Top products from r/Blacksmith

What a great (and enviable!) position to be in! Take your time and enjoy the process - particularly as you seem to be interested in a more traditional setup.

I've a couple recommendations that you might find useful.

First, if you haven't done so already, hunt out your local blacksmithing association - they'll truly be an invaluable resource as you look for tools and materials (and training...? - not sure if you're looking for that too?). Join ABANA - the quarterly periodicals alone are a wealth of ideas and connections. And sign up on the iforgeiron.com forums.

Second, as to solid fuel forges, you can use fabricated steel forges - for which you'll find a wealth of information, or build a traditional brick / stone forge for which you'll find almost nothing! lol.

This link was invaluable as a starting point for a brick forge build.

https://www.rose-hulman.edu/~wollowsk/blacksmith/KenDettmerForgePart1.pdf

Third. Books. Lots of books. Endless, marvelous swacks of books. I have three suggestions that will help you with shop and tool choices:

"Professional Smithing: Traditional Techniques for Decorative Ironwork, Whitesmithing, Hardware, Toolmaking, and Locksmithing" by Donald Streeter

This book has outstanding chapters on shop setup and tools - or rather 'his' setup and tools - but its excellent.

Mark Aspery's three volume series on "Mastering the Fundamentals of Blacksmithing". Great shop and tool info as well as a complete self-guided course materials. Outstanding.

And finally, the amazing book by Otto Schmirler
https://www.amazon.ca/Smithys-Craft-Werkzeug-Kunstschmieds-German/dp/3803050405

I posted a link since it would be a pain to type out that title.

Great, great visual representation of a blacksmiths tools and their uses.

I could go endlessly on and on! lol

In that case, I would suggest:

1. a decent anvil - depending on where you are, you may be able to find one used, check craigslist, ebay (particularly if they are listed with local pickup only), friends, etc. If you buy used, make sure that the edges are clean and there does not appear to be a separation between the face and the body. In an ideal world, you would want to see the anvil in person and do a bounce test to make sure that the face has good rebound. I would aim for at least 100 lbs - the heavier the better (as long as you can move it). Also, Jakebob70 makes a good point. Any sufficiently heavy piece of steel can be an anvil.
   
   
2. some hammers - a ball peen and a cross peen at least. as for weight, that depends on you. My main hammer is 2000g (about 4.4 lbs) which is on the heavy side. Many of the students I teach start with either a 2 lbs or 3 lbs hammer. Having a small ball peen hammer can also be helpful for detail work and for setting small rivets.
   
   
3. some tongs (you can make these yourself, but at $35 each, I would suggest buying one each of 1/4", 3/8", 1/2", 3/4" and 1". Being able to hold material securely really helps. Also, scrolling pliers are really useful.
   
   one example of tongs and scrolling pliers:
   
   https://www.blacksmithsupply.com/Tom-Tong-Bolt-Style-Sizes-316-to-1-_p_216.html
   
   https://www.blacksmithsupply.com/Scroll-Pleirs-3-inch-bit_p_175.html
   
   
4. a forge - I build my own, so I can't give advice on buying one.
   
   
5. as others have mentioned, an angle grinder. You can use this for grinding, cutting, polishing, scale removal (with a wire brush), etc.
   
   
6. wire brush - this is good for getting scale off of work. Something like: https://www.amazon.com/Winco-BR-9-Butcher-Block-Brush/dp/B003HEQZN2
   
   7 ish) hand tools - I have left hand-tools off the list because you can make them yourself. You will want to look up heat treating for tools, in particular, look up drawing a temper. You can make chisels, fullers, punches, center punches, eye tools, etc. yourself. Coil spring or leaf spring is good steel for tools and usually pretty cheap to get recycled. Look up spark test, which is a way to determine if a piece of steel is tool steel (i.e. can be hardened). If you want to heat treat tools you will need to get some vermiculite and a container to hold it (used to anneal, i.e. make the steel soft) and oil (vegetable oil is fine) and a container to hold the oil.
   
   wishlist items:
   
   post vise - also called a leg vise. A heavy vise designed to be hammered on.
   
   welder - a welder can make a lot of things easy, but perhaps more importantly, is really helpful when it comes to making tools, stands, tables, etc.
   
   guillotine tool - this is a tool that holds a top and bottom die which allows you to strike the same blow on the top and bottom of a piece. These are sometimes called smithing magicians.
   
   power hammer!
   
   If you end up doing a lot of drilling of material that is over 1/4 or more I would suggest prioritizing a drill press. With a hand drill, it's easy to change your angle of attack which causes the bit to bind. This results in the drill spinning which can result in injury. It's not a high risk, but if you end up doing a lot of drilling, it's probably worth it. Of course, if you want to be traditional, you can punch your holes and then you don't need a drill press!
   
   Lastly, get in the habit of checking craigslist and eBay regularly, and stopping at garage sales and flea markets. You can find hammers and files regularly, and sometimes other really nice tools for not a lot of money.

> The efficiency of one of these burners compared to a hand made black iron burner should be well worth the extra cost.

I don't make any friends when I start this argument, but:

The efficiency claim is a myth.

Most people judge efficiency by the propane pressure dial, probably because that's what they have. Even Larry's charts do that, and that's not the right way to look at it.

Efficiency is about mass-flow rate of your combustion fuel, not the input psi. It doesn't matter if you are feeding 0.5lb/hr of propane in at 10psi or feeding 0.5lbs/hr of propane in at 5 psi - you're still using 0.5lbs of propane an hour, and should still expect to get something around 10k BTU of energy from that fuel.

However well constructed, Larry's burners cannot get more BTU energy out of propane than propane contains.

Basically: A well tuned burner will burn (almost) all the fuel inside the forge with a slight amount of dragon's breath (to ensure the forge is not oxidizing). Any burner that does that will operate at the same efficiency measuring heat output to fuel mass input.

There are many modern burner designs that are practical for someone to make that are stable and tuneable and will produce the same flame that Larry's burners do. If you get the same flame, you get the same efficiency (measured the way it matters - heat/fuel-input)

What Larry's burners might give you is easy tuning and operational stability. And good looks I suppose.

I say "might" because I've not actually used them and thus can't endorse them - by all reports people who own them love them though.

If you want to try and build a similar burner, you could use Michel Porter's book: https://www.amazon.ca/Gas-Burners-Forges-Furnaces-Kilns/dp/1879535203

...he actively tells people to go and steal it off the internet (pdfs are available) - I'm not sure how serious he is, and I don't think that's very fair given his investment researching and testing burners over the years. I've talked burners with him now quite a lot. From what I understand Larry worked with him for a long while. Larry then created the Z burners, while Michel further refined the design into what's in the book. Michel considers the Z burner to be several generations behind what's in the book (aka the "MikeyBurner"). I've never used one of Michael's burners either, so I can't comment on that, but I take anything Michael says very seriously.

As Aureolin22 said, I doubt the flowerpot would tolerate very many heating and cooling cycles before it broke. Have you considered doing the same thing but lining a small charcoal grill or a cheap steel wok instead?

Serious question: Why is propane not an option? Stores won't sell propane to you, or your parents won't let you?

I ask because you might have good luck making a small propane forge using a spiral flame propane torch, a small coffee can or large soup can, and a 50/50 mix of sand and Plaster of Paris. (refractory cement would probably work as well or better than the sand/plaster mix)

There was a post here on it a short while back. It seemed interesting so I built one myself just to see how well it worked. Turns out, it works pretty good! It won't produce welding temperatures, but it gets plenty hot for forging. It worked even better after I partially closed off the mouth of the forge with three pieces of firebrick. The one I made also has a 9/16" hole drilled through the back so that I can heat round stock up to 1/2" inch diameter anywhere along its length. I have used it twice now for about 30 minutes each time and I still have only used about half of the fuel in the tank. (I started with a full tank just to see how long it would last in one of these.)

If you are interested I can take some pictures of the one I made.

If coal or charcoal is your only option and you want to stay really cheap just dig a little hole and build your fire in the hole with your air pipe poking in from the side. (assuming the powers that be at home won't lose their minds over you digging a hole and you have a yard to dig in.)

Spike knives are great to practice knifemaking on. They will be decorative however since, as you pointed out, they do not contain enough carbon to heat treat or keep an edge. But do work with them; it's free steel and you can practice how to go about profiling a knife on them.

As far as hammers go, I have known accomplished smiths who are happy with the hammer they picked up at a flea market. I've also known those who have made their own, or those that have bought from Centaur Forge or from other smiths.

It seems everyone has their own idea of what works for them. Quality of steel, balance, and ergonomics are obviously the main priorities, but the rest is up to you.
At this stage, just use what's economical until you start refining your smithing style.

Pick up The Backyard Blacksmith and The $50 Knife Shop. If you've got time, I would also invest in The Art of Blacksmithing, mainly for it's ideas on projects and moving metal.

As for your forge questions, I'm not sure what the best answer is as I primarily work with coal and only occasionally work with gas. The gas forges I use are pretty big, so I don't have experience in your model. Maybe try to stick a RR spike in there, close the doors, and see how it does? You can make small knives for now until you figure out the direction you want to take. Hope this all helped, good luck!

There is a great book for beginners called "The Backyard Blacksmith" by Lorelei Sims that you could benefit tremendously from. It has a section in there about how to layout a forge area that I think works really well. If you search for it at amazon you can do the "look inside" thing and actually see that page before you buy it. But I recommend buying it, its a hardcover with great info and pictures along with a few beginner projects. its definitely worth the $12 us. Good luck with it. heres a link to it http://www.amazon.com/Backyard-Blacksmith-Lorelei-Sims/dp/0785825673/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1463055951&sr=1-1&keywords=the+backyard+blacksmith

Greetings from /r/metalfoundry!

Using a break drum forge, probably not. Or at least, if you do reach sufficient temperatures, it will only be at the cost of massively inefficient waste of fuel.

A couple other things:

When you talk about "collecting iron with a strong magnet", I hope you are talking about random discarded scrap metal. If you are thinking about finding iron ore, then the vast majority of that is in the form non-magnetic iron oxide. Also, you may have better luck investing in even a lower end metal detector compared to just trying to use a high power magnet.

You can't just use a regular ceramic crucible. You need to use a crucible with a lid that you seal up air-tight with clay. If air gets to your hot iron, it will both burn out the carbon in your steel, and burn the iron into iron oxide and that won't do you any good. The lid needs to seal on very tightly because ideal gas law means the air that remains in the crucible is going to raise in pressure along with the temperature, and you don't want the lid to pop.

You need to use a combination of scrap iron, crushed glass (cullet) and a blend of other additives depending on what is in the scrap you're starting with to get your desired alloy. At a minimum, usually at least a little carbon (crushed hardwood charcoal) Other additives may depend on the material used to make your crucible. You need to gradually heat it up until well past the melting point of iron. You need to hold it at that temperature long enough for the carbon to distribute through the iron. You need to allow the crucible to cool at least down to forge-welding temperature. If you use a lower grade crucible (eg. modified terra cotta flowerpot, which I don't recommend), there's a decent chance you will shatter the thing when extracting your iron/steel. Also, don't expect your foundry to survive terribly long when you run it at the temperatures needed for crucible steel.

Getting back to how you would heat this crucible, The cheapest setup would be a Gingery style backyard charcoal foundry. It's something like a 7 gallon bucket lined with a few inches of refractory material (It can be made using about $40 worth of stuff from the hardware store), You make a raised mound for the crucible, a tangential hole at the bottom, and a lid with a hole in the center. You allow it to dry for a few days (more weather depending), then bake slowly using a wood fire to harden. You put your prepared crucible in place, pack the thing loosely with charcoal all the way to the top, light the charcoal. Once started, you hook up a leaf blower to the bottom hole and hit it. Now you get to constantly add more charcoal until the process is complete, and it does burn pretty fast.

Even if you do all this correctly, you can still have failures. Niels Provos has a playlist where he attempts to make crucible steel, and only has limited success.

I would suggest picking up a book or two in that case. I highly recommend "The Complete Bladesmith" by Jim Hrisoulas and 'The Wonder of Knifemaking" by Wayne Goddard. I have both and they are very good at laying down the steps for making a knife. Also, make sure you learn about knife steel. You won't find it in a local store, but will need to be purchased online (most of the time). Pick a simple steel like 1080/1084 and start using that. Get good at heat treating it, and the move to something else. 5160 is also good to start. Both are forgiving.

1: you can make burners fairly cheaply and easily. Just search "how to make a forge burner" on youtube and you'll find plenty of vids.

2: if you're going to build a gas forge, it depends on the size of the billet/stock you'll be using the most. If you're going for knives, tongs, hand tools, etc. Then I dont imagine you'd be using stock larger than 1". If you plan on making things like axes, hammers, decorative pieces, or (if you feel like going this route when making them) swords that you'd draw out from a chunk of steel, the max size of stock/billet I feel you'd use is 4ish". If you plan on making long pieces, you can just leave both sides open so it's more of a tunnel rather than an open box. The number of burners is more quality of life rather than necessity. More burners equals more heat and more heat means faster heating. Do you /need/ multiple burners? Probably not. The only time multiple burners are necessary is when you need to heat a large length (such as heat treating a sword or bending a length of metal) one thing to keep in mind is the internal size of the forge. If you make a forge with a 10"×10" chamber (this is hyperbole, while I know they exist--atleast 10" tall chambers--I highly doubt you will ever make anything requiring that) and only one burner, that single burner has will try to heat up that entire chamber (because that's how heat works) and you'll wind up using fuel a heck of a lot faster. Using 2 or more burners will distribute heat in more than one place, thus lowering the fuel usage close to less than half of the single burner. So, when I say that it heavily depends on what you're going to be making, I mean it. To give you some rough internal dimensions, I'd say something like 5"-6" tall, 5"-6" wide and 9" long.

I suggest reading this book before you make one, though. It tells you all the do's and don'ts as well as the whys and why nots.

https://www.amazon.com/Gas-Burners-Forges-Furnaces-Kilns/dp/1879535203

To put it simply, though, one burner is more than sufficient.

3: I suggest the latter option to the former. The fiberglass lining is simply to prolong the life of whatever refractory material is below it (not to mention it's easier to replace) I'd stray away from firebrick if possible, as it wears much more quickly than other alternatives. I reccomend using a high alumina kiln shelf.
https://www.sheffield-pottery.com/High-Alumina-Cone-11-Kiln-Shelves-s/317.htm
You can simply cut it to match the size you need. (Also, you should read the instructions on the page)

4: well, if saving money is the goal, you can go as cheaply as putting a sledgehammer head in some cement. There are so many forums and pages that talk about what can be used as a cheap but efficient anvil that I dont even really need to link one to you. All you have to do is google "anvil alternatives" and you'll get all the information you need.
I'll summarize what you'd read though; broken forklift tines, rr track, drop steel from a machinist/steel supplier, a block of steel, a stump with a rail track tie plate fastened to it, but dear lord dont use cast iron anvils.

If you don't really mind $300, then that is honestly the anvil you should buy. In fact, if it's even an option, i'd reccomend that to anything else.

5: preffered metal cutting tools are a hot cut hardy hole tool, chisels and punches.

6: for necessity items, I highly reccomend a 4"x72" belt sander (you can find how to make those in excess on youtube), files, a ///post/// vice, and decent files meant for removing metal. Also, not much of a necessity, but I like sharpening my knives on a full spectrum of whetstones (full spectrum meaning I'd start at around 320 grit and end at 10,000 grit) but that's expensive in itself. I also suggest getting a bench grinder with a buffing wheel, some black and green metal polish that you can pick up from harbor freight, and a leather strop.

That's all I can think of in regards to main points but if you want detail on anything related to blacksmithing or have any more questions, I recommend going to sites like iforgeiron and blacksmithforums.com

I read 3 books, one which was not very good and 2 that were phenomenal.

My favorite was probably The Backyard Blacksmith. It had great information and detail. I couldn't have been happier.

The Home Blacksmith was pretty good and has given me some projects for the future.

The one I did NOT like was The DIY Blacksmithing Book. It was garbage. It was little more than a pamphlet. looking around in google and youtube provided MUCH more useful information than this book. For a few dollars more the other books were MASSIVELY more helpful. The "DIY Blacksmithing Book" was a complete waste of money.

I'm totally a novice and a software developer by trade, so take what I'm about to say with caution. That said, here goes:

​

I started with a propane forge because it was easier to make, or trying many things to build one. The best thing that I've managed to find as far as instructions or help is this video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TS7wumQt0s8&t=123s - I used these bricks from Amazon and so far they're doing an ok job: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007VEOIVA. If I had to give one word of advice it'd be to save your money and not buy the cheap firebricks you'll find at home improvement stores. They kind of work, but ultimately you'll lose a ton of heat and I ended up spending the extra cash to just buy good firebrick because I felt unsafe(I hit my burner with a laser thermometer and it was astronomically hot b/c heat was seeping up into it).

​

Last and certainly not least, I am planning on building a coal forge because I'm having a tough time getting the heat I need to forge weld. So the comment I saw that said to get both ... totally on point. I can see myself using propane when I'm looking to just do something quickly on a weeknight, and when I have a ton of hammer work or forge welding to do I'd switch to coal.

​

Edit: Assuming you're just starting... I have taken one beginning blacksmith class and I'm planning on several more in the following year. Find a blacksmithing association near you and attend the meetings. It's totally worth the time to link up with the pros.

Edit 2: If you're in the US, check this out: https://abana.org/

Nice! I had originally used a 2500 castable in mine and it got kinda melty so I had to redo it with this:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ACIWN9Q/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It worked really well and stuck to the fiber blanket the best out of everything I tried. Use a spray bottle with water and smear it on, wet at needed to make it stick better.

If you are gonna try to forge well I would definitely suggest getting a soft fire brick rated for at least 2800. I melted a few bricks in mine when forge welding 😂 I bought mine at a ceramics supply store and they were $6/piece

https://www.amazon.com/WireJewelry-Medium-Insulating-Degree-Fahrenheit/dp/B07MHKNRP1/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=3000+soft+fire+brick&qid=1568214946&s=hi&sr=1-2

Here's a great book I like to recommend:

http://www.amazon.com/Metallurgy-Non-Metallurgist-Second-05306G-International/dp/1615038213

I'm sure there are cheaper places to find the book and you should check if maybe your library has it. It's kinda geared towards technical people who are non-metallurgists.

Read everything you can. Books are one of the best tools a smith can have IMHO. A good book to start with is backyard blacksmith by Lorelei Sims. It is filled with pictures and has good ideas and techniques.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Backyard-Blacksmith-Lorelei-Sims/dp/0785825673

get a piece of forklift tine, strike with hammer repeatedly, rinse repeat.

If you're doing backyard DIY stuff than any good high carbon steel will do, I've used pieces of grader blades before, I used a tree stump one time too but that was to win a bet.

There is a good step by step tutorial in The Complete Modern Blacksmith for cutting, shaping and hardening a piece of railroad rail into an anvil.

check out "Backyard Blacksmith" by Lorelei Sims. It covers the basics of what smithing is, basic tools needed, basic smithing techniques, different types of steel, how to make your tools, and how to heat treat your tools. The last section is a collection of about 20 projects, arranged from basic to advanced that you can start on day one. It even tells you what sizes of stock to use, and breaks the project down into steps. Probably the best basic book I've come across.
https://www.amazon.com/Backyard-Blacksmith-Lorelei-Sims/dp/0785825673/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1474489905&sr=8-1&keywords=lorelei+sims+book+backyard+blacksmith

This book has a pretty foolproof set of guidelines to build one, as well as a standard propane tank forge:

Gas Burners for Forges, Furnaces, and Kilns

The dimensions are pretty critical.

Sorry, no guide as I built it on the fly, but it isn't too hard. I can give you a parts list tho. The tank is 10lbs, and I used 25"x24"x2" kaowool, 6 fire bricks, and some refractory cement. The only thing you'll need other than this stuff, is a couple 2" black pipe nipples for the inlets and the stand is recycled angle iron from bed frames. The burners are called Frosty 'T' and the plans are available just about anywhere, tho one thing I'd recommend is talking to a gas certified plumber when it comes to doing the propane plumbing. According to some of the guys I showed the plans to, many of the online tutorials recommend fittings that aren't rated for propane, so they'll steer you the right way. The regulator I used is this one, which I chose because it's all metal construction makes it more durable than the plastic ones. https://www.amazon.ca/Bayou-Classic-5HPR-40-Adjustable-Regulator/dp/B0033JF0GE/ref=sr_1_34?keywords=propane+regulator&qid=1566264229&s=gateway&sr=8-34

​

Any other questions, feel free to give me a holler.

These are the cements that I have at hand. They are premixed and rather dense. My plan is essentially to slather it on there until it is well coated. I'm going to further rigidize the wool before doing so, so that it does not collapse down. The blanket is very thick, so I did not need to glue it to the forge body.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B06X9YRJSX/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ACIWN9Q/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Jump on amazon and buy a blacksmith beginners book for $15ish it will have a lot of the info you need to get started, as well as good beginner projects. Saves you a lot of time since it's written by a pro, and has been edited to make it easy to understand.

Your best resource is the resident blacksmith. But here are the books I've taught myself with:
* The Backyard Blacksmith by Lorelei Sims

• The Art of Blacksmithing by Alex Bealer
  
• The Blacksmith's Craft by Charles McRaven
  
• Practical Blacksmithing by M.T. Richardson
  
• Practical Blacksmithing & Metalworking by Percy W. Blandford
  
• A Blacksmithing Primer by Randy McDaniel
  
  I am incredibly jealous of your opportunity, that living history stuff always seems like a blast.

I have a bernzomatic ts4000 that can be used for mapp or propane. Has a decent sized swirl tip on it.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00008ZA09?cache=1e7ae5e33b54b847bd2ca8af21498496&pi=SY200_QL40&qid=1405599047&sr=8-1

Sorry about the huge link. I'm on my phone.

I also have an extension hose I found at home depot for $17. I love that thing.

This guy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Weygers
Wrote a book called "The Complete Modern Blacksmith":https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Modern-Blacksmith-Alexander-Weygers/dp/0898158966
It has good information on making wood and stone-working hand tools.

The new edge of the anvil is a good book for traditional processes.

https://www.amazon.com/New-Edge-Anvil-Resource-Blacksmith/dp/1879535092

I haven't found a good blacksmithing book with information on heat treatment. You should attempt to look up the recommended schedule from whatever manufacturer made the steel you're working. Absent that, Alro has a good booklet that covers a bunch of steels.

http://www.alro.com/datacatalog/014-toolsteel.pdf

You could try something like this:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B003HEQZN2/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1404593307&sr=8-1

I have one, and it certainly distances my hands from the hot iron, but it's a little aggressive for my taste. I actually haven't had any problems with my brush like yours.

2: Yes, mild steel is fine/good for tongs and fire maintenance tools. You actually don't want to use high carbon steel for tongs, since you'll be dunking them in water quite a bit

3: I'm still a newb, but this is advanced stuff. If you want higher carbon steel on a budget, get some old car spring material.

Just get some mild steel square and round stock, and The Backyard Blacksmith, and start working on the basic skills - it's a lot harder than it looks! :)

https://www.amazon.com/Backyard-Blacksmith-Lorelei-Sims/dp/0785825673/

A good book to start with if you are interested in the topic: https://www.amazon.com/Charcoal-Foundry-Build-Metal-Working/dp/1878087002

$20 anvil: https://www.harborfreight.com/15-lb-rugged-cast-iron-anvil-69425.html

$4 ea pliers: https://www.harborfreight.com/11-inch-long-reach-needlenose-pliers-with-straight-jaws-39538.html

$1.25 magnet: https://www.harborfreight.com/4-piece-magnetic-welding-holders-93898.html

Your choice of a $9 hammer: https://www.harborfreight.com/3-lb-hardwood-cross-pein-hammer-69049.html or a $6 hammer: https://www.harborfreight.com/2-lb-hardwood-engineers-hammer-69226.html

$38 torch head: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Bernzomatic-TS99T-Trigger-Start-Swivel-Torch-Head-TS99T/203694961

$19 fire brick: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007VEOIVA/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_lUJwCbX49QQN5

$2.30 ea hose clamp: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-7-in-Stainless-Steel-Clamp-6799595/202309383

And maybe $5 in metal corner guard.

Less than $100 in materials. Maybe $30 in shipping? That leaves almost $150 in profit for someone. And it's all poor materials. The only thing that's useful out of all of that for a beginning smith is the hammer. Definitely steer clear.

Edge of the anvil is the only one I've ever read and it's quite good. Was recommended it by the blacksmith I did a couple classes with.


http://www.amazon.com/New-Edge-Anvil-Resource-Blacksmith/dp/1879535092

I did some more research today and i was planning on using kaowool and ITC 100 or something similar, instead of the sand and plaster. I'm just having a hard time finding where to buy both. I also don't know if ITC 100 is the best option.

Edit: Im looking at this for kaowool, and this for the cement.

This is my absolute favorite blacksmithing book. Highly recommended and very cheap.

My wedding cost a lot more than $400. :D

If you HAVE welding equipment or could borrow it, it would greatly expand your forge possibilities.

• Hammer: A Nordic Forge Rounding Hammer in 1.5# is about $30
  
• Tongs: A GS Tongs Bent Knee tong (for square 3/8" stock probably) is $37
  
• Anvil: A 4"x4" stake anvil will run you about $125 from Old World Anvils
  
• Forge: The forge is the part you'll need to DIY for the $200 you have left.
  
  For building the forge, there's TONS of instructions on the internet, though a lot of them are REALLY small OR for the coal ones, fairly hard to use in practice. I like the forge you build in the book Gas Burners For Forges, Furnaces & Kilns.

Read Ron Reil's pages on gas forges. Read a copy of Gas Burners for Forges, Furnaces, and Kilns by Michael Porter. Browse the old threads on http://www.iforgeiron.com/ and http://knifedogs.com/. It's not difficult to get a burner working with a few hours reading and a couple trips to a good plumbing supply house (or ordered from Grainger, etc.).

learn G-code, learn how to read blueprints and geometric dimensioning and tolerancing, get a good understanding of the cartesian coordinate system and acquire basic machining skills.

If you have a trade school nearby, you can take a course in machine shop, usually they'll have an intro to CNC. This book will teach you everything you need to know about G-code.

You might like this.

YEP!

Want to get stuff on the cheap and build your tools to do this. Check this out, i posted about the torch already but you can build stuff from this book. Wayne Goddards 50 knife shop

A huge collection of tools is in here:
http://www.amazon.com/Werk-Werkzeug-Kunstschmieds-Smithys-German/dp/3803050405

Also the only blacksmith related book in my local library...

It's French. I would not be surprised if it was strictly an aesthetic thing.

As I discussed in another post, the short dimension between the face and handle centerline on traditional French hammers throws me off, I guess because I have been using hammers with a longer dimension for so long. I do have one which I thought was a French pattern that I have been using for close to two decades, only to discover in the last couple of years that in fact it is not French at all. It is something called a joiners hammer and I have no idea how it is supposed to be used. It sounds like something to do with carpentry or cabinet making. It looks like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Stubai-Joiners-Hammer-14-Oz/dp/B0056O37X2/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1462083228&sr=8-4&keywords=joiners+hammer

It seems like the proportions are very similar to the hammer you made. The description says the pein is used for starting small nails but in truth it seems ill suited for those purposes. It does have a face/centerline dimension that is very similar to the Swedish forging hammers I have been using for a very long time. I use it for very light work and for planishing.

Also see New Edge of The Anvil, also by Andrews. I believe it contains most of the same information with some slight revisions and updates.

Amazon (UK) Link:
New Edge of the Anvil: A Resource Book for the Blacksmith https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1879535092/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_GHFUCbR6D5GG9

Link to this book on amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Backyard-Blacksmith-Lorelei-Sims/dp/0785825673/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1397710685&sr=1-1&keywords=backyard+blacksmith

The New Edge of The Anvil.

https://www.amazon.com/New-Edge-Anvil-Resource-Blacksmith/dp/1879535092

How much of this do you think I'd need?

http://smile.amazon.com/MEECOS-RED-DEVIL-610-Refractory/dp/B00ACIWN9Q/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1405464368&sr=8-5&keywords=fire+clay

Anvilfire.com
Iforgeiron.com
hammertyme.com
reddit.com/r/blacksmith
/r/blacksmithing
/r/bladesmith
/r/metalworking
http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-Blacksmithing-Alex-Bealer/dp/0785803955
http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Modern-Blacksmith-Alexander-Weygers/dp/0898158966
http://www.anvilfire.com/bookrev/
Those are just a few to get you started.
ALSO. Start learning metallurgy as soon as possible.

As for books I can wholly vouch for this one.

Here is the mobile version of your link

Also get him this book for his birthday or something. Tells you how to do everything on the cheap.
https://smile.amazon.com/Wayne-Goddards-Knife-Shop-Revised/dp/0896892956/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=50+knife+shop&qid=1562951506&s=gateway&sr=8-1

Here is the mobile version of your link

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000F4YLRY/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1499563400&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=blacksmith+hammer+Stanley&dpPl=1&dpID=31LI5MJkWAL&ref=plSrch

I use this
Bayou Classic 5HPR-40 48-Inch LPG Hose, High Pressure Adjustable Regulator https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0033JF0GE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_.MojDbWM0V1W4
All the ones that had hand tightened plastic fittings leaked.

Don't get too caught up in buying a London pattern anvil. Remember, the ancients used rocks for anvils. Check out the book "The Complete Modern Blacksmith by Alexander Weygers. In it, he talks about other items that can be used for an anvil. Go to the nearest scrap metal yard--one that will allow you to walk the yard--and see if you can find a large chunk of steel off of old machinery. I currently have a piece of RR track that someone had cut shaped into an andiron. Its not the prettiest, but it works.

The point is to just start pounding hot metal, and add tools as you can.

Where do you get the light weight fragile bricks online that should be in a forge? I bought these bricks below, and they suck. All they do is suck the heat out of the forge, and waste propane. The metal eventually gets hot and glows, but the bricks do not provide the "feedback" and do not get red hot like ones I have seen. http://www.amazon.com/Rutland-604-Products-Fire-Brick/dp/B000UEYZ4S?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

You might be surprised how stiff of a brush you can get. You can use a butcher block brush if you can find one. Here's a link

That's so cool, I hope I can learn to do that one day. How did you learn to do that and what tools did you use? Know of any good video tutorials or youtube channels to learn from? I'm still trying to find a cheap hammer and a metal block to hammer on (steel billet? Railroad track?). I have no idea what I would learn to make though.

This is a 2lb but there's 4lbs also so I might just have to go to Lowes and handle some - https://www.amazon.com/Stanley-56-003-FatMax-AntiVibe-Blacksmith/dp/B000F4YLRY/

Failure can be discouraging, but you learn from it. Epic failure can turn you off from what you're trying to learn completely. I'm just now getting my forge together (hope to test tomorrow) and the candor of your ambition is a little annoying since, while I have big ideas for what I want to do, I know I do not have the skill to do any of it yet. My first project is probably going to be J-hooks and other assorted hardware to hang lawn equipment in my garage. You need to take smaller steps or you'll end up having a really bad experience and just drop smithing all together. If you really want good advice about blade making I recently purchased The Complete Bladesmith. Its great, it explains a lot of the basics, terminology, and some simple hammer techniques. It was really cheap and my favorite book right now.

Or, an example from Skyrim: How many shitty iron daggers did you have to make before you could move up to Dragon Bone weapons ;-)?