Subject: Re: Beginning Equipment...

From: [email-masked] (Dan Hughes)
Date: Tue, 30 Jul 1996 14:00:05 -0400

>        Hi. I'm just getting started with blacksmithing
>        and wanted to get your (collective) opinion on
>        what tools are essential to get started. And
>        also, where you found your first hammer, tongs
>        etc...
>
>        Thanks in advance...
>
>
>        Chris Hunter
>        [email-masked]

Good Luck Chris! My suggestion is to join ABANA, the closest local ABANA
Chapter, and get a good book or several, like Jack Andrews' Edge of the
Anvil. I think that reading about BS'ing and watching others in the local
chapters will help you decide what equipment you need and show you
techniques that you can build on. Let the group know your location and if
there is no one on here from the closest chapter someone can surely tell
you a name and telephone # of the contact person in that chapter. Dan

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From: Robert Ehrenberger at mcctrp2 <[email-masked]>
Date: 30 Jul 96 13:10:00 EDT

New Text Item:  Beginning Equipment...
Chris,

My son and I started about a year ago so I am definitely not an
expert but I have a pretty good idea about getting started and
the minimum requirements.
1) You need a forge to heat your iron,
if you can find a real forge that is easiest but any thing that
can contain the fire will work. I bought my forge at one antique
shop and my blower at another, I then made my fire pot out of a
break drum. I've seen forges that used only a large break drum
and a vacuum cleaner exhaust for the blower.
2) You'll need an anvil,
a piece of railroad track is a good substitute or any piece of heavy steal will 
work. I bought my anvil at a farm auction, it's only 100 pounds but does the 
job.
3) You'll need a hammer,
1.5 to 2 pounds is a good one to start with. My son used a ball peen, I use a 
straight peen, the most common hammers you will find will be cross peen. Hit 
the flea markets there are usually hammers around.
4) You'll need at least one pair of tongs,
again flea markets are the best place to look. You can use pliers or vice grips 
but they don't hold as well, a large set of channel locks will give you a 
better feal. But real tongs are best.
5) You'll need coal,
I started out with charcoal which didn't work very well. Now we buy coal from 
BAM.

Of course the best way to get started is to locate a chapter of ABANA near you 
and join. We belong to BAM and there are usually items for
sale at the meetings (tail gate). Plus you will get started right
as far as technique goes. If you post where you live I'm sure that someone will 
know of a group near you.

Welcome to blacksmithing,

Bob Ehrenberger

______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Beginning Equipment...
Author:  [email-masked] (Chris Hunter) @ INTERNET at NOTEMAIL
Date:    7/30/96 8:33 AM

Chris Hunter
[email-masked]

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From: [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 31 Jul 1996 05:39:51 -0400

To All,
What is needed to get a start in Blacksmithing? 

Earth, Water, Fire, Air.

Hochewa

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From: [email-masked] (Katana ---/-----------)
Date: Wed, 31 Jul 1996 15:30:57 GMT

>minimum list of tools is pretty short before you have enough to make the  
>rest. 
> 
OK - since we're having fun with yarnin' - I keep wondering how
blacksmithing was invented/discovered, so I took a piece of 3/8" square
with me camping, found some rocks, some big, some small, laid the iron in a
campfire for 20 minutes, and used the rocks to smash the steel into a
lampstand with a curl on the end. This monstrosity wouldn't win any beauty
contests, mind you, but it worked. However, I like to blacksmith whenever I
can using tools. Besides, they don't leave bits of rock dust in your
metal!!! 
 
Katana ---/----------

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From: [email-masked] (Dan Hughes)
Date: Thu, 1 Aug 1996 08:55:18 -0400

>can using tools. Besides, they don't leave bits of rock dust in your
Why didn't you just get pieces suitable for an anvil and a hammer from the
same rolling mill from which you got the 3/8" square?

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From: [email-masked] (Katana ---/-----------)
Date: Thu, 1 Aug 1996 13:13:08 GMT

>same rolling mill from which you got the 3/8" square? 
The object was to try to forge a piece of iron with the minimum amount of
tools (i.e., no tools in the accepted sense). If I wanted to continue this
lunacy I had started, I could've gotten the iron ore, built a primitive
smelting furnace, cast a bar and tried it that way. I have studied
historical references to this, and I have actually heard of at least one
person in the SCA who did thier own smelting from iron ore just to see how
it was done. At any rate, I determined that the actual process of FORGING a
piece of metal would have probably been discovered when it was found that a
hot piece of metal bent when hot. The natural progression would have been
to try to shape the metal when hot, thus the "two rocks banging together"
attempt at forging hot metal. Remember, this was not intended as the
beginnings of a historical treatise on ancient forging techniques (as if
something like that could be written), but merely as a curiosity-satisfying
attempt at minimalist equipment forging that happened to work.  
-- 
 
Katana ---/---------- Bill

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From: [email-masked] (Dan Hughes)
Date: Thu, 1 Aug 1996 11:41:26 -0400

>tools..........
Sorry Bill I meant it only as a joke. It would be interesting to know the
progression of things such as forging. I think that the bronze age predated
the iron age and the hot forming of bronze, copper, tin etc naturally lead
to hot forming of iron when it became available in a form (low carbon
content vs. high carbon pig iron) that could be forged. Maybe someone out
there in the ether knows more about this topic.