Jump to content
I Forge Iron

The Complete Modern Blacksmith


Bigcity

Recommended Posts

The Complete Modern Blacksmith
by Alexander G. Weygers
ISBN# 0-89815-896-6
300pgs


well i like this book it was my first one i have learned alot about forging
the book shows you basic forging techneaks to making your own woodworking and stone mason tools to art decorations etc.
i think it is a book worth looking into:)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I particularly like Weygers' "scrounge and make" philosophy; He's the one that helped teach me that anything that doesn't burn melt or break might be an anvil and a forge can cost *nothing*!

As a quite skilled artist his section on forging woodcarving chisels is very good indeed! And this is the only book I have seen going into detail on making triphammer dies for specialized jobs.

I originally got it when it was 3 separate books back in the '70's and re-bought it when all 3 were published combined into 1!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I enjoy the book, especially the thrifty 'scrounge-and-make-do' attitude, though I must say I was a little disappointed. Perhaps I was expecting a book with more emphasis on forging than grinding and sawing. It is of course a product of its time and some of the practices are... best avoided for safety's sake. There is no discussion of welding beyond 'it's cheating'. Furthermore although the three titles are now contained in one handy volume, I find it awkward to have to search for something in three different indeces and then find a lot of duplicated information.

Just some minor niggles I suppose, it's a good book overall!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I believe that the grinding and sawing is mainly from "The Making of Tools" which was not a blacksmithing book per say. Perhaps you would have been happier with just "The Modern Blacksmith" still out there on the used market. (I myself don't use TMoT much).

Duplication is quite common when you take three separate standalone books and package them as one. My copy of Richardson's "Practical Blacksmithing" has 4 volumes in one---I have put in a bookmarker at each index and just live with the duplication.

I figure that having all 3 books available for the same price I bought 1 of them back in the 1970's I can put up with a lot more issues!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...