blacksmiths, I have a question...

[kfchickenlady]

KFCL here- wow, youre not kidding about teaching kids handwork, they will have a great advantage over kids that havent a clue that someone could actually make something themselves. Good for you for backing your son in something that he can enjoy for life! Today I will get pics up, DH isnt keen on tech stuff, and I havent had a chance to get pics done yet.

galanie, speaking of pounding on nails, I remember several years ago making roses out of horseshoe nails, a lot harder than it looked! Have you made anything decorative like that?

 

[galanie]

I have made rings and starbursts from horseshoe nails. Years ago I saw some directions on making the roses and my thought at the time was that it looked like too much trouble lol. Then I made the starburst. I think the rose might have been easier after all

But horseshoe nails rust so fast and lacquering them doesn't seem to keep it at bay that long. Paint might do the trick but a painted starburst... nah. The bronze color from brazing and silver of the nails was what I liked. So no more horseshoe nail projects for me.

So far all my smithing has been to make horseshoes and tools. I've made chisels, pritchels, punches, swages, and carving tools among other tools, but never a purely ornamental thing at the forge. So this will be like starting from scratch and I'm looking forward to playing with my scrap metal. Now if ONLY I could find that %@# hardie. I know it's here somewhere!

Oh and about the knives - yes they can be very involved to make. Or very simple if you do as I did and simply cut the shape out from the right thickness of good steel. I admit it, I cheated

Annealing or softening the tempered steel so you can cut it, then tempering the finished blade are the hard parts. But simple once you get the hang of it.

 

[3goodeggs]

I do not think my son is into beauty right now, so just a practical knife would inspire him. It has always pleased him to make some thing useful.
The used tin gets delivered tomorrow. It is rainy and wet and my knees hurt... But I know we will be setting the posts for the end walls anyway!
I expect this to be finished by the end of February. It is a when time permits project.
My projects keep getting bumped to the bottom for some reason. I plan on never cooking again until I get my shelving up...after the shed of course. (THAT'S how it happens!

)

 

[SillyChicken]

If it were my shop I'd do as big as I could get away with.. what other's mentioned, pour a thick pad for the anvil and forge etc.. but leave the rest dirt. At the studio we use large oak stumps for anvil bases and have a few others for pounding on or using to hold jigs etc.... And he can almost use anything to hammer on as long as it's the right hardness. I did some cool cold forging on just a block of steel. Will you also have a welding station for him (that should be on cement to keep him off any moisture). And future room for maybe a plasma cutter or bandsaw? Oh and a set of acetalene tourches! And a hand grinder!.. I could run a muck with a list!

You should have a way to ventilate the space, cause it's gonna get HOT in there with a forge going, not to mention most steel has oil coating it and well it can get nasty once you burn it off! and if he wants to do some quenching effects, the solutions used can be fumey (I always like quenching in old used black oil, it turns the steel black)!

These things can get expensive, which is why I don't have my own smithy... Wish I did, but right now it's cheaper for me to go back to my college where I studied and take a class for fun... I got everything at my disposal.

Can't wait to see what he creates! Nice to see parents being so supportive!

And for your piece of mind, buy him a fire extingusher - sparks will fly!
And a small first aid kit, I don't know how many times I've cut, sliced and grounded down, burned my fingers, knuckles etc!

 

[galanie]

Pics of the easy knives I've made lately. Not a great pic, cheap camera. Bottom one is my version of the processing knife used by one of the guys on YouTube that has How to use kill cones and process birds videos. It works pretty well, especially for the breast meat. This one is made from an old rusty saw blade. As such, it is flexible which means it would probably do great for fish filleting too.

Other one is made from an old smallish file, and is a "neck knife." Mine's a bit long for a neck knife, it has a 4" blade. Super handy to have around your neck. I don't like pocket, purse, or belt knives, but this neck one is perfect for working around in the yard or shop. If I suddenly need a knife... Bingo, there it is. (The sheath for it is just piece of belt leather with some rivets in it I found in the shop. It stays in by friction alone.)

Seems I got the tempering right cause both take a great edge (I've been told I'm dangerous because I insist on having all my knives and edge tools SHARP all the time) and don't dull quickly.
The handles are just "riveted" on with cutoff nails and are of oak that I shaped on the sander.

I'm still pounding iron when I get a chance but am a long way from any precision work at the moment, I think. I did make a round punch and a couple simple things like that but most of my true forge work has been restricted to building up strength and coordination again. Those hammer blows are still a ways from being as precise as they once were

 

[3goodeggs]

Silly chicken, somehow I never got a post back when you posted. Very good ideas, and yes, definitely a fire extinguisher. I had forgotten about that. I have the shed designed so that we can add to it as funds and scrap allow.
He has gone from drooling over Lego's and transformers to looking through catalogs at the prices of plasma cutters. (I would not mind having a band saw.

I will let him know to start saving.

)

Please keep on this thread, I am excited that another smith is on the thread.
Tomorrow we head off to another blacksmith association meeting. He is biting at the bit already.

Galanie, I love the knives. I will show these to him. I love the wood handles, and now you have me thinking that scrap wood will be as valuable as scrap steel. I am not a pocket knife person either, but I always borrow my husbands. I really like the idea of having one handy and out of the way.

 

[galanie]

A bench grinder and handheld belt sander clamped upside down on a workbench are invaluable for shaping the blades and handles. Old wood is indeed useful, but don't go collecting like I do

I have a collection of woods from past woodworking projects and some from my own trees. I sometimes make small boards from sections of large cuttings from my trees (with the band saw) if it looks to yield interesting wood. That is what the handles are from, an old oak section that had some interesting grain. Which was kind of wasted on such small handles but you can sort of see it on the larger knife, though the picture isn't clear enough to see. And I don't waste a lot of time finishing these, just make sure they're nice and smooth and feel good in my hand, then rub on either some salad bowl finish oil or paste wax, whatever strikes me or is close by at the time. Well used knives tend not to hold a hard finish anyway.

Oh and for the neck knife, I've already decided that if it ever gets loose and won't stay in well, I'll just superglue a magnet to the sheath. I could have spent more time and made a nicer sheath but since it's not for showing off, functional is fine.

 

[SillyChicken]

I would get a good pair of welding gloves. Although I don't use them for most of the work, it's nice to have them on hand for the real hot work.

Also, you can start him out with a smaller Lincoln mig welder. They're small, but still do a good job with basic welding... and they're not terribly expensive.

Also, if you have a metal scrap yard... have him start visiting them on a regular basis. You can find some awesome stuff there for him to work with.. sometimes they'll give the stuff for free. We did alot of foraging in college for materials.

One of my last projects

Detail

 

[3goodeggs]

Oh, I love the leaves!
I think why i am so interested in helping him get into this hobby is because it is artistic.
I am very artistic, but It made my mother ashamed of me for some reason, so I never did anything with it beyond college. My son is also artistic, but for some reason, he does not feel a need to be. This will give him a place to be useful and artistic.
It is good to let that talent shine and not hide it away.

We have a welder and he asked his dad to teach him how to weld on his father's next day off. i told him it may take more than one day.

We went to a blacksmith association meeting again this weekend. They were so nice to him. They taught him so much. Then we went to a festival where a blacksmith who made knives spent a good while explaining the process to him.

I am still just so impressed with how generous with time and information blacksmiths are.

We have had a lot of rain so we have not gotten started on the smithy yet. However, it was so dry that a post hole digger could not grab any sand to move. It is a good slow rain. it will make the job easier when we get started.

 

[SillyChicken]

Blacksmithing is a dying art... I'm glad he's getting out there and asking questions!

We have sugar sand on our property, so digging holes are a pain.. we just have a bucket of water handy and dump it in the hole as we dig (no waiting on Mother Nature to rain!) works like a charm!