AuburnMind Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 Greetings all,I'm probably going to ask a question you guys have heard a hundred times over. I'm totally new to Blacksmithing and based in the UK and im looking to get a basic hammer, anvil and forge on the go pretty shortly the only issue is every website im visiting is listing these items at really expensive prices, too much for someone like myself who's just starting out. My budget is around £200-£300 that's around $460.Any recommendations would be appreciated ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the iron dwarf Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 stephen jones is probably close to you and has just got a forge and other items, you might want to ask him Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuburnMind Posted October 30, 2015 Author Share Posted October 30, 2015 stephen jones is probably close to you and has just got a forge and other items, you might want to ask himCheers Iron Dwarf i'll keep an eye out for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 (edited) To get started you only need a hole in the ground to contain the fire, something to hit with and something to hit on, and something to hit. The rest is connivence to the blacksmith such as a forge that is table high rather on the ground.Do a site search for TPAAAT. Ask everyone you know and do not know. Have cards printed with what you are looking for and how to contact you. Pass them out. It may take a while for the seeds to mature and produce fruit, but in time they will produce. Have cash in your pocket so you can jump immediately on any deal that comes along. Edited October 30, 2015 by Glenn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
falsevacuum Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 (edited) I'm a beginner, so go find your salt shaker and get a few grains. I do read a lot, but reading is no substitute for experience. > TPAAATSince it's not sure easy to find exact details of it, the two minute version is ask everyone you know to ask around. Talk to the cab driver, the wait staff, go to the flea market and talk to the tool or antique dealers there and let them know what you're looking for. Get the word out: AuburnMind is looking for an anvil. Most people who work at it succeed within a week to a month, from what I've read. Hammer you can get from a hardware store for a bit of money, if you don't want to search too hard. I bought a 2lb cross peen from Amazon for $20, then ground it to an acceptable face. The forged one I bought used at a conference is much better, but buying blacksmithing equipment can be difficult and often expensive outside of a blacksmith group. Depends on if the convenience is worth it to you. A forge can be built, but many beginner forges have flaws. So base your design off a commercial forge is the advice I've been given. As mentioned above, a forge can be a hole in the ground with air blown into it. But if you can get a raised one, I'm sure your back will thank you later. There are lots of examples of makeshift anvils that work quite well. Railroad anvils (set tall, not wide), forklift tine anvils, etc. Google is your friend here. If you drop by your local scrapyard, they may have what you're looking for. TPAAAT is an option for a more "traditional" anvil. In the states, we have ABANA affiliates: local blacksmithing groups. I assume there's something similar in the UK? If so, that's a good bet. Edited October 31, 2015 by falsevacuum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jumbojak Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 Tools and equipment can be had all around, often for cheap. If you can find a large, hard rock you have yourself an anvil. A very crude anvil but an anvil nonetheless. There is a member here who does just that. Forges can be made easily enough - there are many designs ranging from a hole in the ground to water cooled marvels - and fuel is whatever you can lay hands on that will burn. A hairdryer will work for a blower and hammers can be had for next to nothing used and very cheaply new.If there's one thing I've learned over the last few months it's that I didn't know what I needed at the start. Had I gone out and bought what I thought I needed I almost certainly would have given up in disgust and frustration and been much poorer for it. Both financially and spiritually. Keep things simple at the start and use your time to decide what conveniences you really think would make working easier and more enjoyable.Most importantly though, is to have fun. Get dirty, sweaty, and stinky. Try new things. Learn new things. Fail, examine, and improve. Just don't get caught up in the idea that tools or equipment will make things work for you. Because they won't. Keep as much of your money as possible and invest as much time as you have to spare. Learning to forge is a lot like raising children in that way, I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judson Yaggy Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 Save your money for when you decide you need a piece of larger equipment or need to build or upgrade a shop. Most folks start on a shoestring budget, if the iron is in your blood then you will make it work no matter what you spend on it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 Keep an eye out for rummage sales and boot sales. Don't spend more than you have to; seller labeling something "vintage" or "antique" will double or triple the price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianinsa Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 You are in Scotland (large place, try to narrow it down to a town/city) is there a Toc H charity shop near? Or a Lidl?(seen some cheap, half decent hammers in one) car boot sales are also a good place to try. The Uk is awash with decent cheap anvils and fly-presses, well it was last time I was there. Have you called around at the local scrappies? Reclamation yards? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smoggy Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 I'm on the beginners road myself AB and with less capital to spare, I've made a forge from an old disc brake rotor from a Land Rover, using homemade charcoal for fuel, I've build a box bellows from old packing crates (they came from land rover too!) I've made my anvils from counterbalance weights, that once belonged to the Newport Lift Bridge across the River Tees........I had to buy my cross pein hammer (a £7 second hand bargain at ,,,,er a Land Rover Show You may have spotted a coincidental theme here!) after misplacing the one I found many years ago at, you guessed it, a Land Rover Off Road event. I already have a ball pein..... I have loads of scrap auto parts to beat on.....yes they are mainly from Land Rovers...other makes may be available!As you can see, for little or even no outlay, you can get started by using what is available. What is your occupation? Do you live in a rural or urban area? These things will determine what you can 'muster' that you can utilise and where you are likely to find them, the rural farm or the urban scrap yard. Google 'homemade XXXXX' including images and vids to see what others have done. Your biggest asset isn't the £400 pound you have in your pocket.....it's your imagination! Suppliers are running a buisiness and hoping to make a profit, they will all be expensive to some degree and as you learn you'll identify where you need to improve equipment and where to buy it from. I suggest you see what you can 'come up with' and keep that cash for when a particularly good deal crops up! Especially as people realise you are into smithing you'll likely get offers on things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the iron dwarf Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 hey smoggie, here is a land rover part that has been beat on by my minion today.an oversized bottle opener, you may guess what the part was Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smoggy Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 Could he not make a ring type opener from the little end? Looks like it took to persuasion well......I recon you could make railroad spikes out of them!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the iron dwarf Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 this was the first try to see what they forge like and the small end contained a bit too much material for the loop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Copper Elf Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 (edited) The ring end is around an inch deep and too great a diameter for a ring style bottle opener. A greater concern when I made this was the aesthetics, if I destroyed the ring end then you just have a bit of old metal that is unrecognisable (and not functioning well as a bottle opener), by making the beer spanner the overall look of the con rod is preserved making a more attractive and functional tool. Dwarf is right though we were just seeing how the metal responded to a lumping with a hammer, this was a quick and easy test. Edited October 31, 2015 by Copper Elf typos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 I suggest you see what you can 'come up with' and keep that cash for when a particularly good deal crops up! This is extremely good advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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