Greetings

[Steel Serpent Smithy]

Well since I've gone through the trouble of finally making an account after lurking for close to a year, I guess I should do the socially acceptable thing and introduce myself.
My interest in blacksmithing has been around since I was a kid.  It started as an interest in swords and melee weaponry typical of a young male.  It is one of the very few interests I've had that has never changed or gone away.  I've always thought blacksmithing was cool but somehow it never connected in my mind that it's something I could do in "modern times."  Fast forward 20ish years, I've struggled to maintain gainful employment thanks to issues with autism, ADHD, anxiety, and depression.  My mom invites me and my girlfriend to the highland games at Grandfather Mountain.  I found the blacksmith demo tent and basically sat there the entire weekend.  The apprentice at the tent makes me a "troll cross" and says he'll give it to me if I promise to come take a class with them.  I accept.  Fast forward again about 5 years.  Mental issues become worse, I can't keep any job longer than a month.  I start marathoning Forged in Fire with the girlfriend, and she's somehow interested in it.  I suddenly recall my promise to take a class with the guys that were demonstrating at the highland games.  I look them up and convince the missus to take a class with me.
I'm hooked, instantly.  Pun intended, as the first thing I made was a decorative hook.  Working with fire and metal brought me joy and purpose I hadn't felt in years.  I've always struggled with trying to find what my talents are.  I've always been very creative, but everything I'd try I could never get the hang of.  Blacksmithing was the first thing I've tried that just felt natural to me.  The instructor gave the explanation and I completed every step on the first try.  That never happens for me.  Obviously I wasn't creating a masterpiece, but I'm used to making huge mistakes any time I try something new. 
Since that class last December, I've spent what is probably far too much time figuring out how I'll be able to do this for a living.  I know you don't get into blacksmithing to make it rich, I don't expect to.  If I can just help lighten the financial burden of the household a little bit, I'll consider it a success.  Personal finances and lack of tools and equipment have made it very difficult for me to figure out how to get my first setup going.  Every solution I found I either lacked the finances or tools to pull off. 
This next part may seem tangential, but it's related, I promise.  Another interest of mine is disability advocacy with a focus on autism.  I was recently forwarded an opportunity to be a self-advocate helping medical students of various backgrounds learn about Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.  I was already excited about the opportunity, but then they also said I'd be paid a stipend.  "Neat," I thought, "I'll probably be able to get an anvil to get a start on building my setup.  Or maybe a cheap blower.  Or a pair of tongs."  Then I found out the stipend was way more than I had anticipated.  It was enough to put together a pretty decent setup.  Not fancy, but decent.  I also acquired some railroad track anvils for the low low price of the gas it took to drive to the mountains to pick them up.  The guy I picked them up from was a Forged in Fire finalist, making the 2nd one I've met.  It's not a lot, and not that important, but it's strange to me that it's happened twice.
Anyways, I plan to place the order for my forge setup this week.  I am very excited to get started and to share my progress with the fine people of this forum.

TL;DR: Howdy folks!

Attached: the first hook I made in the class, and the railroad anvils I acquired.

[JHCC]

Welcome!

 Check out the Improvised Anvils thread for some ideas about what you might do with your RR track pieces. 

[Frosty]

Welcome aboard, glad to have you. Thanks for sharing your story, it means a lot to me. I've had a few autistic students and a number on the scale, only one didn't benefit a great deal and very quickly. I have my own intuitive ideas as to why it works so well as therapy in general and is so therapeutic.

Blacksmithing is about control, you can't make a fire without understanding enough about fuel and air flow then building it correctly, it's ALL control. Same for making HOT steel do what you want, cause and effect are almost instantaneous and input is from virtually every sense, even taste on occasion. There are many closely related factors, action, reaction, prediction, anticipation, etc. combining to make a result, with every single blow and they happen in milliseconds. 

The ONLY way you can control all those things is to control yourself.  Blacksmithing is also good because the ONLY penalty for not getting it "right" is not meeting your expectation. That's it, you aren't in trouble, nobody gets upset, nobody is hurt. It JUST didn't work. . . That time, do it again. Mistakes are good things, just because what you did didn't work THIS TIME doesn't mean it won't be exactly what you need to do another time.

I was even approached by a special needs facility about teaching blacksmithing but when the admins discovered it involved fire and hammers deemed it too dangerous nor was my curriculum . . . something or other to be suitable. 

One of the really fascinating things is how rarely I've had one of them come back for a second session, I've met a couple Wasilla is actually a pretty small city so crossing paths is a matter of course. Anyway, they all remembered me, were really happy to see me and wanted to talk about what they'd learned at the anvil. 

Sorry for the rambly side track, I'm a TBI survivor and it amplified my normally long winded nature.

Anyway, I get you, I can't understand, not really but I get you. Making HOT steel do your bidding is very tactile and visceral, I bet you can see in your mind's eye what the steel is doing under the hammer. The Symbolism of using human kind's oldest tools fire and hammer to make the very real symbol of humanity's strength and domination of nature, steel do your bidding is such a strong feeling it speaks to your soul.  It speaks to my soul that way too, has since I was little.

Oh, a little advice. Mount your RR rail on end, it's WAY more effective than torching it into something that resembles a London pattern anvil. There is an entire section of IFI about them. I won't go into the hows and whys striking rail on end is many times more effective than laying flat. And remember the economy of smithing is to get the most in return for every action. Effectiveness is our goal, almost more than the finished product.

Frosty The Lucky. 

[Steel Serpent Smithy]

Frosty,

The guy I took a class with also said he taught a lot of autistic students.  I find it very interesting since we tend to have difficulty with intense sensory input, and blacksmithing has a ton of that, yet it's not a problem.  I think you've figured out at least part of it with the control bit.  I know the anvil is about to make a loud noise because I'm about to whack it with a hammer.  If it gets to be too much, I just stop hitting it for a while.  It's not like being in public where the overstimulation comes from other people.  I've also been mentally exploring how my motor control issues don't seem to translate over to smithing (at least for me).  I think it's because smithing involves big movements.  There's very little of what I call "fiddly stuff."  I guess my only concern is whether my executive dysfunction will allow me to start and finish projects on a regular basis.

JHCC,

Thanks! I'll do that.

[Shainarue]

Welcome to the active membership Steel Serpent Smithy! 

I can relate to SO much of what you and Frosty have said - and it feels good to see someone else make sense of it in writing, lol

As for the executive dysfunction - here's what I've done which helps me (everyone is different): I use my Google Calendar for freaking EVERYTHING in my life. Friends have teased me (in kindness) because I even have my daily meds and my daily 8-5 work days and my daily 'feed the dog' set up as events. They're like - seriously? You won't remember to do that?! But yeah, seriously, executive dysfunction is dumb, lol

So anyway, I've started adding "Forging: pick a project" to my calendar on days when I know I'll have time to go out there. Then in the description, I list out all the stuff I want to work on. Sometimes, I'll be thinking about it during the day and I'll go in and change the title to read the actual project I want to do. Example: "Forging: basket twist". Then my event reminder goes off, I look at my phone, and I know exactly what I'm going to do. I don't get all overwhelmed and shut down from indecision. 

Before my calendar, I used a cup with slips of paper in it. I'd pull out a slip of paper to see what I'd be working on that evening. And if I already knew what I wanted to work on, then I just wouldn't pull a paper from the cup!

I'm sure you'll find something that works for you!

[Frosty]

I have initiation and carry through issues too, the TBI amplified them almost to the point of a disability. 

The lucky in my sign off is to honor all the things and people that came into line that let me survive and keep much of my former mind. I am LITERALLY lucky to be alive and not the only one on Iforge by a long shot.

Frosty The Lucky. 

 

[Steel Serpent Smithy]

Shainarue,

Over the past year I've been using my Outlook calendar more and more for every little thing.  I went with that one because it's integrated directly into Windows and will sync between my phone and desktop easily.  Ease of use is absolutely essential!  For a while I even scheduled creative projects but I'd never get the momentum to get started on them.  It gets really frustrating wanting to work on something and having a lot of ideas but your brain says "I say we doin this other thing now!"

Frosty (I almost typed Lucky),

That's a wonderful way to remind yourself.  I'll have to find a way to keep encouraging myself, as well.

[Frosty]

You wouldn't be the first, I get Private Messages (PMs) every once in a while to, Lucky and the ones that give me a giggle are to Mr. Lucky. 

When my TBI was still new-ish I stuck post it notes everywhere, I still have places that look like they're upholstered in Big Bird hide. A gripe I still enjoy is writing a note and forgetting it or . . . What was that again?

I carry a pocket notebook and pen everywhere, I never write notes on my Iphone. like the camera and use the timer or alarm but I don't text and on the rare (VERY) occasion I respond to a text I tend to do it in all caps that has nothing to do with the offending text. If you're holding your cotton pickin phone anyway CALL ME and TALK!

Of course that's just me and so long as they aren't driving I don't care if a person texts constantly. Heck, it's fun watching them run into pillars, ponds, everything but traffic because they're looking at a tiny screen instead of where they're going.

Yes, I'm easily amused. 

Frosty The Lucky. 

[George N. M.]

Serpent, welcome aboard from 7500' in SE Wyoming.  Glad to have you.

A couple of thoughts:  First, if you are planning on making a living, or a significant portion of your income, from it you will need another set of skills besides being able to make things out of iron.  The business aspect is a very different toolbox.  I suggest that you browse through the Business Side of Blacksmithing threads  It isn't too hard to make it a hobby that pays for itself or adds abit to the household income but it is a whole different level to rely on the craft for your food and shelter.

Second, blacksmithing may be a good craft if you are somewhere on the spectrum.  It can be a solitary pursuit which minimizes social interaction.  You have no one setting your goals or deciding if you have met them but you.

Third, I agree about using the end of the rail rather than the top.  It puts more steel under your hammer blow and is more efficient.

I hope you find the craft as rewarding as I have.  I've been at it since 1978 and it has helped get me through the tough times and made the good times better.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."