lb straight pein hammer head. And a bowie knife he started and never finished....

My brother In Law and good friend (also fellow blacksmith) puts it perfect "If it's free, it's for me!"

peyton

Well Jr. I agree totally. I do tap the anvil. I mostly work 1/4 and 3/8 material doing mostly hooks and johnny lamps, and other small items. You see I am about a year into this and stick heavy to the basics to make it second nature and consistant. When I am drawing out 1/4 round to S hooks I can usually get into a groove and when i turn it or am getting ready to increase my hammer rate to go from square to round I do tap the anvil. It is a personal thing to help me keep in time with my hammer and my heat. I don't see anything wrong in it. If you do, then you do. And if you don't then you don't. The way I see it there is not right or wrong here.

It does't matter to me how the piece got into shape, just matters how good it looks in the end! Taps or no Taps!
peyton

I have never witnessed the coke and coal come out of the firepot but I have seen the possibility of it occuring. At the forge there are three of us working and usually one person will build the fire and the others will grab some coal to start up to save time and resources. I have noticed that these pyrotechnic bursts of combustables does occur more when using live coal than starting from scratch.

Seems that these gases are building up as the coals are being lit but the fire is not reaching the top of the coal making its own atmosphere around the firepot. Mike routinely while getting is fire up will crouch down close to the fire pot and blow on top of the fire making it light. Its a neat trick if you know what you are doing, and seems to work beautifully to rid yourself of these gases. I know if I tried it I'd have left behind eyebrows my go-tee and some hair! This trick also helps the smoke problem too. the fire helps add convection to help raise the smoke up the chimmney.

well at least thats what I think. I may be wrong...
peyton :D

well at this very moment I own 7 hammers. And my favorite is a heller that Mike (yesteryear forge) gave me. So I do not have an anvil or even forge. I am lucky enough to go into a shop 3 times a week and do this. The thing I guess I would buy first before anything else would be the biggest and most god awfuly huge anvil I could find and give it to him as a thank you. The joke around the family(I am an In Law) is if it is big, heavy, and darn near impossible to move Mike will want it.

:mrgreen: peyton

When I do wear an apron it is a welders apron I got off ebay for 18 bucks i think. Word to the wise...pay close attention to the straps....Mine has 2 shoulder straps then a waist buckle in the back. I found that it fits and moves a lot better than a halter top style apron...

Peyton

I know from my short time doing this that the best resource there is for learning the trade is another blacksmith. But aside from that what else has aided you guys in gaining knowledge? Maybe this topic can help others find material to read, or videos to watch, while in search of someone to teach them.

Peyton

I still have my first forge weld....well my first one that took. It's a piece I will always have. My first one was about a month or so ago. Might be ugly and be a simple chain link, but dang it the thing took..... :wink:

Peyton

I wear normal safety glasses. No tint. For me the reason I want plain glass is to be able to distinguish the colors of the heat in the metal. I only look into the fire when forge weldeing. And even then it is peeking in and looking over the fire for sparks.

No matter what you decide just as long as you wear them! :mrgreen:

Peyton

Ed,
Great looking shop! Looks 1st Class!

How many square feet?
peyton

First off i love coal!!!!!! Ok now that I have said that I have a question for you gasser guys!

I have no choice if I ever want to forge at home I must use a gasser. No coal or any open fires in town limits. So I think in the next few years I will get one. just for simple around the house stuff. My wife is a great stain glass artist. And I want to get into glass blowing.......so can a gasser be used to blow glass as well? if so are there different settings for blowing glass?

peyton

So I am a sucker for stories.......was wondering how you fellas, and ladies, found yourselves standing in front of an anvil....


as for me....my now wife's dad has been doing it forever. i saw some things he did and was blown away. about 10,000 questions on "how'd you do that" later, I'm there in the forge with him....

:D

having a place to sketch out ideas is a great thing. the forge i play in is owned by my father in law and on the door is a chalk board. a great tool! one of the more important learning tools for me in there. it is a lot easier for me to see it while he is explaining it. i know it has saved me from ruining a lot of material and time.

peyton

I know I'm young because I'm the one being quizzed on what IS hanging up in Cracker Barrel......

My Grandfather who just passed recently said a good one that aged him. "Man I haven't seen a blacksmith work since I was a boy."

He remembered the town smith for Eden, NC.... :)