Hello,

my name is Markus and I'm from Germany. Bavaria, to be more precise.

I'm 36 and a complete beginner, in terms of blacksmithing and crafting in general. My father was a metal worker though, so I can fall back on some tools (which most of them I have no idea how to use properly). But even the best tools can't compensate for my lack of basic skills.

For now, I have about three days (4 to 6 hours each) of forging under my belt, since I only get to it every other weekend, at best. I built a JABOD forge (with charcoal fuel) and did some small stuff (a curl prototype for a friends garden, a cross for my sisters birthday, a really xxxxxx pair of tongs from rebar) and last weekend I tried to make an updated version of a JABOD, to make it more mobile and smaller. I probably will post it in the solid fuel section, since I'm not sure this one is viable.

Other than that, I want to keep going, I aim to take a blacksmithing class the next few months and my next big goal is to make a small box out of wood (another thing I want to learn is a little bit of woodworking) and combine it with some self-made hinges and maybe a decorative front piece. If I reached that goal, I will aim for another project.

Also, I want to apologize in advance for my English and the possibly improper use of blacksmithing terms, it's hard to learn that. And inches vs. cm. I will be using a lot of cm and mm. Sorry guys.

Here are some pictures, if that is okay:

First forge with my (fathers) anvil in the background (hard to spot the little thing)

 

Scroll prototype (couldn't get the egg shape to be round)

 

Cross (burnt an arm)

 

New forge (WIP, have to ask questions in the JABOD sub)

You may want to look for a Museum with a smithy run by Volunteers.  When I was doing an installation in Germany I got to forge at the open air museum in Bad Windsheim and looked at a very nice running one in Lauf.

30 minutes ago, DaMaakus said:

Scroll prototype (couldn't get the egg shape to be round)

A good even heat when trying it helps.

29 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said:

You may want to look for a Museum with a smithy run by Volunteers.  When I was doing an installation in Germany I got to forge at the open air museum in Bad Windsheim and looked at a very nice running one in Lauf.

I don't think there are fixed installations near me, but thank you! What is near me is a blacksmith shop that offers two day beginner courses. I'm going for that.

12 minutes ago, Daswulf said:

A good even heat when trying it helps.

Thanks! Yes, that is a problem with my first forge, I had to stick the stock down at a very steep angle (led to the burnt cross, too). I hope to achieve a more accessible and "flater" heat with the new version, so I have a wider area to heat.

You could notch the sides of the existing box to act as a pass through for stock to get down into the good spot of the fire more easily. Easy modification.

To be honest, I thought about it. But as I said, I wanted a more mobile forge anyways, since the old one already started to mold and stuff.

The new one, I should be able to roll it in and out the shop, no more being damp/wet all the time. I only hope the fire pit will deliver. Also, I think about putting kitty litter clay on top, but I'm not yet sure.

Thank you for your advice!

Well I have to drive 300 miles to get to the "local" ABANA chapter. I somehow believe you must be closer to a group....  There is a German Smithing organization,     https://www.ifgs.de/     that may be able to suggest more local resources.

Thank you Thomas. They seem to tend more towards pros and commercial blacksmiths, but I guess I can send them an e-mail as soon as I know what to ask.