”The Merry Blacksmith” , one of my favorite Irish fiddle tunes.
An ancient trade indeed! Skill in working metal has gone hand in hand with human development since the dawn of civilization. My fascination with this history and these skills, led me to set up my own backyard outdoor blacksmith shop.
Here I will share how I got my start in blacksmithing, beginning with building a brake drum forge and buying the initial tools. I am an amateur, and I do not claim expertise regarding blacksmithing, but this has been a great activity to get started in and I am happy to share here how I got started.
Approaching the Temple of Hephaestus, Athens, 2016. Built in 450 BC. Hephaestus was the God of blacksmiths, and was the blacksmith of the Gods. Maybe he is hiding in my little forge too....
Links:
My backyard smithy, September 2019. I have a large industrial fire extinguisher and a hose on out in the outdoor blacksmith shop also. Here I am forging a railroad spike.
Forging a point on a 3/4” square bar that will be part of a large roasting spit assembly. It was a good day for wearing klompen.
Here is the finished forge including a covered table top and smoke stack
Some photos of products from the smithy:
Hook for a hanging flower basket, with a twist and decorative leaf. Boiled Linseed Oil finish.
Hand forged BBQ fork with boiled linseed oil finish
Hand forged BBQ fork with boiled linseed oil finish
I made this hook to be used to hand a garden trowel from. Boiled linseed oil finish. The design is from a photo of a hook that I had seen online.
Hatchet forged from a railroad spike; with hand-carved local white oak handle.
Railroad spike hatchet, boiled linseed oil finish.
The first piece of hardware I made using the new forge and anvil.
The bar-twister I made worked nice to add twists to hooks. The holes in the hooks are hot punched using the punch and pritchel plate.
Books I used for reference:
- "The Backyard Blacksmith" by Lorelei Sims. Very helpful book on blacksmithing for those that want to get started.
- "The Blacksmith, Ironworker and Farrier", by Aldren A. Watson. This is wonderful reference book on the history and traditional methods of blacksmithing.
Suppliers:
- Centaur Forge www.centaurforge.com, was a great place to find tools and anvils. They are nearby for me so I drove over to see them. I was like a kid in a candy shop looking at everything in stock at their shop.