Maurice Gedney Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 Does anyone have any suggestions for beginners projects for me? I have made letter openers, hooks, damascus steel knives, arrowheads, pokers and a hammer with help from a professional blacksmith and some leaf keyring attachment on my new forge. However I would like some suggestions for new simple projects that I can practice basic techniques on whilst being more interesting than just leaves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 Have enough tongs? Does the wife have a nice pot rack? Shelf brackets? Gate or shed hinges? How many KINDS of leaves have you made? Flowers? Yard hardware, trellises, flower trees, Tiki torch holders, beer bottle/glass holders? Garden tools?Just look around you, if it's made of steel try making one.Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 Look into the IForgeIron Gallery where there are over 20,000 photos of projects. I am sure you can find something of interest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
senstrom Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 i like finding projects that require tools i do not have yet, that way i get 2-3 goods projects out of 1 idea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 I have a shelf of books on historical ironwork; if I need a project I can just start paging through them till I hit something I like. They range from iron age to 20th century. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n.rountree Posted May 14, 2018 Share Posted May 14, 2018 On 7/31/2015 at 1:18 PM, ThomasPowers said: I have a shelf of books on historical ironwork; if I need a project I can just start paging through them till I hit something I like. They range from iron age to 20th century. Hey Thomas powers, I'm looking for some Good reference books, any way you can shoot me a list of some that you have? Thx in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 14, 2018 Share Posted May 14, 2018 Before I spend hours typing in books that may not be what you are looking for; could you narrow down what you do want and any restrictions: what languages do you read? Can you access College Libraries? if you are in the USA can you do ILL? etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cincinnatus Posted May 14, 2018 Share Posted May 14, 2018 Have you tried Pinterest? Search for blacksmith projects and there are thousands of ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.IVO Posted May 14, 2018 Share Posted May 14, 2018 Why not a medieval crossbow. I built one years before I got into knife making. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 14, 2018 Share Posted May 14, 2018 Some of the heavy hitters would be Early American Wrought Iron, Three Volumes in One; Sonn, Albert Antique Iron, English and American: 15th Century Through 1850; Herbert Schiffer Iron and Brass Implements of the English and American House; J Seymour Lindsay Also have you checked the iforge section over at anvilfire.com; as I recall they have over 150 projects there. (for a medieval crossbow: Payne-Gallwey's The Crossbow : Its Military and Sporting History, Construction and Use) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted May 14, 2018 Share Posted May 14, 2018 On 7/31/2015 at 4:07 PM, senstrom said: i like finding projects that require tools i do not have yet, that way i get 2-3 goods projects out of 1 idea And that's how you end up in "Making a tool to make a tool to make a ... what was I making?" mode. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted May 14, 2018 Share Posted May 14, 2018 5 hours ago, n.rountree said: I'm looking for some Good reference books, There is a sub forum here that lists a lot of good books (some from Thomas). https://www.iforgeiron.com/forum/40-book-reviews/ BTW: Welcome to IFI this thread will help with making the best use of the forum. https://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/53873-read-this-first/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n.rountree Posted May 15, 2018 Share Posted May 15, 2018 9 hours ago, ThomasPowers said: Before I spend hours typing in books that may not be what you are looking for; could you narrow down what you do want and any restrictions: what languages do you read? Can you access College Libraries? if you are in the USA can you do ILL? etc. Sure no problem. I'm just starting out and want to ultimately make high end chef knives, being a chef myself i take a high interest, but I like the idea of using my imagination and ingenuity to make whatever I need.native English reader and speaker, I speak I very small amount of German. I have access to my junior college which I attend. I'm in California. What's ILL? THANKS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted May 15, 2018 Share Posted May 15, 2018 55 minutes ago, n.rountree said: What's ILL? Inter-Library Loan. If your library doesn’t have a book and another library does and is willing to loan it out, they will send it to your library. You check it out and return it there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted May 15, 2018 Share Posted May 15, 2018 14 hours ago, n.rountree said: I'm in California. We won't remember this after leaving this thread hence the suggestion to edit your profile in the Read This first thread. You will be surprised how many answers are dependent upon location. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 15, 2018 Share Posted May 15, 2018 I'll assume it's the California in the USA and not one of the others... A book I will suggest for your long term goals is "The Opera of Bartolomeo Scappi" published 1570, in english translation now. Scappi was cook for 5 Popes and wrote this book describing things. It includes a series of woodcuts on his equipment---including a travelling set up I have been duplicating and a page of the needed knives for the kitchen. You will also profit from the knifemaking books: Introduction to Knifemaking, Sells; The Complete Bladesmith, The Master Bladesmith, and the Pattern Welded Blade, Hrisoulas. Note to make high end Chef's Knives I advise you to go slow and learn well and work on tooling up! Making high end items can be done all by hand but the time involved is IMMENSE! A great belt grinder will cut time by a LOT; for instance. Also learn how to clean your hands well; as a software engineer I can show up at meetings with "Forge Hands" and people will just give me a bit more room; as a chef..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n.rountree Posted May 15, 2018 Share Posted May 15, 2018 Yes California in the USA. Thank you for all the references and the advice, can't wait to get started! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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