Best way to start forging??

[vukic]

Hi guys what would be the best way to get into forging, smithing, metal work?? Would like to start it but always thought it was too complicated for me to try???

Tiger

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[John Fenna]

I made a forge out of an old wok and a broken tent pole as an air tube and a bag of local charcoal for fuel.
My anvil was originally a large lump hammer and I used a smaller hammer to hit the hot metal. A vice helped for putting twists into things and I had 2 pairs of pliers for bending thin rod.
I started off making pot hooks and hangers and moved on to fire steels for striking on flint.
Cheap and easy metals included bits from old pasting tables for the pot hooks and old files for the fire steels.
If I can do it - it aint complicated or expensive!

 

[Dave Budd]

I started out with a pile of bricks on a paving slab for my forge, a sledge hammer for anvil and a ball peen for hitting with. These days I demonstrate with a hole in the ground for my forge (but I do use more elaborate designs in my workshop)

The equipment needn't be expensive or complicated. My ground level forge is blown with bellows, but ahair dryer will work too. Any lump of metal that can be secured to a log or in a bucket of concrete will do an anvil (avoid RSJ and rail if you can help it) any hammer will do to start forging. If you can find some tongs (ebay, carboot) they are a boon, but a long pair of pliers or mole grips will work in a pinch.

Simple projects to start could be pot hangers, tent pegs and pokers, but you can easily build up the skills to be making toasting forks, coat hooks, etc. Depends on what you really want to be making

Getting the kit together aside. You can definately start forging by gathering the tools and then having a go at simple projects and justhitting the steel to see where it goes. But, it is MUCH easier to be taught how to do it properly! Living in Devon you have access to a couple of great sources for help and tuition. One is the Wessex Guild who run short courses at Westpoint in Exeter. The other is me I run general forgin courses, but speicalise in tools and blades (got an axe making course on this weekend as it happens)

 

[vukic]

I started out with a pile of bricks on a paving slab for my forge, a sledge hammer for anvil and a ball peen for hitting with. These days I demonstrate with a hole in the ground for my forge (but I do use more elaborate designs in my workshop)

The equipment needn't be expensive or complicated. My ground level forge is blown with bellows, but ahair dryer will work too. Any lump of metal that can be secured to a log or in a bucket of concrete will do an anvil (avoid RSJ and rail if you can help it) any hammer will do to start forging. If you can find some tongs (ebay, carboot) they are a boon, but a long pair of pliers or mole grips will work in a pinch.

Simple projects to start could be pot hangers, tent pegs and pokers, but you can easily build up the skills to be making toasting forks, coat hooks, etc. Depends on what you really want to be making

Getting the kit together aside. You can definately start forging by gathering the tools and then having a go at simple projects and justhitting the steel to see where it goes. But, it is MUCH easier to be taught how to do it properly! Living in Devon you have access to a couple of great sources for help and tuition. One is the Wessex Guild who run short courses at Westpoint in Exeter. The other is me I run general forgin courses, but speicalise in tools and blades (got an axe making course on this weekend as it happens)

Nice, I had hoped to.start of making a small blade, thought that would be easy??
Where abouts are you based??

Tiger

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[Dave Budd]

haha. blade shaped objects aren't hard, but making a proper blade is more tricky

My workshop is in Cheriton Bishop, about 10 miles west of Exeter

 

[vukic]

I'm in tiverton.. So not too far away..

Want an apprentice?!? Lol. :-D

Tiger

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[DaveBromley]

I'd say start with fivers then work your way up lol

Seriously though what dave said above is spot on.

Dave

 

[vukic]

Sorry, fivers??'? :-S

Tiger

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[milius2]

Deffinetly it's worth to go on a course as you'd have a basic knowledge of what's it like. In what I thought first and how the reality started to evolve about this craft is two completely different things... and no surprise, this is something, where experience do most of the job... without it it's a hard labour.