blacksmithing

[blacksmith]

I have a different hobby I usually go to the old homestead parks and then I do blacksmithing at the parks which they are happy to have someone that can do it and show visitors the craft

 

[Ron]

I have a different hobby I usually go to the old homestead parks and then I do blacksmithing at the parks which they are happy to have someone that can do it and show visitors the craft

INteresting hobby.  Blacksmithing seems to becoming a rare art.

 

[carson]

Thanks for bringing back some neat memories, Blacksmith.

  I remember as a young lad in the early 40's frequently visiting a local Smith shop, right in the city.
The old man was making horseshoes from scratch, heating,forming and shaping, cutting and punching nail holes, all the while making the anvil "sing". Sounded like music to my young ears, with a specific beat.
  He would use the bellows hanging from the ceiling, I think, and manually blow the air under the the coals on the forge. (Coke, I think). Then came the smell of the horses hooves while fitting the shoes (Phew), but one learns to love that smell.

  The bucket of cold water then finished the product.

  Would be great if you could post a few pix of your hobby, especially lifting the anvil into your RV/truck/car.

carson FL

 

[John From Detroit]

Blacksmiting is working with iron

Shoeing horses is not blacksmithing, though many blacksmiths pulled double duty as farriers (Specialist in horse hoof care)

 

[papahog]

As a boy on a farm we had a blacksmith shop in a lean to along side the calf barn.  Memories,  I have not thought of those times for 40 years.  Before I was 12 I was making tools or repairing broken farm machinery in that old shop.  Just the basics I am sure but made many a fire poker, furnace or fireplace grate for us and neighbors and flower hangers for mom. 

Thanks for the memories.

 

[mocamper]

Great hobby and takes a lot of talent. I am not one but my dad who is 87 years old is. He no longer does the hobby but still has all his equipment. Even has a 25 lb little giant trip hammer. As a kid I grew up and helped him with everything. Brought up in the depression, he learned to build almost everything. I saw him build 2 shops and he never bought a hinge for the door or a door handle to open it. Made it all. I have things he has made for us hanging on the wall like a scaled bicycle, the type with the large front wheel. Since he can't work with iron anymore,he now carves out working, to scale, wooden pocket knives. I too would like to see some of the items you have built. I am envious of your abilities and talent.

 

[Carolinasawman57]

This is how I met my wife. I was blacksmithing at Unicoi State Park in N. Georgia and she was working there at the time.

 

[holdem]

Question for the Blacksmith. When using the forge does it discolor the metal? Thanks.

 

[AverageBOB]

INteresting hobby.  Blacksmithing seems to becoming a rare art.

Not many people today want to learn what their elders have to teach them, not to mention actual hard working people are rare today.

 

[Marc L]

Question for the Blacksmith. When using the forge does it discolor the metal? Thanks.

This topic is 5 years old and the original poster has not logged in for 5 years.  I doubt you will receive a response to your question.

 

[holdem]

Oops. Thanks

 

[Great Horned Owl]

Question for the Blacksmith. When using the forge does it discolor the metal? Thanks.

I'll take a shot at your question. I am not an expert, but I do have a forge set up behind my barn and can sometimes turn out some decent work.

The answer is sometimes. It depends on if you are working with iron or steel. If steel, it depends on the particular alloy. It depends on how hot you got the piece and the rate at  which it cooled. In any event, the discoloration is not permanent. Often, it is only on the surface and can be removed with a wire brush.

I have tried to make my setup very traditional. I even found an old, hand cranked post drill. My one concession to technology is the addition of an electric blower on the forge. Sometimes, I get tired of pumping.

Joel

 

[braindead]

Thought I'd chime in here.  I used to do a lot of historical re-enactment (mostly 15th/16th century, occasional mountain man rendezvous) and often brought out my forge and put on demonstrations.  I think I got way more interest in my double bellows than the forge itself sometimes.  When I lived in Ohio there were a lot of places that had fully functional blacksmith shops mostly 18th/19th century at state parks and the like.  They usually had various celebrations with reenactors.  I tried contacting the organizations and offered my services (free, I enjoy putting on a show!) and never heard back.  So I haven't done anything public in over a decade which is bit of a bummer as that's the entire reason I got into it.  Making things was always secondary to showing how things were made.

Hoping to build a shop at our new place soon..   

Blacksmithing isn't going to die out anytime soon, there are a lot of colleges that have courses on it and tons of very talented people making good money making very nice looking stuff.  Not me.. I make functional things...not pretty ;-)