Heathen Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 Hi folks, as a beginner in blacksmithing this site has helped at so many levels. Truly thankful for all you veterans who are willing to help a brother along. Took a class with a blacksmith in northern PA a few weeks ago and needless to say I'm hooked. Always been a tinkerer, but actually shaping metal has to be the most fun I've had. So thanks for the invaluable resource and when I feel I have a question that 11 people haven't already asked I will jump right in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grundsau Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 (edited) Hey, welcome to IFI.I'm a bit north of you in Berks Co.Have you heard of PABA? We have a meeting this coming Saturday in the Quakertown area.There are numerous members that are more than willing to help you with questions, equipment, techniques, etc.On this page is a map link for the meeting. http://www.pabasite.org/event-calendar.html Edited March 31, 2015 by Grundsau Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 (edited) Welcome aboard Heathen, glad to have you. Hook up with PABA, they're a good bunch and nothing will hook you deeper than getting a little face and hands on time with experienced smiths. You'll advance farther in an afternoon than days or even months on your own. Some very simple things must be done in a certain way or the process just doesn't turn out. Welding for instance needs to be done correctly or it's unlikely to work. Someone can show you in minutes, what some folk have spent months trying to figure out without much success. That's just one example of many but it's probably the most common.If I can I teach folk to weld as a first session lesson as a confidence builder. There's a lot of mystical hoo doo associated with forge welding that's good to dispel right away. I was shocked a couple summers ago when a young man showed up to learn but had never used a hammer. Seriously NEVER used a hammer. I had to start him on basic eye hand coordination projects so he could develop the most basic hand skills. Three sessions of nail making and he was barely advancing. He's doing okay, even though he's moved to the lower 48, he's hooked up with a smithing organization and doing well.The seeming lack of hand skills was a real eye opener for me and I'm running into it more and more. Well, wasn't that a fine digression and ain't I known for it? <grin>Frosty The Lucky. Edited March 31, 2015 by Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Yup I had a student like that before too; his parents wanted him to be a Rabbi. He's selling knives professionally now and forging for a living. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 And my parents wanted me to be a veterinarian because I'm good with animals and they tend to like me. Funny what life does to plans eh?Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heathen Posted March 31, 2015 Author Share Posted March 31, 2015 Hey thanks for the welcome guys! And thanks Grundsau for the info about that meeting in Quakertown. Its a couple hours north of me but I know the area a bit from driving truck. I'm going to rearrange my saturday and try to come up there. I so often in life have tried to do it all alone for lack of a proper teacher, dad, whatever the excuse. But I can see already that this hobby really could benefit from me seeking out professionals and picking their brain, taking notes, just learning by osmosis if need be. Hope to see u there.And Frosty, it's funny you bring up forge welding and refer to it as being mystical. Because right now, from my point of view, it is just that. Without a good demonstration and some pointers it may as well be magic to me. BTW I just noticed your location. I visited the Olympic National Forest last year because my older brother lives near Seattle. Dont know if it compares to your neck of the woods but I basically wanted to move there immediately. When I got home I searched for a patch of earth for sale for quite some time online. Funny how hard it is to move the older you get though. So anyhow, eye hand coordination was never a problem for me but then I was always messing around with everything I could get my hands on. Although that being said, I can see I got a helluva lot to learn.As far as what I wanted to be when I grew up, and what my folks wanted for me.... always was a curmudgeony know-it-all even as a kid. Heck I was gonna just get paid to do that! Turns out it's better to just have a plan. Not even a good plan, any plan. Who knew? I know I didn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 My Grandmother's house was on Puget sound, with a clear view of Hood Island. I was Born in Everett and. . . Oh heck our family pioneered the PAC NW in the mid 19th. It is exquisitely beautiful country if you don't mind rain. The NWBA is also a strong active blacksmithing organization, if you were to drop my name with them they MIGHT still talk to you. <grin>I agree about moving, I have too much stuff and no teen age kids to do the work so I think we'll just stay put as long as we can.Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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