/diy/ - Do It Yourself

[Anonymous No.255263]

Any blacksmiths on here? I want to get started smithing as a hobby, but don't really know where to start, I tried asking /b/ and thet directed me here, any advice, or a list of books or something would be welcome.

[Anonymous No.255268]

http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a-Small-Blacksmith-s-Forge/

may help you, OP.
any lump of good, flat steel will work for a anvil as long as it's solid.

[Anonymous No.255269]

Try "Techniques of medieval armour reproduction" from Paladin press. Even if the subject isn't of interest, it has a good amount of basic techniques and tools explained.

At minimum you will need:
A piece of a railroad track, but a small anvil shouldn't be too hard to find.
A hammer or two. One flat head and one ball head.
A sturdy branch or a pipe for curved shapes.
Iron shears or a buzzaw.
A drill.
Sandpaper for polishing.

These should get you started but the quality of your items you can produce will not be too good. In addition you will want;
A rod with a ball end to use as an anvil for round shapes.
Polishing disks for the buzzaw.
A greater variety of hammers, pipes and ballrods
A forge if you want to temper your items.
Welding equipment open up more possiblities.

[Anonymous No.255272]

>>255269
>>255268
Thanks a bunch, this is the sort of thing I was looking for

[Tozetre No.255277]

There's a link in the sticky.

[Anonymous No.255280]

>>255269
To expand on this:
http://www.northerntooluk.com/ sell a passable 15lb anvil quite cheap. It's not great, but if you're just starting out it works a treat. That, and if you decide you don't want to play anymore it's not too expensive and is easily scrapped.

TOOLS:
Ball-pein hammer (3lb)
sledge-hammer (3lb) (could also be called a lump hammer but the handle's a bit longer)
towbar - makes a great ball for shaping on
Bolt-cutters: Grind the cutting edges flat and weld two pieces of flat steel to this on a slight backwards angle. Perfect tongs.
Angle-grinder: You can't cut inch steel easily by hand; angle grinders are the way forward.
Welder: Lrn2weld, fool. Just because you wanna be a smith doesn't mean modern techniques are utterly useless.

[Anonymous No.255284]

>>255280

FORGE:
make a rough circle of bricks about 2 feet across. Build this up two layers high using no cement/mortar. Lay some wire mesh to cover the whole thing. Put two more layers of brick on top. Light fire inside; spread it about. Enjoy your impromptu forge. Very easy to keep hot if done right using good timber/coal

FUEL:
Hardwoods are fantastic fuels. Find a local woodyard/furniture manufacturer and ask if they have any offcuts you can take/purchase. DO NOT PAY MORE THAN ~?50/ton. Where i am, you can purchase a 1-tonne bag of firewood for £50 and it'll be delivered as well. Remember; these people have to get rid of this shit.

Look for fallen trees/branches. Offer free removal (worth buying a chainsaw/whipsaw for this) and take away the wood. Insta-firewood. Also farms/people with large trees will often want trees trimming/removing altogether. As long as you explain the stump will still be there it's all good.

COALS:
Anthracite is probably the best to use. Once the wood fire's burning bright and hot (will be able to get steel to red heat easily) then layer coal over the top, starting from the middle and slowly working outwards. This will spread the fire and increase the heat of the working. Anthracite requires a lot of air but burns very well when it has it; it will happily pull the heat in itself if started in the right manner.

[Anonymous No.255286]

>>255284
Working of steel:
Get hold of some scrap iron. I started with a bar that was .5inch by .5inch. I heated this, smacked it, learned how to shape it the way i wanted to. Eventually, the bar was completely useless for anything, but it now hangs over my forge-shed with pride. It's worth ruining some cheap nasty steel just to learn how to shape the steel and how the steel reacts to different temperatures, strikes, etc etc.

All in all; Fuck about, enjoy yourself, don't injure yourself. NEVER FORGET THE SAFETY GOGGLES. EVER.

TL:DR?

What are you doing on/diy/ if tl;dr

[Anonymous No.255288]

>>255280
>>255284
>>255286
Thanks, this is really useful.

[Anonymous No.255291]

>>255288
Welcome. It's how i started doing all this kinda thing; it takes time, patience and is quite costly. However, the rewards are immense. I'd advise, wherever possible and practical, to make as many things with your hands. It'll build the strength and stamina required for this kinda work. Living in the gym just doesn't cut it.

[Anonymous No.255294]

>>255291
Ok, also roughly how much will it cost to start up? I have about £1500 saved up, will that be adequate?

[Anonymous No.255296]

>>255294
Plenty. Now i know you're a britfag, i can help you out more. Whereabouts in the UK are you situated? (general area will do, i don't need specifics) and where do you live? (own home/rented home/parents/under a bridge)

[Anonymous No.255299]

>>255296
Essex, live in a rented home. landlord's pretty chill though so he won't care if i erect a forge in the back garden, as long as I can get rid of it when i move out.

[Anonymous No.255306]

>>255299
Buy an 8ftx6ft shed. One of those metal, erect-yourself jobbies. That'll be easily removed if you need to leave. The flue should be ~3ft above the peak of the roof. Build your brick forge in the rear of the shed in a semi-circle (compensate for this by making it slightly wider, try a 2ft radii from the wall), then design and create your own flue system. I'm only giving you pointers; a lot of smithing is pure intuition and an inherent skill. The anvil should be set so that it's about knuckle height when you're standing. Get a toolbench; these are invaluable if a large, solid timber whatchamajigger and you can add things like vices, stake anvils etc to it. If you live in or near rural essex it's worth asking local farmers if they have any trees they want removing/wood from trees they want removing. I got a large amount of logs that were ~2ftx~12-30ft in size for free doing that.
Useful links for you:
http://www.northerntooluk.com/
http://www.anvilfire.com/
http://www.kohlswa.com/
http://reviews.ebay.com/Purchasing-an-Anvil?ugid=10000000001445709
http://www.beautifuliron.com/gs_anvils.htm
http://www.bidspotter.co.uk/forms/InventoryLotFind.php?search_text=anvil&querytype=and&aucti
ontype=0 (two anvils for sale, only two days to go. I can't buy them but good luck)
http://www.bidspotter.co.uk <useful for tools/machinery

[Anonymous No.255308]

>>255306
Thanks.

[Anonymous No.255311]

>>255308
Again, you're welcome. If i had a dropbox email i'd pass it on but i had to abandon four after they got full of people asking for gay sex/adspam etc etc

[Anonymous No.255316]

Also, will someone PLEASE sticky one of these threads? There's so many times this shit gets posted (no offence OP)

[Anonymous No.255317]

>>255263

What do you want to make? If you just want to make knives,then I would suggest a gas forge. Cleaner,and usually cheaper premade. Keeps the neighbors happy because no coal soot or smell.

If it's just general blacksmithing,then coal/coke would be the way to go. Hard to fit large workpieces into a gas forge.

Either one can be put on or built into a table with wheels,so you can move it around. I highly suggest this. That way you can just move it into a garage rather than having to build a shelter around it.

[Anonymous No.255319]

>>255280
While I am sure this guy meant well,do not buy a cast iron anvil. Just don't. They can be a harm to you and others,and they suck in general. When your working,especially while working on your hammer control,you are going to miss a lot. This means you will hit the cast iron face,which tends to split/chip/shatter. Flying pieces of anvil aren't good. Either search around locally,or just buy a real anvil,though it will be costly. I know some stores,like Harbour Freight in the US will sometimes have a 90lb russian anvil. While not pretty,it will work. Though you do need to work on the face of it otherwise it will have a texture from where it was cast. Some use a grinding wheel,but I've found some low grit sandpaper on an electric sander does the job in a few minutes.

Also,in addition to a ball pein hammer,look for a cross pein hammer. There are swiss,german,french,etc styles,it just comes down to choice. Get a lighter one,and a heavier one. Don't need to wear yourself out. Accurate blows are better than missing because your arm feels like it's gonna fall off.

I don't like the rest of his tool suggestions. Make your own set of tongs,it's easy enough with some mild round stock(you'll need a punch,but you can get those for around $2),and you can make a hot cut for cutting your round/flat stock. One more important cheap thing to invest in,would be some wire brushes. Gotta get that scale off somehow.

[Anonymous No.255322]

[Anonymous No.255324]

>>255311
Oh yeah, is it feasible to have more than one guy to a forge, I was talking to a friend earlier who said he was kinda interested

[Anonymous No.255325]

Another good thing is a vice. The bigger,the better.

While you could adapt this to fit a mobile forge,I suggest adding a lot of weight to the bottom of this. You don't want to be bending something in it and have it fall over.

[Anonymous No.255329]

>>255324

Yes,it is. Just be aware how hot your stuff is getting. You don't need them to leave the blower on,and find out your iron is burning. Beyond that,you just can't work on anything large and awkward at the same time without planning.

[Anonymous No.255331]

>>255325
Thanks for the advice, would the suggestion of a piece of railroad work as a stop-gap anvil while i shop around for an actual one, or should I just wait.

[Anonymous No.255332]

>>255263

For beginning,a few books would be:
The Backyard Blacksmith: Traditional Techniques for the Modern Smith-Lorelei Sims
Edge of the Anvil-Jack Andrews
The Wonder of Knifemaking - Wayne Goddard.

Even if you are not making knives,I would still suggest the last one. Plenty of information about different steels,heat treating,forge construction,and tools.

[Anonymous No.255333]

>>255331

Just wait. I know in the US,they aren't flat on the top,and they are god awfully loud when being hammered on. You will want to tear your ears off.

Also,we measure them in lbs/yd. Heaviest being 144lbs/yd. Most isn't. That means the one foot sections would be really light. So you'll end up with a loud,not flat anvil that will jump every time you hammer on it. The force of the hammering will literally make it bounce. There is a reason why people like me drool over a 3-400lb anvil.

I bought my first one from a local blacksmithing club,around $80,weighed 120lbs. Face(the top) wasn't pretty on it from the years,but it worked a lot better than what I had been using.

[Anonymous No.255336]

>>255263
I found what I was looking for. In the US,we have ABANA(artist blacksmith association of north america),and I was wondering if you had something similar

www.baba.org.uk

Contact some people close to you,see if they will let you come out and do some stuff,or if they have club meeting or demos. You will learn a LOT.

[Anonymous No.255338]

>>255336
thanks, will do

[Anonymous No.255342]

>>255280
>towbar

The toebar is the piece that fits over the ball hitch. I think you mean he needs a ball hitch.

[Anonymous No.255347]

>>255342

Or,OP could just get a proper anvil and use the horn to do his shaping on...just saying.

[Anonymous No.255348]

>>255347
Not all shaping can be done on just the horn.

Check out this guy's shop and the anvils he uses.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuuC4Bq4Y2U

[Anonymous No.255355]

>>255348

>making plate armour

Whole other ballpark,bro. You know how many specialty tools that shit requires? For general blacksmithing,he doesn't need those things. Especially as a beginner.

[Anonymous No.255364]

>>255269
Not OP here, have a question: How large a piece of rail? I have a piece, but it's not very big(probably around ten inches long).

[Anonymous No.255366]

>>255364
see
>>255333

[Anonymous No.255380]

>>255325
>>255322
>>255319
>>255317

just thought i'd point out, i use "iron" and "steel" interchangeably, as rarely these days can you find actual cast iron. It upsets me, but steel is stronger and cheaper so...

(but the northern tools 15lb anvil is a good starter, it takes a kicking and hasn't chipped on me yet)

[Anonymous No.255389]

Does anyone know how long it takes to be able to turn a profit smithing things?

[Anonymous No.255393]

>>255389
Never, it's a hobby. There are people who make money from it, in the same way there are artists who make money, but you can't take up painting and expect to make anything.

[Anonymous No.255397]

>>255393
Ok, fair enough

[Anonymous No.255441]

>>255316
if someone puts the information together, and properly i will add it to the sticky link.

[Anonymous No.255463]

>>255389
It depends on your overhead costs, time making the items, what you are making, and the market you are selling the items to.

High price items are functional armor, functional style weapons (not knives), art, major repair/replacement parts.

Medium price items are knives, tools, art, and general repair/replacement parts.

Low price stuff are horse shoes, drill/auger bits, trinkets, art, and minor repair/replacement parts.

The best money makers will be making stuff for reenactments, entertainment media (movie props), LARP, horse and wagon/buggy, and of course pretty much anything dealing with the SCA. High end art takes talent and dedication. If you want to make real money with the art the overhead costs are high because you need to travel the art circuits and pay real money to get into the art shows.

[Anonymous No.255879]

>>255389
I would disagree with the art show thing entirely. I know a shop with 3 blacksmiths and when you want a tool made its $65 an hour and you have to wait weeks. They make good money. People who are known to make good tools are really saught after by other artist.

[Anonymous No.255889]

>>255389

If you plan on selling things,a few things to keep in mind:

1.)Shop rates-You're the janitor,maintenance guy,manager,bookkeeper,delivery/packager.
That's WITH making your product. The product has to cover the hours you work,and expenses the shop has.

2.)Do *not* take anything in trade for stuff you have not made yet. Like credit cards,you can abuse this and dig a deep fucking hole.

3.)Don't work beyond what you feel comfortable doing,skill wise. If you mess something up,and have to redo,it's money out of your pocket,and more time wasted.

4.)Deposits should be handled carefully. I would suggest for deposits,get what you need for materials at most.


You are not going to start off making a lot of money.

[Anonymous No.255892]

>>255879
But, that's low price stuff. The art stuff costs tens of thousands at the shows a glass blower/brazer I know goes to sell his art. His stuff sells for tens of thousands too. It is insane. That circuit sell to the very wealthy and Hollywood though.