Howdy All!

 

Greetings from Stillwater, Minnesota! My name is Ben, although online I am usually found under the handle BFancy. I've been doing this blacksmithing thing off and on as a hobby for probably around 15 years now, mostly making tools and home fixtures. I figured it was time to make an account so I can start asking for help instead of just reading and hoping I got it right.

 

 

Welcome aboard Ben or BFancy, as you wish, glad to have you. Helping advance the addiction to playing with fire and beating steel into unnatural shapes is what we do here. Believe me, we'll be more than happy to answer your questions even if I have to make something up.

Frosty The Lucky. 

Thanks Frosty, I appreciate the welcome. The questions these days mostly pertain to building a new gas forge, so I'll be posting in that section with some pictures and hopefully nothing that hasn't been covered a thousand times already.

Ben, you may already be aware of or familiar, but the Guild of Metalsmiths is a long standing ABANA affiliate here in Minnesota with a large number of members located around the Twin Cities. Another resource to be aware of.

--Larry

Thanks Larry, I had no idea there was something so close! I had looked at the ABANA website before, and hadn't had much luck finding anything like that. I'll be looking into this further, for sure.

It's my pleasure. You'll need to make a few decisions before you start to avoid wasting time and money. How large a forge you need/want, depends on the size and shape work you want to do. 

Making tools usually means you'll be working higher carbon steels so it will need good temperature control. Not precision but good control. 

Ah GOOD! I get back from a run to the store and Larry sets you up to meet the local organization. You'll get to meet, talk with and look at what other guys use, maybe give it a try. That's WAY better than listening to some guy half way across the planet from you. 

Frosty The Lucky.