Greetings from the deep south.

I am Mississippi transplant to the great state of Tennessee.

My family has always been do-it -yourselfers and I am following suit.

I am brand spankin new to smithing. In fact, as of right now, I have an
almost completed tractor truck wheel forge and a good solid 111 lb. hunk of
steel for an anvil. I figure as I get further into it, I can make or scrounge
some better equipment.

I found this site while looking for info to help me get up and going.
There is some really good info here and it seems that everyone is
willing to pitch and offer an opinion.

Looking forward to chatting with you guys and gals about future doings.

Later ~

Slick Willy

Howdy from East TEXAS!! and welcome to IFI! You found the best there is for metal work. There are several blueprints for getting started so you might want to check them out. Also, find the ABANA group near you and JOIN! ABANA will get you the info for your general area. Attending meeting will get you some hands on help and connections for finding other toys...er, I mean TOOLS that you may NEED. Glad you joined up and look forward to seeing some of your work.

I have an older brother living in Halls, TN. He teaches welding and drafting in Dyersburg (I think) and takes his class to the Metal Museum in Memphis every year. They also teach some blacksmith classes there if you are interested.

Welcome aboard Willy, glad to have ya.

You have the right idea, waiting till you have all the "real" stuff is a good way to never get started. Finding something to make do and then DOING it is far better.

A book you'll appreciate is "The Complete Modern Blacksmith" by Alexander Weygers. It's chock full of good improvisation tricks.

Frosty

Frosty

I have an older brother living in Halls, TN. He teaches welding and drafting in Dyersburg (I think) and takes his class to the Metal Museum in Memphis every year. They also teach some blacksmith classes there if you are interested.

A little far to drive (half way across the state) for classes, but definitely will check it out. Museums are a great way to see how things were done when there wasn't a lot to do with. Thanks for the idea!

A book you'll appreciate is "The Complete Modern Blacksmith" by Alexander Weygers. It's chock full of good improvisation tricks.

Looking for it at the library next time I'm there. If not, look out Amazon. Thanks!

You'll like it, it's an improviser's idea book. Checking one out from the library, have them borrow a copy from another library if they don't have it on the shelves, will just whet your appetite, you'll want a copy of your own.

Frosty

A little far to drive (half way across the state) for classes, but definitely will check it out. Museums are a great way to see how things were done when there wasn't a lot to do with. Thanks for the idea!

Shoot, I drove across 3 states to go to the blacksmith school I attended. The 'John C. Campbell Folk School' maybe closer to you, it's in North Carolina. They have some fantastic instructors and all different levels of instruction.

You may want to check the "Book Review" section here for other blacksmith related books before you hit amazon...bulk shipping and all.;)

The 'John C. Campbell Folk School' maybe closer to you, it's in North Carolina.

I heard of them from a very nice lady smith in Gatlinburg a few years ago and forgot about them. My wife had shown some interest in some of their other clases. Thanks for the reminder. Might can squeeze a week out of the wife if one of those classes is running at the same time.