Hey my name's Derek. I'm an aircraft mechanic from Cold Lake, Alberta. I've never really blacksmithed before, just the most basic heating things with torches and bending or shaping them a little bit. I grew up surrounded by a family of welders and have been welding off and on for years whenever I had a place to do it, as well as some occasional machining when I was lucky enough to have a lathe and mill at work. I would love to learn some valuable new metalworking skills and I think this will really open up some fun project opportunities. I plan on building a modest forge and testing the waters this summer when the snow melts. For now I'm here to lurk, read, and soak up as much wisdom as I can first to avoid making silly mistakes, getting hurt, or wasting time and money.
