EJRailRoadTrack Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 Hi, I'm Elijah, but you can call me EJ for short. I'm 13 years old and have always loved to build things and go to flea markets to look at all the old stuff I could find ever since I can remeber. Blacksmithing is a new interest I have found that I can create something amazing out of what most people see as a heavy piece of trash. For right now alI have is a 3 foot peice of rail road track for an anvil (hence my name), a small ball peen hammer, gas torch, and a cheap and broken vise(Oh, I can't forget my nonexistent skill). I look forward to talking to all of you old timers about this wanderful pass time and I hope I never get bored of it! -EJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smoggy Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 Welcome EJ, a refreshing change to find a newcomer that puts a location in their profile. You'll find plenty of help and advice here and I'm sure you'll be developing those skills in short order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 Welcome aboard Elija, glad to have you. I think you're going to fit right in here, born scrounger, likes making things and actually admits to lacking the skills yet. Good questions right from square one. Oh yeah. Any ideas of what you'd like to make or just want to pick up the craft? You're going to need a forge, is smithing coal available in your area? How close are your neighbors? That can effect what kind of forge you run. We'll get to turning your rail into an effective anvil in a bit, 3' is a good length to mount on end and you can grind all sorts of handy tools in the web and flange. HEY, who you calling old timers?! Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EJRailRoadTrack Posted January 21, 2016 Author Share Posted January 21, 2016 4 hours ago, Frosty said: Welcome aboard Elija, glad to have you. I think you're going to fit right in here, born scrounger, likes making things and actually admits to lacking the skills yet. Good questions right from square one. Oh yeah. Any ideas of what you'd like to make or just want to pick up the craft? You're going to need a forge, is smithing coal available in your area? How close are your neighbors? That can effect what kind of forge you run. We'll get to turning your rail into an effective anvil in a bit, 3' is a good length to mount on end and you can grind all sorts of handy tools in the web and flange. HEY, who you calling old timers?! Frosty The Lucky. Yes, I am interested making knives, axes, spliting mauls, small decorative peices like hookes, and rings, but I'm open for anything neat. (Do rings count as blacksmithing?) I do not believe we have smithing coal close. Fairly far, I'd say 2-300 hundred yards to the closest one.. Oh, one more thing, I do have a freind that is amking me an anvil oit of some rail raod track! -EJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 My recommendation is to learn to blacksmith before moving on to advanced stuff like blades. Once you're proficient at the anvil learning to forge blades is just learning a new material and a couple new processes. Trying to learn both at once is just multiplying the difficulty. Call a farrier's supply or a farrier. If they don't carry or use coal they will know someone who dies. Have you made contact with the local blacksmith organization? The opening page of Iforge has a list at the bottom, many pages down but there. Find one close and hook up. You will learn more in a few hours with an experienced smith than days or weeks figuring it out yourself. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arkie Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 EJ, do a bit of searching around for blacksmith clubs or organizations in your area. There are quite a few blacksmiths in Missouri. You can get a ton of great and free information from those guys. We have a group in northern and central Arkansas, but that's a minimum of two hours away or further from your location. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EJRailRoadTrack Posted January 22, 2016 Author Share Posted January 22, 2016 1 hour ago, arkie said: EJ, do a bit of searching around for blacksmith clubs or organizations in your area. There are quite a few blacksmiths in Missouri. You can get a ton of great and free information from those guys. We have a group in northern and central Arkansas, but that's a minimum of two hours away or further from your location. Yes. I've remembered that I know a blacksmith in West Plains he can teach me a bit, I think he's a bit 'inactive' though. I will try to join BAM and Arkansas Blacksmithing Association but may not be able to show up at get-togethers much sadly. But I'll try! -EJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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