Projects and Materials for a Beginner

[Arkham]

I am going to the scrap yard today to pick up plate for an Anvil stand build. I am new to this, so I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for beginner projects and what kind of metal I should be looking for. I'm not that concerned about making and having something. I'm more interested in learning the proper methods of moving metal as well as the best materials to begin with so that I don't get myself frustrated.

[VaughnT]

Repetition is the key to mastering a fundamental movement.

I'd start with a bar of 1/2" square stock and draw the end to a nice taper about 4" long.  Cut that taper off, throw it in a bucket, and start on a new taper.  By the time you have the bucket full of tapers, you should be pretty good at making a taper.  And when you look at them, you should see a marked improvement between the first and last.

Then take those tapers and put a flat on the big end.  Make it as nice as you can, rounded evenly.  Go through each taper, cleaning them up if necessary, and putting the set down and flat bean end on them.  

Again, by the time you get through the bucketful, you should see a tremendous change in your ability.

Then it's a matter of putting a hole in the bean end for a screw, scrolling the finial and curling the body to make a wall hook.

Do you need a bucketful of wall hooks?  Well, yea, but that's not the point.  Doing a repetitive exercise, always focusing on making every hammer blow count, drives the lesson home.  If you jump from project to project, always biting off more than you can chew, you don't learn.  You get frustrated and angry because you're not seeing results you think you should be getting.

Get a good set of tongs that will hold the stock securely, and set up a with a 20' stick of 1/2" square bar.  By the time you finish, doing each step in a mass-production style of work, you'll have a bunch of nice wall hooks that you can sell or give away as presents.  Then you start on something else like making s-hooks that you can scale up and down, changing the size a little, to combine into some really nice art pieces for around the house.

[Al Stephens]

If you haven't already done it, contact BAM, Blacksmith Association of Missouri , www.bamsite.org. They will be a great source for info., tools, and material for you to start with.

 

[Mark Ling]

I wouldn't recommend anything over 5/8" for someone starting out. Like VaughnT said about tapers, that's good, lots of other projects included tapers! Lots! At scrap prices, things cost pretty little, so get what you can! stay away from rebar, its not worth your time. 1/4 round and square, 3/8 round and square, 3/4x1/4, just to name a few useful size stock. or at least for me.

                                                                                                                           Littleblacksmith

[Arkham]

So these are some of the ideas/suggestions I was hoping for. Thanks much. 

[Will W.]

Going off of what Vaughn said, you could take a second bucketful of tapers and turn them into bottle openers. Flatten out the big end, punch and drift a hole (if you have the tools for that, if not, get or make them) and put it on the horn, turning and hitting evenly, and turn the areas to the right, left, and above the hole into a nice even ring. Flatten the top of the ring a little to create an oval or leave it a ring, it's up to you. Then you can scroll the other end and even put a twist into it if you want (if the taper is square, if not you'll have to square it. Also great practice to go from round to square.) Make a little divet (under the hole, towards the scroll end) to grab onto the bottle cap using a rounded piece of bar stock (that's all I use) or just thin out that same area. I have has success both ways. It's a little more advanced project for a beginner, but totally doable. Just take your time and plan ahead. 

[ThomasPowers]

Start with mild steel!

[Frosty]

How about just making the anvil stand from angle iron. Putting a piece of heavy steel plate under the foot doesn't improve anything It's not coupled to the anvil well enough to add to it's performance. Worse it makes the stand heavier than necessary. If you use the angle flange up and fitted around the foot you won't even need a clamp to keep it secure. Then whatever is handy for the legs I like sq. or rec. tubing around 2" x. If you don't have access to a welder you can drill and rivet or bolt it together. Tripods are stable on all surfaces and won't rock.

Mild steel to learn on. I like to start folk on 3/8" sq. or 1/2" rd. either one is fine, they both weigh so close to the same per inch as to make no difference. It's a good, small enough to make a finished product in reasonable time and not have to work a lot of steel. But it's heavy enough to hold the heat awhile, not a long time but it gives the beginner a little dither time. You can cut it with a hack saw in less that 30 seconds once you know how to use a hack saw and have the right (12 or 14) TPI blade. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[Arkham]

Thanks all for the advice. Particularly the advice on mild steel. And repetition of the essential methods of shaping and moving metal. 

Frosty, I love seeing your posts on the forum, my topics as well as others. Ironically, the scrap yard had enough angle iron today you could build scaffolding around the St. Louis Arch. I picked up a couple of pieces of it, some 1/4 inch plate, an 11 feet piece of 5/8 round bar and this chain that weighed in at 121 lbs. I'm not sure what I will do with it, but I figured it will find its purpose some day.

My plan for my anvil stand was actually to build a sand box like that which Loralie Simms references in her book. Is this a good idea or is there better?

[PapaDooks]

one i found helped me out was take a round bar. make the end square. make the end round. make the end square. make it round.

helped me figure out how the metal moves and changes shape as i whack it 

 

Oh and speaking as a former rigging supply worker i'd check out that chain before doing too much with it. most lighting chain now is usually an alloy and not just straight steel. i can't remember off the top of my head what else they add into grade 80 chain but i know it was hard as the hobs of hell to cut with even 4 foot bolt cutters. standard mild chain we'd cut 10mm with em. that stuff 8mm was a bit of a struggle 

 

[Arkham]

Thanks Papadooks, I had considered that but didn't know if it was a good idea or not, now you have confirmed it. 

[SReynolds]

It seems most begin with knives. Cant make a taper/no hammer control, but that's  old school and modern folks aint got time for that.

I begin students with 1/4" square stock tapers. Some do fair. Others cannot make anything that resembles a taper. But that is my wax-on/wax-off approach and i think they appreciate that when they prove to themselves they cant even make an S-hook from 1/4" square

[ThomasPowers]

I tell my students that everything they practice by doing an S hook from 1/4" is needed to be done well when forging a knife so it's NOT wasted time and effort

I'll most likely be teaching a college class April 22 and am planning to wear my new "You Hold the cold end and hit the hot end---and get it right next time" T shirt from Glenn---100% cotton and even has a pocket for my insulin pump!!!!!!!!

[SLAG]

Just got my cold/hot t-shirt.

It looks very snazzy.

SLAG.

[ThomasPowers]

That saying was from Jim Green of Columbus Ohio and one of the original MOBsters, (Mid Ohio Blacksmiths)

[SReynolds]

These are fun (to watch students make) take you a box of horse shoe nails and forge a flame finial. The scroll an eye and then a hook. Punch a hole cold in the thin finial.

You could teach nail making and forge the flame hook from that. But the head needs to be beefy and paper thin wafer.

Another episode I use is the nickel - sized circle from the same nail. 

Ultimate lesson in hammer control.

[Arkham]

I much prefer these hammer control type exercises, tapers and s-hooks. My family has been telling me that I was born in the wrong century for sometime now.

Taper/Upset-Wax on/Wax off

[Ranchmanben]

2 hours ago, SReynolds said:

These are fun (to watch students make) take you a box of horse shoe nails and forge a flame finial. The scroll an eye and then a hook. Punch a hole cold in the thin finial.

You could teach nail making and forge the flame hook from that. But the head needs to be beefy and paper thin wafer.

Another episode I use is the nickel - sized circle from the same nail. 

Ultimate lesson in hammer control.

 

That's some mighty fine work! What nail did you start with, looks bigger than my city head 5.

 

Ben

[SReynolds]

It isn't my place to tell folks where to begin. This is what i was shown as a beginner and worked for me (to learn controlling hammer and reading stock movement) 

I was shown the method of forging the nail head to a nickel  or quarter sized (round) finial for a small hook. My first hundred or more looked like the country of Australia. Not a round quarter dollar coin.

I developed the candle-flame finial lesson from a student who bet be to forge a flame from a nail head.

I have mentioned this exercise  in the past. One site member suggested forging a nail first. Then the finial and hook. But my point is; you cant. Not if you are a beginner (or student in a class) There is enough frustration for student learning how to forge a circle from a square-ish nail head. I suppose i could take that  another step and make them walk down hill to the river and dig for iron ore. A box of shoe nails are very inexpensive, if you dont know. 

I have them try nails (from 1/4" square) but they cannot make a consistent  head. So I thrown down some nails and they practice hammering on them.