"Smiting Block"

[rhornback]

Hey everyone, I just wanted to get some feedback on a problem I’m currently facing. I’m new to smiting as most can see, and recently have had a hard time at my forge. I can’t focus on a project and see it through. I get bored with that project and start something else, and end up having 3-4 things started with no direction and no end in sight. I fear that I brunt myself out early as I was out “tinkering” every day when I first started, any suggestions? I want to be out there but I’ve been keeping myself away thinking that maybe a few days off with get the creative juices flowing again. Anyone had a problem like this?

[Brian Thomas]

The best advice I can give you is to not "psyche yourself out". From what I can tell from your post, that is exactly what you are doing. It is just like anything else...you start off eager and then don't know how to proceed because you see many alternatives. Take a step back and think things through. Creative genius comes naturally and it cannot be forced. Think of the problem not as a block but as a time of personal reflection. 

[ThomasPowers]

Pick an unfinished project and do the next step.   Repeat till one takes off in your hands/mind and you gallop to completion.

[Stash]

BTDT, got the tee shirt. I have a collection of half-started projects, as well as a lot of stuff on my daily plate. I get past it by lighting up the forge without any particular focus, get some metal hot and just start hitting it. I'll practice pointing, drawing down, twisting, spiraling- running through the basic steps and next thing I know something in that exercise got my attention on one of my projects. I have a tendency at times to overthink things to the point of stagnation and this helps me to get through it and come out the other side. Keep the fire burning and just work your way thru it.

 

Steve

[vapremac]

The 3-4 things you started,were they simple or complex projects?

[SoCal Dave]

I'm not sure what you are doing while you are "tinkering".  Do you have a specific project you are working on?  i.e.  fireplace tools, coat rack, etc.  Remember, in the finished project there are lots of aspects that don't include hot steel and hammer.  They might be grinding, rust removal, chemical treatment, etc. You might give yourself a time limit to a project.  Plan on giving a person a gift that you made by blacksmithing.  That might help push you through to the end.  Also, as suggested above, complete a project before starting another and get in this habit.  I don't tinker much anymore, but, I work on projects when I can.  Good luck.    

[Dan C]

What's already been said above and make yourself a to-do list and keep moving completed items to the finished list.  Then just keep at it.  Later when you look at all you've completed your confidence and satisfaction will grow. 

[Frosty]

Don't make a chore of it! Blacksmithing is FUN. It's pretty common for a person starting a new craft to set goals way too high, setting themselves up for failure. Failure effect us differently, some get discouraged, some get their backs up. Whatever do it one thing at a time. that goes for projects but more so for processes.

 

I've been starting students out making nails to develop the basic hammer skills. I used to start them on leaf finial coat hooks but it generally takes too long for the first or second timer to finish. Even a lop sided wonky nail can take a new kid more than an hour to finish, especially seeing as how shop classes are gone, just gone. Kids don't have any manual tool skills so we have to start basic, basics.

 

So, my advice is stop working on projects you can get worked up about not finishing. Work on skills, nails are good and a header can be made with a drill, you don't even have to punch and drift. Well, okay so you need to drift the down side of the hole so you can get the nails out. I like making nails because it gives a student practical experience in not only drawing an even taper but cutting ad upsetting the head, it's a really SMALL step to heading a rivet or for a ball end. nails are e fine doorway into the upsetting skill of upsetting.

 

Start with drawing or twisting maybe till you get good at it. THEN move onto chisel work, say make rope or cube twists. Incorporating the last skill with the new one is good for both. Twisting is a good place to start as it's dramatic and pits your personal strength against steel. Sure pitting yourself against something symbolic like steel in an easy challenge is a cheap psych 1 trick but it's a lot more effective than folk think and you're in the doldrums so trick your brain into having fun.

 

Stop looking at those as unfinished or failed projects. Look at them as a series of basic steps to polish, pick a step and polish the dickens out of it. When the basic processes get easy using them gets more fun because you're not having to focus on doing IT right, you can focus on the shapes you want.

 

Frosty The Lucky.

[Michael]

I always start a smithing session making a few nails, trying to get them all the same length.  Good warm up, focuses the mind a bit.

 

I know what you mean about the tinkering, also have a few projects going at any one time, some showing more success than others. It can be good to step away when you get stuck, work on something else that's in mid process. Sometimes I come away from a couple of hours of forging without much to completed to show for it.

 

Recently challenged myself to have to make the bottle opener before I could crack the beer. Punched the hole, drifted and toothed the ring, twisted a handle then I could have the cold one.  Your mileage might vary but it worked for me.

[notownkid]

Colonial Williamsburg Blacksmiths make nails every day to warm up.  Get a blacksmith book with LOTS OF Pictures.  When you get  "brain lock" open the book and look at the pictures till something hits you between the eyes.  Go for it.  That doesn't work and if all else fails READ THE BOOK! 

 

If all else still fails, mow the lawn (or shovel snow) do the laundry for your wife or mom, clean the house, wash the dishes something real unpleasant your mind will be back to blacksmithing in no time.

[Greenbeast]

I found this a little bit when i first started and was just hitting steel for no real reason.

 

Definitely pick a small simple project and try to see it through.

 

Worth getting The Backyard Blacksmith by Lorelei Sims, has some great projects ranging in skill at the back

[SmoothBore]

Projects "hang up", when there is no clear "plan" for thier completion.

 

Planning is not just a personal preference, ... it's essential, when doing Forge work.

 

( When a piece comes out of the fire, you need to know exactly what you want to accomplish, before it cools. )

 

Carrying that essential preparation to the next level, ... you need to envision ALL the necessary steps, ... before you begin.

 

Even a "creative" process, requires discipline.

 

 

From "The Hunt for Red October" ..... "Son, a Russian Sub Commander doesn't go to the head, without a plan."

 

 

 

.

[rockstar.esq]

It's all about what you want to get out of it.  Smoothbore is right.  If you want to master skills - you must have discipline and a willingness to repeat an exercise until it's learned.

 

It's better if the exercises inspire you.  Every time I've tried to make gifts within a deadline, I've found myself frustrated and rushed. Every time I've tried to improve on the last item I made, the happier I am with the time spent.

 

One of my first projects was a small crowbar for my neighbor.  I spent a long time upsetting material at the ends to make the tips stronger.  I had everything looking good and I quenched it to harden it.  Rather than temper it right away I got obsessive about polishing the surfaces thinking I'd see tempering colors better.  

 

I ended up dropping it on my way to the forge to temper and it shattered.

 

I took another length of stock and made another one.  The second time I got it to shape in half the time. I tempered it right away!  I often think about that when a project isn't working out.  Really often I'll start over and find that I've made up the time by learning what I did wrong.

[Jim Coke]

Greetings RH,

 

Before Francis passed he wrote one of the best blacksmiths books of the time...  The Blacksmiths Cookbook.   Funny title...  If you read further into what he was trying to say ..  Smithing is procedure= procedure.=  palnning= planning..  Just like cooking ..  If you put the wrong ingredient in at the wrong time it will not turn out...   Plan your project of what comes first in the formation of the metal and go for it..   If the result does not pan out .. Change the procedure.. Don't expect a different result if you continue doing the same thing...   Just my 2c  I hope this helps    Think recipe and get cookin...

 

Forge on and make beautiful things

Jim

[rhornback]

thanks everyone for the feedback, i haven't been out in a few days and as soon as this ice thaws out a little i plan on going back out and creating something beautiful. as far as the technical aspects of the projects, i learned very early to start simple. most of the issues i have are limited by the equipment and the space i have to work in. i rent a duplex, so turning the already shop into a proper forge is impossible. most of the projects i have "started" are simple ones that implement a lot fundamentals that are both educational while still filling the self-gratification that i gain from this hobby.(firepoker, feeder hanging rack, exc.) it doesn't feel like a chore at all. its enjoyment and i dream about lighting the fire most nights. i feel most of my issues are like most of you said from lack of proper planning. ive planned 1 project of the 5-6 ive started and the 1 actually worked and turned out a set of tongs. i appreciate the comments and the encouragement from everyone, thank you. ill let ya know if the time off helped any when i get out there later this week. 

[quick60]

Like has been said start with simple projects to get warmed up. 

 

On larger projects begin with the end in mind.  Before you put the each piece in the fire picture what you want it to do, get the correct tools laid out in your work area to meet that objective, take the piece as if you have just pulled it from the fire and walk you way throguh what you want to do.  Heat it up and do it.  Drawing it on paper or dry erase board or even on the floor with chalk often helps.

 

If something is not working out right for me I will often cut it off/ cut it short and put a leaf on it maybe some twists in it form a scroll on the end and hand it up.  People come over and see my set up and ask questions I use them as examples and give those out as trinkets and stuff.

[Chuck in Ms]

If you are that "new to smithing" just slow down. Focus on technique rather than projects. Until you can execute a procedure efficiently you will not be satisfied with your results. It sounds like your time is limited so if it takes 1/2 hour to draw a taper or punch a hole it can become frustrating. Once you master these and other techniques you will accomplish much more in your allotted time.  

 

The Planning stage has been mentioned one way or another in all the above post! Listen to those who are trying to help. Draw out what you want to forge. This should even be done if you are just punching a hole in flat-bar ( for now ). Think about the tools you will need and have them ready prior to lighting the forge. Practice what you are going to do with the material cold, go from fire pot to anvil to vise and back to fire pot. With your drawing in view, tools in place and enough room to do the job, light the fire.    

[beammeupscotty]

Though I am a bit late to this thread I will add my own two cents.  When I get smiter's block I find that hanging out with other smiths or taking a class can really help to jog my motivation and creative juices.  It seems to me that most of the time when I start a project and don't finish, it is because I didn't actually feel the "drive" for that project in the first place.  For myself, I am most motivated when I am making something I have never made before.  That is what led me to making something like 30 bottle openers in the last few weeks.  Now, I am burned out on bottle openers and have no desire to make any more but I learned a LOT while doing them, tried several new techniques I had never done before which I can now add to my repertoire of tricks and techniques and now, I can turn out any one of several different style bottle openers in a heartbeat, should the need arise.  Go hang out with some other smiths and you will see. it will work wonders.  

[Dodge]

I think others have touched on this but its hard to have focus on a project without focus of what that project is. If you simply light the forge to hammer on steel then that is likely all that will happen. Pick an item you want to make and make it. Yeah it might not turn out the first try, Heck you should see all the failed tong blanks in my scrap bucket :D But if you keep at it it will come. A local group/ guild/ club etc can be helpful too. If there are any in your area check them out for guidance

Scott

[divermike]

I have learned to break things down into stages, if I am making a lamp for instance, I will set out to do one arm, and do it carefully and completely, it helps to focus on just one aspect. Or if I am doing wizard heads, I will just do the taper on several, and get them correct.