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I Forge Iron

Inherited a lot of old tools


fireater

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I'm completely new to the trade and have acquired most of my tools through inheritance. Among these are a #100 anvil, my forge, more hammers than I know what to do with and some tools for making castings. I also ended up with an old detached garage which be utilized as my shop. I have few questions though.

1. Can I use vice grips until I am able to acquire tongs?

2. What should I look for in books about blacksmithing?

3. If I leave the garage door on my shop open will I have plenty of ventilation?

4. What is the number 1 piece of advice you would give a newbie like myself?

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Welcome! Congratulations on your good fortune in starting out with some good serviceable gear. Go post a photo of your anvil on the "Show me your anvil" thread.

Now, regarding your questions:

1. Yes. Once you've built up some basic skills, you can make your own tongs fairly easily; check out this video and this one as examples of how this can be done.

2. Mark Aspery's "The Skills of a Blacksmith" and Lorelei Sims's "The Backyard Blacksmith" are frequently recommended for both beginners and intermediate smiths. Definitely worth checking out.  Jim Hrisoulas's "The Complete Bladesmith" and its sequels as well as Steven Sells's "Introduction to Knifemaking" are great if you want to have a go at making blades. The IFI forum has an entire section of book reviews.

3. Depends on the forge and how much air circulation you have. I personally burn anthracite in a rivet forge in a double-width garage with the door open, and I still have to use a stand fan to clear the air if I'm doing something especially smokey. Your mileage may vary. Again, there are many pages of IFI devoted to shop ventilation; check them out.

4. Number 1 piece of advice is threefold: (A) Be Humble,  (B) Study, and (C) Practice. To elaborate: Know your limitations, but don't be trapped by them. Education will give you the keys; practice will open the lock. Seek out people who know more than you do, and learn from them. Nothing beats hands-on instruction; pay for it if you're able, but find a mentor or mentors any way possible. Get in touch with your local ABANA affiliate and find out about their resources. Read as much as you can in IFI, then go back and read it again. (Side note: IFI has the most amazing collection of curmudgeons I've ever encountered. If you ask an intelligent question that shows you've done your research and given it some thought, they will be as helpful as the day is long. Ask the same basic question that's been asked and answered fifty thousand times already, and be prepared to face their wrath. Seriously, do your research first.) And KEEP FORGING!! Repetition is the mother of skill!

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  1. Yes you can, but probably shouldn't.  In fact at first to learn hammer control I would recommend forging with stock pieces long enough to hold in your off-hammer hand whenever possible.  The proper selection and use of tongs is another skill that needs to be learned and it is certainly easier to limit the number of things you are trying to learn simultaneously.
  2. Photos, drawings, information about things you are interested in making, a good progression of starter projects.  Language and descriptions that are approachable.  I like the Backyard Blacksmith and Aspery's first book for beginners.
  3. Probably, but that depends a lot on having a proper venting system for your forge.  As it was inherited, I assume that it is a coal forge.  You will likely need a hood and exhaust stack (flue) to remove fumes.  The diameter and vertical rise are the critical parameters, and a sidedraft hood can be relatively easily constructed and supported.
  4. Research carefully, take some classes, join a blacksmithing group...  Be careful what you follow on YouTube as skill levels and safety precautions are not always evident (though there are some excellent ones as well, as a beginner you may have trouble identifying them).  First person training, particularly early, will always pay off.  Try to get a class in basic skills first: fire tending, hammer control, tapering, punching, drifting, twisting and scrolls.  You will save yourself a lot of time.

Crosspost with JHCC  lots of overlap, but clearly we agree on a lot...^_^

Edited by Latticino
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4 minutes ago, Latticino said:

Crosspost with JHCC  lots of overlap, but clearly we agree on a lot...^_^

Yes. Yes, we do.

Speaking of vice grips, here's an illustrative example. When I started out hobby blacksmithing lo these many years ago, vice grips were all the rage, on the theory that they can replace a wide variety of tong sizes and shapes. I used them, and I still do on occasion.

However, now that I've acquired a few pairs of regular tongs and made a couple of pairs of my own, I find myself reaching for them most of the time, only using vice grips rarely, for very specific applications. Tongs have better balance, better reach, and (especially with a rein clip) can hold your workpiece just as securely as vice grips. They're just less hassle.

So, use 'em while you've got 'em, but be prepared to move on. My old woodworking teacher had a set of basic rules that he discussed often; the first was, "If it works, that's the way to do it."

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#4   Always flood any questions with DETAILS; you know them but the folks you are asking to provide answers don't 

For example: #3. If I leave the garage door on my shop open will I have plenty of ventilation?  For a bean can forge the answer is yes; for a several cubic feet several burner propane forge the answer is *NO*, for a rivet forge burning coal it will depend on how the chimney is done.

#2 What type of blacksmithing are you interested in?  Log Cabin building tools and paraphernalia?   High end knifemaking?  Industrial forgework?  If you are a from the ground up DIY type of person Weyger's "The Complete Modern Blacksmith"  will show a lot of ways to scrounge and build your own equipment.

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46 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said:

#4   Always flood any questions with DETAILS; you know them but the folks you are asking to provide answers don't 

For example: #3. If I leave the garage door on my shop open will I have plenty of ventilation?  For a bean can forge the answer is yes; for a several cubic feet several burner propane forge the answer is *NO*, for a rivet forge burning coal it will depend on how the chimney is done.

#2 What type of blacksmithing are you interested in?  Log Cabin building tools and paraphernalia?   High end knifemaking?  Industrial forgework?  If you are a from the ground up DIY type of person Weyger's "The Complete Modern Blacksmith"  will show a lot of ways to scrounge and build your own equipment.

It's a coal burning forge of pretty good size with a hand crank blower, as for types of blacksmithing, I've been making knives for a couple of years now and wanted to move away from the stock removal methods that I've been using, I'm also interested in armour and tool making.

Thanks for all the advice guys!! Its great to find a place where I can ask questions and get so many different viewpoints. I'm sure I'll have millions more questions as I progress my skills, I promise to do my research and some trial and error first :D

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"pretty good sized"  So it's like my good sized one and about 4' on a side, several hundred pounds of cast iron and can burn a chunk of railroad rail in two with no problem?

See previous post about *details*!  

All 3 of those areas can really profit from having a propane forge (and some propane forges have been designed just for armour making!) I currently have 5 forges: several propane and several solid fuel---nice to be able to use the one that's "right" for the job...

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Fireater welcome to the forum. Go to bamsite.org Blacksmith Association  of Missouri.  There are many talented  bladesmiths that are members . There is probably  someone close to you that can help with getting you set up. 

TONY 

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The first three pictures are my shop in all its current messy glory. The fourth picture is my anvil which is sitting in the barn for now. The fifth picture is the assortment of hammers I ended up with minus a few ball peens. And the last image is the object I sometimes use as an anvil, I have no idea what it came off of.

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IMG_20161018_181251089.jpg

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From the photos the forge grate/clinker breaker looks to be in rough shape.  Hard to tell though as it is pretty out of focus.  This is a fairly critical element for effective coal forging, so you might want to look into correcting this. It also appears that you have the air connection made directly into the forge inlet, without an ash dump.  I urge you to take a look at some of the more accepted solid fuel forge designs to update this connection to one that will be easier to use and maintain.

Hammers look like a good starter selection, though you might want to get yourself a 2 or 2 1/2 lb. crosspeen at some point in time.  I find with a fairly blunt peen (around 1/2" radius), it is a hammer that is used a whole heck of a lot in my forging.  Depending on what stock you plan on using for knife forging you may need to draw out the width of the blade before setting bevels.  The blunt cross pen is great for that.

Sweet anvil...

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1 hour ago, Latticino said:

From the photos the forge grate/clinker breaker looks to be in rough shape.  Hard to tell though as it is pretty out of focus.  This is a fairly critical element for effective coal forging, so you might want to look into correcting this. It also appears that you have the air connection made directly into the forge inlet, without an ash dump.  I urge you to take a look at some of the more accepted solid fuel forge designs to update this connection to one that will be easier to use and maintain.

Hammers look like a good starter selection, though you might want to get yourself a 2 or 2 1/2 lb. crosspeen at some point in time.  I find with a fairly blunt peen (around 1/2" radius), it is a hammer that is used a whole heck of a lot in my forging.  Depending on what stock you plan on using for knife forging you may need to draw out the width of the blade before setting bevels.  The blunt cross pen is great for that.

Sweet anvil...

Yes, the whole thing could stand a good cleaning, Thanks for the tip on the hammer, I'll look into adding an ash dump into the air connection.

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