So-Steve

:o Woah, so many accents. Chopper: Thanks for the practice tips. The leaf thing sounds like a good idea, it's something I've been trying to practice anyway. Maybe I won't exactly go for tapering down to those sizes like that, might bore me up a bit, though I have no doubt they would be helpful. I will take your advice about heat and missing hammer swings. Sometimes it does get to the point where I can't left a hammer anymore after about a good 6-7 hours of work. Better to take a rest and call it a day than lose some fingers . Apprentice: An hour and a half? Boy, that's close. Yeah, I woulda told ya to say hi to Tom for me, but I guess it's a little late now . Tom's a really good guy. Ten Hammers: Unfortunately, I do use a gas forge, but no worries, I need to practice with tongs actually. I wish I had a coal forge, much more fun, but neighbors don't like not being able to see into my backyard . That hook idea sounds pretty good though, I've been dieing to work on some little scrolls as I need to choke up on the hammer more. I'll get it eventually! Thanks guys, keep'em coming, you've all been a big help whether I've taken your advice or not. Also, I was thinking, just to help me with handling tongs, I'm probably going to just go walking around for a day with tongs and do all more normal stuff with tongs, just to build tong control. Sound good?

ApprenticeMan: Yup, I'm about an hour away from Tom. Dang, you live pretty close don't ya? That's kinda weird . Bruce: I actually am doing that sort of class at my high school. Just doing whatever needs to be done in the shop and I get free reign of the tools. Plus, my teacher has recently expressed interest in putting a gas powered forge in the autoshop . Should be fun. Sandy: Wow, this is very good to know. I should study that link and get into "good" posture before I mess up my back or anything. This helps a lot, I really appreciate it. Ha ha ha, yes, so much advice, so much info. This is really awesome. *Gives Glenn a big hug*

Heh heh, yeah, I do tend to work cold. I do get the piece hot at first, but when the red starts fading, I think "Well, I can just touch it up a bit. Straigten it out." It doesn't do much at that moment, but it deteriorates the metal later. I'll try to make it a habit not to work below light cherry. And I've heard a lot about that modelling clay thing, A LOT a lot. You've got to be the bagillionth person Rick. So, if so many people say it's good, well then chances are it's good. I'll go ahead and do it, it'll be nice too. I'll be able to actually practice hammering without having to bring everything outside and light up for 10 min. Also, I get a little impatient when I'm trying to be critical of how I'm forging. I suppose I'll devote a session of forging to correcting myself, getting myself into the flow of hammering and keeping the beat and not losing sight of my final product. I'll have a lot of projects to work on too because I went on a printing spree in the blueprints section . Also, I'm planning on going to a few more get togethers. I'll be meeting a lot of people at this NBA thing soon, and I do know a good smith about an hour away who's good friends with my uncle. Tom Mirana (I always spell his last name wrong ) is the guy. Get supplies and lots of good tips from him too. Plan on meeting more too. Thanks Rick, your two cents is two dollars according to my exchange rate . You too Chris and Teejay, thanks.

Hiya there Nomad! Greetings from the Atlantic side. There is a lot you can learn for these guys and they're all more than willing to help with any problem you might have. Don't be shy and ask if you have any trouble! So-Steve

Ha ha, will do Glenn. Thanks a lot. You too Cory, thanks for the shopping tips.

I just want to thank everyone for their help and suggestions. My jaw dropped when I checked the site this morning to see how many people gave suggestions. Thanks a lot!!! Alright, well now I have a good idea on how the rebar broke. Like Bob said I was working it too cold. I also didn't know that much about rebar aside for the fact it was used in cement. Well, I guess for practicing I'll stick to mild-steels and sized bars. I'll say this though, it was REALLY fun working with the rebar, so I might try it again sometime soon. Drason: Huh, that's a pretty cool way of making a fuller. I might try something similar or totally different, but I need to make one soon. Your idea gave me a few of my own, so I'll definetly try a few things. Glenn: I'll definetly look into those two sections in the blueprints. Also, I will defininetly go through the different heats and develope a feel for it. Only problem is, it's difficult to get a piece to white heat with my little propane forge. I'm sure if I pumped up the pressure it would work, but I'm hesitant to do so. Otherwise, it's no problem. Oh right, I AM working in the sun, which makes it slightly difficult to see the colors as closely as I would be able to indoors. I'm sure the whole testing process will help, thanks! To everyone who suggested junkyards and fab shops, I've been looking into that recently and trying to find places in my area. I know of a few places, but haven't gone yet. I thank everyone for their suggestions in this area as well. ApprenticeMan: Ha ha ha ha ha, ah man, I know Dick Sargent. Now I REALLY have to find a way to go. Alright, I'll look into the date and scrounge up some cash if I can. Sounds like a lot of fun and a good way to get some quality instruction too. If it doesn't occur during school, I'll probably be able to go. My chaufer (mom) probably won't take me if it conflicts with school . Well, I better get on top of all of that. Oh, one more thing. Something really weird happens when I quench a piece of metal in my backyard. When a bar is at black heat and I quench it, it'll develope a red coloration. Now, I know that this is hardening cause I've seen it before (Once again, Dick Sargent demo) and am I curious as to why it's happening there. Usually, when I quench a piece of metal at black heat, it'll well...stay black. However, I think the outside conditions might be affecting the way I see the color of the metal and I might be quenching it too hot. Just something weird that happens, and wondering if someone could give me their input. Thanks a lot! So-Steve

Thanks you two, all suggestions appreciated. Rich, I looked through the blueprints and am printing out possible projects that I'll be able to accomplish after I get a few more tools (fuller, punch, and such) They actually turned out to be a big help, thanks a lot. I'm also printing out some of the more explanatory stuff like the science of heat treating. I'm taking an AP chemistry course this year for that very purpose as well. All help appreciated. Chris, I actually do take begginer classes, and I do much better in a classroom setting. I take classes at Peter's Valley (maybe you've heard of it) when I can. It does help a lot, but I'd like to take more classes. My overly ambitious self is making me impatient though :cool: .

Yay! First thread. Yeah, well, I'm back from vacation and I had a great time. Of course, as soon as the weekend came around I went in back to my forge set-up and started hammering away. Out of practice of course and getting back into the feel of it. I started forging some of the rebar I picked up in Kansas, trying to make it into an anvil hold-down. Long story short, I broke it and tried making something else, which got screwed up also :mad: . By this time I'm tired and I decide to clean up before I wear myself out. Well, this is my plea for some help for a poor begginer. I realize of course that a major part of the problem is hammer control and I need to get a better feel for the metal, which comes with time. I was wondering if there were some other things I could do to practice though. I know how to make a simple leaf and a simple hook. Are there some other simple projects I could do to practice? I don't have much time to work because of school, but I manage. Just any advice for a begginer would be appreciated. In completely unrelated news, my teacher in school offered me an independant study in the autoshop, so I get to spend the whole year working in there tinkering around. Probably going to learn a lot too. It makes me happy just thinking about it .

Nine inches!? Two pounds!? Oh my *insert many unkind words here*! I'm with you oakwood, it took me a while to get a hold of myself on this one. Well I'll tell you one thing, it certainly would make a good paperweight :rolleyes:

I've had a lot of gaming experience and thought I should give some of my ideas. I read through a few of the posts, but not all of them so I apologize if I repeat ideas. First of all, you might want to seperate different areas of smithing into specific skills the smith would learn or focus on. Like weaponsmithing, armorsmithing, tool smithing, etc etc. Make a stat chart for each of the seperated areas (you might want to make a lot ) and allow the smith to gain experience in the certain areas based on how many projects they've worked on in that specific field of smithing. This would allow a smith to specialize and become better in certain areas so creating an item would become easier and quicker. Second, you might want to add a difficulty indicator for each item someone would want to create. Not only would this be an indicator of whether one should attempt to create the intended item or not, but based on the above stat system, they could also have the computer create the item automatically if they wish to, with a certain failure percentage of course. The smiths overall experience and knowledge in the needed area of smithing would play into how successful an automatic forging would be. This way, a player wouldn't have to craft a simple hook if their smith already has the experience to create a large and intricate gate. This further expresses the idea of growth in a character and shows just how far their smith has come. Concerning the automatic creation, make sure there are plenty of items that can be crafted that the player MUST do a manual forging in order to create the intended item. In this way, certain items would be far more difficult to make, far more time consuming, but in the end turn out being more valueable and allow greater rewards (whether that be experience for the smith, or perhaps an NPC striker). An idea I just came up with now would be computer controlled strikers. These NPC's would of course not be as skilled as the smith themselves, but would level up in a similar way and would have similar stats. However things like hammer precision, strength, endurance, and probably the most important thing, repeating the smith's blows with the same accuracy. This would allow a player to have a helper if none of their friends are online to help out. A project would not have to be postponed simply because someone might be missing. Also, for large projects and other such things, have a minimum number of smiths that need to be working on the project at once in order to create the desired item. Such items would be like fences of a certain size, or gates or memorials even. Perhaps even sculptural works could be incorporated. This way there is a greater sense of teamwork, as well as a greater necessity when someone wants to attempt a certain project. Finally, allow the player to display just how artistic they truly are and allow them to just hammer away at a piece of metal and do sort of a custom forging. This could be good for players just to have fun and see what they can make simply by toying around with pieces of metal. Well, those are all my ideas for now. Hope this game is released, I'd definetly be willing to play it ^^. Good luck!

If you don't already have it, the book "New Edge of the Anvil" by Jack Andrews. It has a large informative section with directions and drawings for specific projects, mostly basics. In the back there is a section of other blacksmith's works both sculptural and functional. It's a phenomenal book.

I use an old 128 lb anvil. On loan from a friend, or till I find a better one (so he says). Couldn't ask for a better first anvil.

Sounds awesome. I can't wait to see the pictures. What gave you the idea?

Wow! That's really good! About how long did that take you to do, blade and the whole thing. The handle is also really nice, I actually have never seen a studded handle before. Really unique, or I've got a lot to see >.

I'll be sure. After I get back from camp, I'll take a look at the blueprints. Should be some stuff I can make with my minimal supplies ^^.