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I Forge Iron

Hello from NW Ohio !


King187

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Hello everyone.  My name is Josh and I recently decided to pursue my interest in forging; and whoa boy is there a lot to take in!  Googling various questions constantly led me back to this site, so I decided I might as well join.  I'm 35 years old and live in Northwest Ohio with my wife and 3 children.  I spend A LOT of time (and money) bass/pike fishing, and until recently spent a lot of time working out or training mixed martial arts.  I'm a U.S. Army Combat Veteran - Afghanistan (1st and 87th INF, 10th Mountain Division) and enjoy attending/supporting veterans services/organizations and auctions when I get time.  Did I mention I like fishing?

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Welcome aboard Josh. Thank you for serving!

Do you have any goals for blacksmithing? Once you gain proficiency with basic blacksmithing the more specialized branches are a LOT easier to pick up, say: bladesmithing, decorative, hardware, architectural, tools, etc.

Oh and don't keep it a secret from us now, ever do any fishing? 

Frosty The Lucky.

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Thanks, it was a privilege.

Once I start to get a grasp of the basics and acquire more tools I'd like to try bladesmithing of some kind... I've always had a thing for knives/swords/tomahawks as well as weapons throughout history and different cultures.  I also love old architecture and could see myself exploring ideas there also.  I don't want to set the bar too high that I can't achieve a goal, so we'll see where it leads.  I don't like to be pigeonholed into a set way of thinking anymore than I already am.  LOL  As long as I'm enjoying myself, it will hardly matter.  Wish I'd have taken an interest sooner!

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The annual Quad-State Roundup is run by  Southern Ohio Forge and Anvil (SOFA) every fall. People come from all over the country. I'm hoping to go this year. 

In the mean time, give me a yell if you find yourself headed towards Cleveland; I'm in Oberlin. 

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It's the largest annual blacksmithing conference; once you register to attend you can sell for free and so the tailgating is unbelievable. The first year Fred attended from New Mexico he bought 30 anvils---and didn't put a dent in the number for sale.  You can camp onsite to hold down costs or use a local motel.  There are usually 4 or 5 demos going on simultaneously and you can attend any you feel like or just wander the site---watch out for folks waving arms as they talk about how *they* do a certain process...

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Sounds interesting and a place to score some tools and equipment.  Is there a schedule out; when I searched I only found a 2016 (just a cursory search a min ago).  As long as it isn't during my two week fishing trip Minnesota this mid-September I should be able to check it out.

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Welcome, given  your location and the MMA thing we may have met, I play a bit Jujitsu and have been around a while. Thank you for your Service. stop by Ft Wayne sometime we meet the Second Saturday of the month at the  Jefferson Fairgrounds  near New Haven we have 5 stations permanently set up for people to work and at least 2 of us to teach those needing help.

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Its definitely possible we may have met, I've trained with quite a few people in the general area over the years:  John McDonald, Matt Montalvo, Kyle Pettit, Dave Morris and the guys at Pil Sung, James Chapman, and Justin Flemens... I think Justin might still be training at Summit City Submission in Ft. Wayne; the guy is a strangler!  LOL  It really is a small world.

I'm definitely interested in coming by sometime... I literally have zero experience.  But I'm a quick study and hard worker and willing to spend an inordinate amount of time and money to learn. :D Do I need to sign up or anything like that?

It was a privilege to serve with such great men; you're welcome.

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Josh: Don't make the mistake of thinking you NEED the right tools to get started. A length of RR rail makes a fine anvil and stood on end makes a good one. Charles Stevens posted a few posts about Rail anvils where he ground a number of commonly used bottom tools in the web and flanges making a hardy hole something for another time. Then he flipped the piece of rail over and ground more in the other end. 

Rail can be laid rail up for large dia. fuller surfaces, on it's side for a couple different dia. swages and flange up for a large flat surface if you need one.

Horns aren't as useful as commonly thought I rarely use one except as a bottom fuller to aid in drawing out.

Don't forget broken truck axles. Mounted flange up, a little grinding and they make very nice anvils, the holes around the flange come in really handy you just have to make tools to fit. Any shaft on end is an effective anvil it only needs to be wider than the hammer face and the more steel under the blow the better the depth of rebound and more effectively the anvil moves the metal.

Any smooth faced hammer works just fine for forging you don't need something special and every big box store has cross peins and even drill hammers, both are excellent forging hammers. I recommend new folk start with a 32oz. drill hammer they're heavy enough to do serious work but not so heavy as to injure you easily. They have a shorter handle making them more accurate which is a good thing for folk learning hammer control.

What ever you choose don't get a big honkin heavy hammer until you develop good hammer control.

There are a lot of ways to heat the steel and factors to consider. Space, neighbors, local regulations, etc.

Frosty The Lucky.

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