Glenn Posted May 26, 2017 Share Posted May 26, 2017 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNsi3bBcVWQ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the iron dwarf Posted May 26, 2017 Share Posted May 26, 2017 you dont need a 500 pound london pattern to do good work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommytaptap Posted May 26, 2017 Share Posted May 26, 2017 But you might need a huge gearwheel from a large vehicle, such as an abandoned tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc1 Posted May 26, 2017 Share Posted May 26, 2017 When this and other videos showing how some can do work with very little may be interesting, I don't share the general enthusiasm for the way they must work. Somehow it makes me sad. And no, I don't feel the inclination to try to use a rock for anvil or an old truck tube for blower and I certainly will not even attempt to work crouching down with no eye protection. Would certainly love to ship him a dozen safety glasses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted May 26, 2017 Share Posted May 26, 2017 Personally I admire the ingenuity he has demonstrated.. What a lot of people forget is that because of abundance (the abundance around us though we may not have it ourselves) we have a tendency to look at these kinds of lives and always say how they could be better.. Very hypocritical.. Forget about what he makes or how he made it.. Question becomes " IS HE Happy".. Personally everything I have ever bought or thought I have needed or wanted has only become and anchor to propagate more of the same and while it can be argued it has made my life easier (bigger, better, more capable) tools.. My pay rate hasn't increased for the same level of tooled upness.. If I were making simple items, what more would be needed? Certainly not a big fancy forge or a new anvil.. I could use a hole in the ground for my legs and a seat.. The little 8FtX10ft demo trailer is more than enough for 85% of the stuff I will ever produce.. But is it enough? The only times I experience true joy or happiness is when i am helping others or spending quality time with family, friends, or critters.. I have never bought anything that has offered more than a few minutes of happiness.. A wow, this is cool, or wow this tool works great, or the like but for the most part it's always been.. Oh, if I buy this it will make this job easier or better or more productive.. LOL.. LIke I said.. my pay rate hasn't gotten any better.. Though I am able to work faster and be more productive.. But to what end. Using the power hammer now i can make those tent spikes 4X faster.. So do I charge 4X less? Or charge the same? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WNC Goater Posted May 26, 2017 Share Posted May 26, 2017 The master Jeweler I trained under started out in Turkey, with little more than a blow pipe and two steel plates and a couple of hammers. Melt gold, hammer it out (just like blacksmith drawing out steel) then roll it between the two steel plates to make gold wire. Now we use oxy/gas torches, crucibles, ingot molds, carbide drawplates, hardened geared rolling mills, electric furnaces, even laser welders, Cad/cam & 3-D printers. Technology can make life easier or more productive. Different worlds, same results. But it is the mastery of the tools you have, rather than the tools themselves because still it comes down to a craftsman's eye and skill. In the video I'm intrigued by his mastery of his simple tools. I DID notice that big gear off to the side and he uses it @ around 2:25. But that rock, he knows well, even using the angles like an anvil horn. I'm also impressed with his frugality with his fuel! Here's another in that series of videos using a hammer as an anvil and apparently making a knifeblade: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 26, 2017 Share Posted May 26, 2017 notice the use of the feet on it's handle to stabilize the sledge. Also the bellows stones as were used by viking era smiths too. I recognize all the tools even if they are variants of ones I use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted May 26, 2017 Author Share Posted May 26, 2017 We can learn from the blacksmithing set ups being used by others. Second video: Fire rake, anvil held by the feet, a piece of metal as the hammer (with a handles hammer on the ground), bellows, the size of the fire, and the list goes on and on. We are fortunate to have so many resources available, including a never ending list of excuses as to why something can not be done. Make excuses or make product, your choice. Both take the same amount of effort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jammer Six Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 I'm thinking that if you had to work that hard to get metal hot, you'd learn to be efficient with your hammer, and you'd learn that fast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winegums Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 That reminds me of this video. For some reason that big flat stone looks beautiful to me as a tool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 Every time I see that video, the BeeGee's "Stayin' Alive" starts playing in my head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 These videos are perfect illustrations. It's NOT the tools that do the work it's the person. I agree it'd be foolish to not use the best equipment available to you, especially safety gear. Not wearing PPE makes you a good candidate for a Dawrin award, remember the gene pool needs a little chlorine to keep it healthy. Your choice. I think sitting or squatting while forging is more a matter of not being able to find, build, etc. decent stands, tables, etc. and using your feet for things other than standing on. While primitive isn't a good way to make a living it IS a good experience and can be a good gauge of your skill. Most of us need an eye opener now and then we often think we occupy a higher peg than we actually do. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted January 12, 2018 Author Share Posted January 12, 2018 A working anvil, with horn and built in bender. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theimi Posted January 27, 2019 Share Posted January 27, 2019 You guys have seen that gearwheel in the right hand corner in the first video? Is this from his Nazel around the corner? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lassen Forge Posted January 27, 2019 Share Posted January 27, 2019 I like his new and improved anvil stone... and the all-natural hardy attachment? Perfect. Wonder how well it would work using my Incense Cedar tree stumps, tho... Going back to the OP, whats cool is that smithy has a pretty decent anvil stone, but he's also using what looks like a pinion gear shaft for detail work... Even tho he's working that steel pretty cold. I'm always fascinated by the craftsmanship that was (and still is) done with the barest of tools... watching these guys practice their craft always brings a sort of awe to me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted January 27, 2019 Share Posted January 27, 2019 3 hours ago, Lassen Forge said: I'm always fascinated by the craftsmanship that was (and still is) done with the barest of tools... It's not the tools that do the work, they're just extensions of the great big brain and thumbs using them. I never tire of watching skilled folks work whatever the craft. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted May 10, 2019 Share Posted May 10, 2019 In the forging the iron bloom video The strikers must be wearing safety flip flops. Pnut (Mike) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caotropheus Posted June 8, 2019 Share Posted June 8, 2019 After seeing this video, I will stop complaining about my anvils! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhTWcLSLeEA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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