Reid Neilsen

Yeah this is one the wife and I go round and round about. I need to come up with something. Thankfully the shop is near the house, but if I were incapacitated or hurt to where I couldnt call for help, I'd be in trouble. She coems out to check on me while she is home, but I work a lot of nights(after the day job) in the studio. Like I said, gotta figure something out...

I just learned to weld this year and I am a lousy arc welder. I can make it hold, it just won't be purdy... Now if we're talking about forgewelding...that's a differnt story alltogether. my pressure welds are niiiiiice. Probably because I have many more years practice at that :)

Hey Y'all, I am considering getting a new grinder for the shop and wanted some advice and some other opinions on what to look for. First off, let me preface this by saying that I am a blacksmith and a traditional one at that. I do almost NO machining in my shop. I am quite ignarant when it comes to machine tools. I barely operate my welder as is and if I need to grind or de-burr something right now, I usually use my trusty little old wheel bench grinder. Most of my teachers were adamant about the notion "don't grind it - FORGE IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME". I had one teacher that called the grinder "the crutch" because it helped cover up a badly forged piece and make you look like a better smith than you were...oh well, I digress - my point is, that I'd like a belt grinder so I can remove material faster if need be and do some flat grinding on some projects that I have in the works. I am considering a belt grinder most likely of the 2" variety. I dont have LOADS of moo-la to blow, but know that a good motor is going to be expensive. any suggestions? Makers, features, stuff to watch out for, etc. Any advice is appreciated.

Those are really cool. I have to say it woudl be really cool to shoot a 50 cal even if it is semi auto. Thats a BIG round.

Hi All, I was wondering if anybody had an opinion on this: The KA75 Striking Hammer Any reason to stay away from this hammer? It sounds promising for a small pneumatic. Any advice or opinions?

Yeah, join a local organization or a nationwide one. Find a good smith, make friends with them and mooch off them for all the info you can get! I learn best by seeing somebody demonstrate it. Books are full of good intellectual knowledge, but forging is something you have to do to learn. It is a physical "feel" thing. "If you are starting with no tools or equipment, what are the basic tools you need to obtain to start learning this skill?" I'd recommend finding an old antque anvil or even a little farriers anvil (does not matter what kind of shape it is in to start off as long as its it cheap), a cross pein hammer(any blacksmith or machinist hammer will do) and some type of home made or store bought forge (old antique "farm" forges with crank blowers can be had on ebay pretty cheap). You will probably need a few tongs to start or a good set of "vice grip pliers" to hold stock. If you are lucky enough to get a anvil chisel or "hardy" with your anvil you can use this to cut stock or you can get a good old hacksaw. Take trip to the scrap yard and get some mild steel scrap or if you can afford it get some new bar stock (probably mostly small stuff to start out) - some 1/4" round stock, some 3/8" round or 3/8" square or even 5/16' square and start making little S-hooks or "J-hooks" simply taking stock from square to round(re-sizing). There are sources for instruciton on how to forge these all over the internet. Try to make them all uniform - this will teach you more hammer control than any book will. Thats my advice.

Hello! I thought I'd take a minute to introduce myself and my company. My name is Reid Neilsen and I am the owner of a forge in Southern Colorado-Northern New Mexico called The Neilsen Blackmith Studio. I am new to this forum and thought it might be a good place to meet others and exchange ideas. I am an artist-blacksmith and do primarily ornamental and decorative work. I will have my catalog and a website up and running someday soon. I am hoping to get into doing furnature pieces and some architectural work in the future as well. I have toyed with bladesmithing and made lots of historical reproductions, but am not really a bladesmith by trade. I reserve that title for the real experts who specialize in just that. A little about my training: I began my training in central Indiana in 2001 and have been in love with it ever since. I worked full time as an apprentice smith back in Indiana and gained a lot of valuable experince while there. I did that for a few years and then moved out west. Since then I have been trianing and improving my skills. This last year I decided to "hang out my shingle", so to speak, and go into business for myself. I consider myself a reasonably skilled smith, but the great thing about smithing is that there is always something new to learn how to do! I love learning new things from others - it is what makes me improve and grow. I joined this forum to meet people so if there are any smiths in the rocky mountian region or in New Mexico please sound off. I love meeting other smiths/sharing ideas/going to events. These types of forums are really the modern version of the old guilds and are a great source of learning and information. I am glad I found this forum - I look forward to participating in discussion soon!:)