Sequence For Training Someone New

[Borntoolate]

I have a guy coming over to learn some blacksmithing on Friday. He is about 50ish and is mechanically inclined. He has done woodworking and knows how to use a tool or two. He knows how to work safe in a variety of situations. I brought him three books to look through today and he has been doing some studying. On Friday I think we can jump into it. What sequence or other approach should I take. He has never done any blacksmithing. I have a Coal forge with a hand crank Champion blower. Here is what I was thinking.

Make a steak turner. I'll make one and he makes one. Step by step. Safety Glasses of course! BUt this is learning more that steak turner making. We will take it slow.

• Hammer Technigue - Though he has done carpentry work.
• Starting the fire - coal vs coke, air flow and fire pot etc....
• 1/4" Round to Square - ~16" long, Hammer hand is labor and other hand is management. Management moves the metal and labor drops the hammer consistently, same spot. Real hammer blows not tink, tink, tink. Far or near side but keep the hot metal off the anvil and push or pull it to the hammer while rotating 90 degrees. Square the whole length. Trying to get some rythm and hammer control...
• Planish it nice and square as we go. Gentle, look close, make it neat but not perfect.
• Taper to a point, one end. Half hammer blows, far edge.
• Octagon to round on the taper.
• Make a rats tail small.
• Make a simple handle. Offer just using the anvil far edge, the horn or a hardy bending fork. I like the fork, it's fun. Rat's tail end..
• Talk about twists. He has already seen some of these. I make some various twists and so forth along mine, full length, he watches. I do them all the way to ~2"-3" from the opposite of the handle. Regular square, rounded corner square, reverses, octagon, flat the corners after etc etc...
• Now I give him the whole smithy to make his twists however he wants. His show now. I am just there to help as needed.
• Taper the end to a point, octagon, round.
• Make my end, a right hander.
• let him finish his, right or left hander.
• Grasp it and see if it feels right. Tweak it with a twist or what have you to get it to "feel" right.
• Apply Blacksmith finish (veg oil) Or maybe hot brass wire brush?
  

So we did Square, Taper, Octagon, Round, Twists, Bending, Half Hammer Blows, Far side and near side, Planishing, Forge operation, Hammer technigues, surface finish.

What should I do next? THis should not take us long.

What is a good next project or next technigue to teach or practice?.
OR
do you guys have a different approach?

This stuff is not that hard if you have someone who knows how to handle a tool and is coordinated enough to hit where he aims. We will talk through each step and talk about why/what is important. I think I can teach him what it took me 3 months to learn mostly on my own in one afternoon.

[SoCal Dave]

Clearly, you will see how it goes when he starts hammering. But, if he does well, he might like striking. Give him a little taste of that and he should be hooked. Good luck.

[Frank Turley]

Half hammer blow? for shoulders, not points.

See my second response (with the long list) under the iforge iron thread, Common Beginner Mistakes. It may help a little with what you are doing.

[Chuck in Ms]

Sounds like a well thought out class. Great project and lots of different techniques. If he is indeed good with a hammer move on to a simple coat hook. Include widening (fish tail top?) , small scroll on the hook and a punched hole. I always punch the hole last on these because if I can punch it I know I can fasten it.
Chuck

[Chuck in Ms]

Sounds like a well thought out class. Great project and lots of different techniques. If he is indeed good with a hammer move on to a simple coat hook. Include widening (fish tail top?) , small scroll on the hook and a punched hole. I always punch the hole last on these because if I can punch it I know I can fasten it.
Chuck

[divermike]

I have been teaching for about 5 years, and the "controlled hand forging" abana download is just superb, I downloaded it, printed it, and put it into a 3 ring binder with plastic sleeves on each page, I take the students through the first several projects, and let them take more and more freedom with the techniques as we go. Make sure they have a drawing tablet so their own ideas can manifest directly from the teachings. Also the project "miners candlestick" is a great guage as to when to let them start taking thier own path, if they can complete that one on thier own, they will need little supervision going forward.

[Borntoolate]

Half hammer blow? for shoulders, not points.

See my second response (with the long list) under the iforge iron thread, Common Beginner Mistakes. It may help a little with what you are doing.

Thanks, I guess I better review Brian's hammer blow sketch and get my words right. Thanks.

I have been teaching for about 5 years, and the "controlled hand forging" abana download is just superb, I downloaded it, printed it, and put it into a 3 ring binder with plastic sleeves on each page, I take the students through the first several projects, and let them take more and more freedom with the techniques as we go. Make sure they have a drawing tablet so their own ideas can manifest directly from the teachings. Also the project "miners candlestick" is a great guage as to when to let them start taking thier own path, if they can complete that one on thier own, they will need little supervision going forward.

I'll look into that, sounds great! Looks like a lot of files. It would be nice if there was an all in one link for the whole shootin match.

[Francis Trez Cole]

I like to teach the management of fire first. Then the holding of a hammer, Third the basic 8 taper, spreading, up setting, punching, twisting, bending, cutting and welding. Once you master these there is nothing in blacksmithing you cant do. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFEhHJEyIl8

[2Tim215]

Thanks - that's a nice vid to add to my already big collection.

[Frank Turley]

May I suggest not having too many DRILLS. Forging a pyramidal point repetitiously is not much fun, unless you're making something. Perhaps making the point and then drawing it out flat and bending to make a fire rake for the hearth would hold more interest for the student. Students can do this handle during the first few days of learning. It requires fullering, chamfering, shouldering, drawing, twisting, and bending. Toward the end of making this piece, a student is beginning to learn to forge and to "see." Now he or she has something useful to show the folks back home, that they really didn't go to horseshoeing school!

[Borntoolate]

We did a steak turner. IT came out great. He was pleased with the result and felt he got a good wiff of what blacksmtihing is all about. NO pics sorry. Thanks for the info.

Frank, I agree just doing "drills" is boring!!!! :angry: IN my opinion there is no reason to do a "drill' without incorporating it into making something useful right off the bat. Which we did! It was a good partial day in the shop.

Got to promote the art of blacksmithing... We'll see what happens to those seeds in the coming months. As he was leaving my second visitor arrived who needed 1-1/8" holes in a 3/8" thick angle iron. My Plasma cutter had been quite lonely for several months and so WE were both happy. FIrst we have fun with heating metal to 2000F plus and beating it with a hammer. Then we have fun heating air and melting metal at 20,000F plus :)

[Francis Trez Cole]

With new students a stake turner is the first project I always do also. I do not just do drills that would just be boring, there comes a point where you have to do one thing over and over again to get good at it. like punching holes make a trammel hook I try to let them feel it out each student is just going to have to find his way with it.

As for the video I was doing a preservation of the 8 basic elements we use every day as blacksmiths. And to show that they can be done rather quickly. Sooner or later you are just going to want to do an element better and the only to get better is practice.

I had 2 boys learn this weekend. One completed a stake turner the other got hot and burned a finger from a little scale and to much work for him. He decided to sit it out. Their parents were pleased with the experience and the spark has been lit.

I think back on how it must have been as an apprentice I am sure the smiths in training did a lot of one thing before the were allowed to move on to the next thing. Today in society people want instant gratification. You all have heard it I want to make a sword. You can not sugar coat it is going to take a lot of practice to get to the level to be able to hammer out that sword. Then there is no reset button if you get that piece to hot after 3 hours of work. You are just going to have to start all over again.

There are 4 things you have to come to except about blacksmithing you are going to get burned, cut, sweat and dirty. If you can not handle that, don't start. It comes with the fun.