JohnGrafft

Hi guys! It says I do not have access to the blacksmith lessons. Just curious as to why and what I can do to gain access.

Good points from both of you. I didn’t think about the rebound. That would definitely dampen it. Time tested wood and newer composite materials work best is what I’m seeing. No need to reinvent the wheel haha

I appreciate the feedback! When I have more time I’ll definitely get some empirical data just to see. I do think Frosty that the twisting tends to mix up the aim. It’s wants to recoil slightly under the strain. I definitely don’t think it would be good for smithing but creating a hammer like this for demolition I was curious as to how it might be better or worse for your body. Thank you guys for all your input

In the workshop for metal demolition my foreman has modified a *3.5 pound* (estimate) cross peen hammer by removing the fiber glass handle and replaced it with a 1 inch diameter steel cable. The only bought being it’s stiff enough to not lose accuracy. You can increase force with the potential energy that’s generated during the swing and the bunching of the cable. (With proper flicking technique at end of swing) also it dampens the impact to you arm. However I don’t know if this would reduce or increase low frequency vibrations. What are your thoughts?

Thank you so much frosty! Id love to get that contact info. Ah I know where your at. I have some friends and family that lives right near you. I just moved here from anchorage a month ago. I’ve read that about the coal :/ Is shipppng out of state an option or is the price point just too high?

Perfect! I didn’t know that about the clay, that’s awesome. I started reading on the hammering techniques on the threads. The books I read touched on it too. It’ll be nice to practice on the clay now I appreciate the info about frosty. I’ve seen him come up on a lot of the threads here. It’s very nice to have people relatively close and know the Alaskan market. Thank you very much Slag Best regards, John G

I love the site so far! I’ll keep reading new things. I’m super impressed by all of your guys good advice. “Buy a brick of modeling clay” I’m assuming I do this to practice the fundamentals and learning how to create things without having to spend money on metal? I never would have thought of that! Thank you very much Glenn. I’ll definitely get some

Thank you very much George for the encouragement and advice. I will definitely buy the book. I’m very excited to start this new journey!

Hi guys and gals, My name is John I live in Fairbanks Alaska and am 24yrs old. I really want to learn blacksmithing (for making custom tools eventually). I’ve been watching a lot of YouTube videos, I have bought and read the books The Complete Modern Blacksmith and Practical Blacksmithing. (I love them) However I have 0 actual experience. I’ve started making a solid fuel forge (welded my fire box to the table now I just need a hand crank blower) and gas forge (making a Rob Reil burner for it.) I also work for a Pipe and Steel company taking apart non ferrous metals and they are fine with me using some of the steel that comes through for personal projects. I’ve heard a lot that taking a class or getting a mentor is important but it’s hard to find in Fairbanks AK especially during the whole Covid. Any advice for an aspiring blacksmith would be deeply appreciated. Your brother in labor, John G