[TheForge] Book Recommendations

[Kathy]

Justin,
Reading books is fine, but one of the widely accepted principles of
blacksmithing is that, as you forge, you are also being forged into something
new. If you want to get more out of your book choices, begin at least making
rudimentary plans to build tooling. Even if you end up giving your all your
first efforts away, your progress will be much faster than you can make by
simply reading, because by "getting your feet wet" you will gain far more from
what you read.
Mikey   

-----Original Message-----
From: theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net [mailto:theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net]
On Behalf Of Bruce Freeman
Sent: Thursday, March 01, 2007 6:11 AM
To: theforge at mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [TheForge] Book Recommendations

Justin,
Bealer's book was inspirational to many.  Otherwise it's just about useless.
I don't know McRaven's book well, but what I've seen of his writing suggest that
it's likely to be a good one.
H&H's book is a bit dated, but I like it for that reason.  Don't expect to
master everything from such a book quickly.
Of the four, Weygers' book is the one I specifically recommend.  It has a air of
"how to do it with almost nothing to start with" that I relish.  I especially
like his flue-driven coal forge, though I'll probably never build or use one
mysell.  I say read the whole thing, but don't assume you'll really need to do
all of it.  (Like the hardwood bearing.  Nice info.  Just mentioned it to Phlip
in a different context.  But not exactly an everyday need.)

At this point, you should use some of these books to learn the basics.  Then
when you confront a new problem, consult the books or consult theforge.

Best of luck,
Bruce
NJ

>>> j.keller at sasktel.net 2/28/2007 11:47 PM >>>
As I'm still fairly new to blacksmithing, I've been ordering in books 
from the library and reading through them.  Parts of them are a bit too 
advanced for me, but I think I'm getting a basic idea of how different 
things work.

These are the books I've read so far:

The Art of Blacksmithing Revised Edition (1995) - Alex W. Bealer
The Blacksmith's Craft (2005) - Charles McRaven
American Blacksmithing (1982) - Holstrom and Holford
The Complete Modern Blacksmith (1997) - Alexander G Weygers

Does anyone have any comments on any of these?  Are they good or bad 
references?  (I'm ignoring the parts that recommend using molten lead 
and asbestos for various things).

Also, are there books that I should be looking for that are better for 
beginners and/or better overall?

Thanks,
Justin
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