Rick.H

Frosty, I made sure to not ask them for an apprenticeship because I know it's a very involved business. I just asked if they knew anyone who wanted some help at their shop, for free. No deal about lessons or anything, I just wanted to get myself in the door, so to speak. As far as blacksmith shops, there's a couple near me, but they're very high profile Hollywood propmakers who have a strict no apprentices/trainees rule. There's some wrought iron shops and the like around too, I'll try just walking in and asking if they need help. You guys seem to think that might work, but I only tend to ever apply online, to open positions. Maybe it'll work out, I've actually never tried it before to be honest. JLP, thanks for bringing that up. There's 2 events a year I believe, one's next week in Vista which I might attend. I was a member of ABANA for a few years and got their magazine, I didn't know they had classifieds but that sounds like a decent idea. Like I said, I'll try to be more active in the community and see what I can find. Thanks everyone.

Gerald, I was actually going to post exactly about that next. I haven't been active at the forge I used to go for almost two years, yesterday was the first time I went there since. I had to wake up at 6 AM and showed up around 8, which was before they officially opened. I helped them start up everything like I used to do, a couple people even remembered me. The drive was totally worth it. Even though I was a little rusty, I got started immediately. I started with the S-hook project, simple but when I first tried it at 14 it took me nearly 2 months to make a barely decent one. This time I made a very nice S-hook in a matter of minutes. I was working on a nearly 300 year old forged steel 400 pound anvil, with the biggest hammer I could find, so I was quite happy. I moved on to the next project, a chisel used to make the project after that, a decorative leaf. I made it from a 1/2 inch piece of carbon steel, very simple but I had to spend forever hand filing it to a finish (power tools aren't allowed in the basic program). I heat treated it with oil in the two stage magnet and steel bar process, I have no idea what it's called. I ended up staying until they closed around 7:30, nearly 12 hours! Anyway, I did ask two of the most experienced smiths for advice; I gave him my contact in case but he let me know it wasn't likely to amount to much. Neither of them were aware of any "shops", certainly not any that were hiring employees. What I got from our conversations was that few people they knew had their own shop, none were explicitly looking for an apprentice. These people had been active in the southern CA blacksmith community for many decades, so I suppose they come from all over to work at this forge once a week for a reason. However, the person I talked to wasn't a full time smith, just a hobbyist, although one with 30 years of experience. I'm not sure about any of the other instructors, but I believe they aren't either. They are all volunteers at that shop, so it's likely they don't concern themselves much with the commercial side of this industry. I didn't want to bother them too much either, I suppose if I did I could find out more. I'll try asking a little more when I see them next. As far as others from the CBA go, they are state-wide but centrally located way down south and I've never had any contact with them. If there really are hundreds of actual blacksmith shops looking for employees for entry level positions in my area, they must not be advertising. That just doesn't seem to be in accordance with what everyone involved in blacksmithing always tells me anyway. Of course I'll keep trying to network in person as well as online. My search could take years so I have a lot of time to build up my network as well as my skills. Thanks everyone for the help and advice. Sorry for the long post, just had a lot to say.

Wow Frosty, thanks for the ideas, those actually sound really cool! I don't why, maybe I just always thought of smithing on a 250 lb. anvil with a giant forge, making big stuff. First thing I'll try is that "bean can forge". By the way, am I right in assuming that this can be used indoors? Would an open window be enough ventilation? Thanks very much.

Hello Will, thanks. Even though getting a forge and anvil and tools are quite expensive, I would be able to get set up without much problem. However, I live in an apartment so before even considering something like an anvil or a forge, I have to go real estate shopping. At the very least I have to rent some sort of shop or workplace. There's no way I can afford anything like that, and it wouldn't be wise to saddle myself with such a burden in case I actually do get an apprenticeship. I've considered portable forges, but I'd have to drive several hours to get somewhere that isn't in a constant fire hazard. I don't even have a vehicle that can carry a forge or anvil anyway. I'm afraid there's really not much I can do to set myself up with my own forge. Best I can do is to keep going to the guild every week I can, and practice there.

Hello Frosty, thank you. Seems like Europe is the place to be. I used to live there, wouldn't mind going back. I'll be taking more advanced welding courses beginning in summer, and I'm always studying machining. I guess the longer this takes the longer I have to learn more.

Thank you very much George. I appreciate the support.

Hello, I'm looking for a blacksmithing apprenticeship. My name's Rick, I'm 20 years old, currently studying for a mechanical engineering degree, with emphasis on CNC machines. For the past 3 years I've studied and worked at my college shop, beginning with metal shop stuff, moving to manual machining, then operating and programming CNCs. I've taken two semesters of metallurgy, and the basic welding courses. I can weld with MIG, stick, and oxy-acetylene. Maybe just a bit of TIG. Starting from when I was about 15, I took courses at the OC blacksmith's guild, every Saturday for 3 years, then on and off as I started college. There, I completed coursework such as the CBA Basic 1 course, as well as the ABANA Controlled Hand Forging manual. I was a member of the CBA and ABANA for the duration of my studies at the forge. I'm looking for a blacksmith who wants to pass on the knowledge and expertise of his craft; however I'm not really looking for "lessons". I believe with the current state of this industry, working in a real forge is privilege enough, so that's all I ask. I'm don't mind if the position is unofficial either, I'm not looking for more certificates or union papers. I live in Burbank, CA, and I'm willing to relocate anywhere in North America or Europe (in fact, I'm hoping for it!). I make no upfront demands as to salary or quarters. Full resume upon request, as well as any questions answered through email or PM. (Please contact me at scpcqs@gmail.com for a fast response). Thank you for your time.

Hello everyone, I'm a new blacksmith and I was wondering if there were any clubs, organizations or individual blacksmiths around the SFV/LA area that help out beginning blacksmiths. I've looked around for quite a while now, and I have not had much luck. I tried the Orange county blacksmiths and they were absolutely great, but they were quite far away and the frequency of their lessons was somewhat slow. I know of Adam's forge which is right near me, but their prices are much too high. So if anyone knows of any other places or people, I'd be happy to hear it. Thanks.