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I Forge Iron

The basics.


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My great grandfather was a professional smith in a small town in the Ozark Mountains.  There are many things he could do as a smith that I can't.  On the other hand  there are many things I can do as a hobby smith that he could not; as we are specialized in different areas of smithing.  He could set a plow for use in the local soils, shoe horses and mules, fix wagons. I know a heck of a lot more about differing alloys and metals---I doubt he had even heard of Titanium much less forged stuff from it!

Smithing is such a wide craft I think it's hard to establish a "general" set of skills a smith should know.

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I've developed a curriculum for beginners. In sequence, we faggot weld the first morning of the first day; tapers; half face blow shouldering; cross peen spreading; free hand scrolling; using scroll form; fitting scrolls to a design; lap weld (done with helper if need be); textured twist; some bending. This list is OK for starters, but it leaves a host of techniques and methods waiting in the wings.

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On 9/27/2017 at 5:40 PM, Frosty said:

Safety.

Fire management.

Cutting. including splitting, shearing, sawing, etc.

Drawing: longitudinal, lateral, isolated, etc. SOR is part of this.

Upsetting: heading rivets, nails, etc. end, middle, etc.

Punching: Slitting, drifting, etc.

Joinery, banding wrapping, crimping, etc. mortise and tenon are punch and upset. 

Welding: including forge brazing and various types of forge welds: jump, lap, fagot, butt, jelly roll, etc. canister, accidental, etc.

Bending: corners, curves, scroll, helix, compound, etc.

Frosty this list would be a perfect list for an apprentice who is ready to become a journeyman.. 

8 hours ago, Frank Turley said:

I've developed a curriculum for beginners. In sequence, we faggot weld the first morning of the first day; tapers; half face blow shouldering; cross peen spreading; free hand scrolling; using scroll form; fitting scrolls to a design; lap weld (done with helper if need be); textured twist; some bending. This list is OK for starters, but it leaves a host of techniques and methods waiting in the wings.

Frank, that is a pretty extensive list for a person just starting out...  Would this be a 4day or week long course?

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1 hour ago, jlpservicesinc said:

Frosty this list would be a perfect list for an apprentice who is ready to become a journeyman.. 

Frank, that is a pretty extensive list for a person just starting out...  Would this be a 4day or week long course?

That could be done in 6 days of hustling. The faggot weld is a simple lay-back. The twist and bends are done on a lap welded fire rake, 5/8" square handle to a 1/2" round shank. Tapers, cross peen, shouldering, and angle blows are on decorative scroll ends (centers). I expect a lot from beginners. They only have a few days as compared to the old apprenticeships.

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Jenifer: The things I listed are examples OF, not included IN the list of things I consider basic skills. Some of the things I told Dillon about making a Witness to help make matched products would fall into my intermediate curriculum. I also teach a weld first session to get that bit of mystery magic out of the way. I teach a simple lap weld for their first, either folded back for a fire poker or turned in a ring and lapped across. 

My thinking puts consistently repeating products an intermediate skill but I start teaching the tricks early on. Making "witness: elements, marks, tools, etc." is an oft used tool in my kit. In some crafts it's called a "story: mark, pole, etc." Say putting a piece of tape or a mark with a Sharpy on a drill bit to drill one or more holes the right or same depth.

A lot of the kids I've taught came to me convinced welding was something only a master blacksmith could do after they learned the . . .  Shhhhhhh! :ph34r: SECRET. :ph34r: 

The belief in a special secret or tool is a common myth some teachers actually encourage and is prevalent in video games and Youtube. Getting the new folk into the  "a little bit of knowledge and lots of practice," mindset makes things easier for all of us. 

Glenn really favors doing a twist first session to illustrate the student's power over steel with a little knowledge. At least that's what I've gotten from our talks, I could be wrong. A simple twist is a good way to do a hands on comparison between cold and hot steel. I LOVE the look in their eye when the stock twists for them just like it's supposed to.

Frosty The Lucky.

 

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The student can be 6 years old or 60+ years old. When you get the metal hot and let the student make a twist, the WOW factor always speaks for itself, with wide eyes followed by "I did that !!"  You can not mess up making a twist in metal. After the twist, comes putting a bend in another piece of metal. It can be a 90 degree bend, a U shaped bend, or bending a circle around a mandrel. You can not mess up a bend. For me, teaching is about the student's success.

From there it is more complicated as each student learns at a different rate and you, the teacher, must come up with different ways to let (make) that student continue to succeed with the different projects (lessons) you present to them. Show them the magic, then explain how it is done, and let them actually do the magic on a piece of metal. From there, again to choose a project they can succeed at making and add to their positive experience. They are learning because it is fun, they want more and more, and they are willing to take their time and actually learn.

No matter what else happens, they will NEVER forget the first twist or the first bend they made. 

 

Use square stock for the twists (grin)

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Just think about all the basics that have been listed here, and many of them are found in a simple "J " hook.  If you start with 3/8" round, have the student forge it square, hammer and stock control. Taper it, flat, or square or square, octagonal, round. Freehand a small rat tail. Bend hook around horn. Cut off. Half face blows for boss. Punch a hole. Twist.  Now they have a first day project to be taken home, and used the rest of their lives. Al

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