Some help for a younger hopeful?

[Daryn]

I'm 18 and in the past weeks I've found myself reading up, watching videos, and in general thinking about blacksmithing. The idea of creating a tool, or a piece of art from a piece of metal either big or small excites me to no end. That being said, I've spent the past week trying to figure out where to begin, and it's very overwhelming because A.) I don't have a job, I lost it 6 months ago when the company closed that branch and B.) It's very hard to find scrap and such around me. I live around Cincinnati, OH and as I look around trying to find a way to build a forge (55 or just a small brake drum) it all involves money that I don't have, and my family isn't in the best of situations. So I set that aside, and now something to use for an anvil is another problem for me. I keep seeing a rail track or I-Beam being suggested as an anvil alternative, but I'm not sure how to go about procuring either of these. 

 

So my question is if anyone can give me some specific advice on how to go low cost or scrounge up something in my area. If anyone in/around Cincinnati could point me in the right direction, that'd be great. I find myself thinking about what I want to do constantly it seems like, and it's really getting to me that I can't start quite yet.

 

Thanks for reading and any help you can give,

Daryn

[jmccustomknives]

Your 18, the world is full of opportunities for you.  Just because you may not want to do a particular job isn't a reason to do it.  Smithing, like life, starts out with a raw material that resist change.  Through heat and the guidance of a master that raw material becomes a useful and beautiful object.  It takes time and patients.

Back to your problem.  The first step is networking (making friends).  Be generous with your time (as much as possible) and things will come to you.  I had very little in my first forge (actually $0).  You just have to get creative.  There's a lot of info here on alternatives not to mention people in your area who can help.

[C.D. Mitchell]

Welcome to the world of blacksmithing Daryn.  Here on this site you have acess to thousands of pages of information and thousands of years of combined experience...needless to say it's an excellent resource.

 

I'm also from the Cincinnati/Dayton area.  PM me and I might be able to give you a few pointers on how to get started.

[95silverstallion]

Assuming you have a mode of transportation, I suggest going to all the big truck, tractor trailer shops and ask them if they have any scrap brake drums they would be willing to part with. Most places wont give you one because they get scrap value for them and theyre heavy, typically 100 lbs for a single drum. Just go and tell them what your going to do with it and youd be surprised that one place may just give you one. Maybe even offer to do a bit of clean up around their yard for a drum. Heck might even find your way into a job.

[Ridgewayforge]

Here's what I'd do, if I were you. I am also 18 and have managed to delve into this great art! You can probably find 50 gallon drums and a hairdryer on craigslist for about US$10, and that is all you need, plus a little bit of pipe, to get started. If nothing else, get a 10 lb sledge hammer head to use as an anvil. But don't forget to ask EVERYWHERE. Every car shop, every farmer, every business man you meet. Use the TPAAT method. Look it up, there are some posts on here about it. As far as scrap, Cincinatti might now have some, but Lowes will have some stock steel that is good for starting out for relatively inexpensively. It will take money, if needed don't shy away from even a minimum wage job just so you can buy metal, IMHO.

 

The biggest secret once you start going is this: DELIBERATE PRACTICE. And plenty of it! Oncce I discovered that I needed to work on a specific skill set, and I set out to doing it, I improved vastly. You will too!

 

But, even a piece of sheet metal will hold fire. A pile of firebricks will, too. A hair dryer or small car fan can give the air, and so can a plastic bag. I used a 5 gallon plastic bucket lid for about a year. Hard work, but now I appreciate my blower.

 

Perseverance is the key, reading is the key, and doing is the key! We all look forward to seeing how you are going to overcome this obstacle, which is a very real and doable possibility! Good luck my friend! Happy hammering!

[Rich Hale]

Bottom line is that starting any new skill set will require some effort and money. Assuming you are willing to exert the effort you need to aquire some money. That most likely will require a job. The suggestions above that you find a group or gather materials assume that you have transportation and  gas money. Time for you to get creative and earn some bucks. There simply has to be somewhere, someone is hiring for something. In the meantime continue to read and learn on this site. Start a shop book with notes of items to buy, items to find,, locations where they may be and first projects.

Do not get discouraged.

[Charles R. Stevens]

The "Tomas Powers anvil accusation method" is all about networking and persiverance, and is equally applicable to a job search. As to the job search first. Ask eany one and every one, if they need help or know some one that dose, volunteer (a lot of small buisness owners do to) go to church, with your grand moher, you will meet more peaple that will be inclined to help you. And lastly, take eany job that comes up, one you may actually like it, and two it is a heck of a lot easyer to find a job when you have a job.
Now to the blacksmithing stuff.
Use the TPAAM, but be creative. Any thing that will hold the fire will work if it has close to the right shape, an old Soren box full of dirt, an old weber grill, old sink, big flowerpot, old bucket, hole in the ground. Look at the stuff the third world aid folks publish, look here, look at history for insperation. Almost any large solid chunk of steel, 8-20# sledge hammer heads, splitting malls, large splitting wedges, heavy equipment shaves, smoth granit blocks (don't go stealing any grave markers) grain elivator weights ect. If you use a hit dryer, open it up and unhook the heating eliment, it will last longer.
As for scrap. Automotive and truck shops, rebar, big bolts and nails on the side of the road, illegal dump sights, empty lots, dumpster diving, good stuff set out on trash day. We Americans are trashy peaple, if you walk down any contry road you will find usable scrap, city's arnt any better.

[Jim Coke]

Greetings Daryn,

 

Enclosed is a funny picture tilted Patience and wizdom..  You will find blacksmiths some of the kindest and willing to help people on this earth...  I sugest you get ahold of SOFA  Sothern Ohio Forge And Anvil in Troy Ohio..  I know those folks and I'll just bet they could supply a young sprout like you with your needs.  www.sofablacksmiths.org

 

Keep the faith    Jim

[Clif]

Daryn,

 

Welcome to blacksmithing.  Getting started will require some effort and patience.  Cash is optional if you are willing to put in the time and effort.  As stated above by more experienced smiths, start by asking around.  Best advice I can give is to be honest with everyone you talk to.  Let them know what you are looking for.  My first anvil was a 2x2x10 block of steel given to me by a guy I knew who worked in a small fabrication shop.  Then I was talking to a wood sculpture, he gave me the stump to rest it on.  Tongs were pliers from my tool box.  Think outside the box.  You don't need expensive new kit to get started.  Just the patience to make do until something better comes along.  It's taken me over two years but now I have an old english anvil (free), large steel block 4x8x9.5 weights about 75 pounds ($30.00), 8 or 10 hammers ranging in size (many free some flea market $2.00 specials),  I am making my own tongs, the only steel I have purchased was for special projects my wife wanted, the rest I have been given by friends, gotten from the scrap pile at work (caution here - I always ask before raiding the scrap barrel no need to get fired over a few dollars of steel),  my forge is now a gas one I made ($100?), my first on was a plate of 3mm steel with pipe air feed with bricks lining it(normal bricks don't last long but will work)  Air supply was an old shop vac. 

 

Where I have spent money was on books, get a copy of 'the backyard blacksmith', very good tips for the beginner, look around old book stores or charity shops (found one on country crafts that had some good drawings of a forge I am starting to build).

Read as much of this site as you can.  Loads of good info all over.

One last thing, ENJOY yourself, if you find your stressing over what you doing it's time to stop and take a break.  My son keeps trying to rush things, get frustrated and more time than not will make a mistake or miss hit.

[Borntoolate]

I would suggest that you should spend most of your thought and time working to get employment and income or maybe better than that is a good advanced education.  The rest will come in time.

[David Gaddis]

Blacksmithing is a burning desire....

 

                                                                  and it grows from there.

 

 

 

Carry on

[VaughnT]

Don't have a job?  Look into utilities locating in your area.  All buried utilities (water, sewer, gas, phone, cable, power) need to be located and marked prior to any excavation, and it's a great job to get into!  There's always a need for new guys, and the pay's pretty decent (and you usually get a take-home company truck!)

 

You have internet, so do a search for videos of smiths working for a living in india, africa, pakistan, etc.  These nasty third-world countries don't have anything close to our resources (excepting detroit, I guess) and yet those smiths are able to produce fantastic tools.  Don't have leather for a bellows?  Use canvas or carpet scraps.  Don't have an anvil?  Buy a used sledghammer at the goodwill store.  Don't have a forge?  Cut a bit of a hole in the ground and use that to contain the fire.

 

It's not rocket science, and this website will provide you with countless examples if you open your mind to the possibilities.

[Jack Evers]

Hint on work. A friend's son (high school) was trying to do yard work one summer. He found people wouldn't pay say $10.00/hr to have him mow their lawn, but if he thought it would take an hour and offered to do it for $15, they were apt to hire him at the effectively higher rate.