tjdaggett Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 Evening all! I am a young man looking to try his hand at blacksmithing. I am, it seems, going to need a lot of help. We no longer know who the town blacksmith is from birth, so getting in contact with the actual man-with-the-anvil is not easy. For tonight, I'll keep this simple. Who I am: I am a young man just out of college who recently landed his first full-time day job. I have the time and money (FINALLY!) to go to weekend events, slowly accumulate gear, and practice the trade. I currently live in an apartment with three other guys, but there is a garage possibility. What I need: I need advice on getting started in general (I see there's a page or so for that). I need to know what people do in situations like mine (can one smith in a garage near hundreds of residences?). I need a community to share this whole thing with; iron sharpens iron, da? My area is the Twin Cities of Minnesota. I know there are guys around here, because I met them at the Renaissance Festival. I could use some directions. Shoot me a PM or reply here. I'll be busy digging through the posts. Thanks ya'll! --SDG, TJDaggett Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 where's the closest ABANA chapter to you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 Look up the following blacksmithing groups or organizations. Minnesota The Guild of Metalsmiths National Blacksmith and Weldors Association (NBWA) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Olivo Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 Well where are you? I am in robbinsdale. The guild of metalsmiths is the one. http://www.metalsmith.org Come on by I will be working on some propane forges for the next two days. If you want to just pm me. Lots of fun people around here:D ME http://ipneto.deviantart.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjdaggett Posted October 3, 2013 Author Share Posted October 3, 2013 Yes! Thank you so much. This is exactly what I am looking for. I will pursue these when I get off of work. Stephen, I am about fifteen minutes out of Robbinsdale, over in the New Brighton/St. Anthony area. Will you be around tonight? I'll shoot you a PM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjdaggett Posted October 4, 2013 Author Share Posted October 4, 2013 Blatant testimonial: I posted this topic on Wednesday around 8:30. I knew nobody. Yesterday at 4:30 I met Stephen in person. We spent 2.5 hours talking, and I learned more from him than I have from all the YouTube videos I've ever seen. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Dean Posted October 4, 2013 Share Posted October 4, 2013 That my friend is what IFI is all about! Helping others in this endeavor. BTW Howdy from East TEXAS!! and welcome to IFI. Please don't forget to post pictures of your work, we love pictures. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSW Posted October 4, 2013 Share Posted October 4, 2013 That my friend is what IFI is all about! Helping others in this endeavor. Yep. It's why so many of us ask new guys to post up their locations. I know at least 4 guys here that are roughly in my area, and possibly 2 others who I'm not sure if they have joined yet or not. In many cases there are guys here who are more than willing to let guys come by and learn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Olivo Posted October 4, 2013 Share Posted October 4, 2013 Your welcome. And just remember your always welcome back. Hopefully next time I will actually Have a fire lit in one of my forges and we can play with some hot steel :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjdaggett Posted October 7, 2013 Author Share Posted October 7, 2013 That's the plan! You will be getting a call soon enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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