[TheForge] Start up

[Peter Fels & Phoebe Palmer]

Hi Nathan; Thanks for serving.
The first 2 places i'd go would be anvilfire.com and iforgeiron.com. Between them, tucked away in their corners, are a good , comprehensive education in the art.
At anvilfire.com, for example, there are sections on finding and choosing an anvil ( so you don't have to do it twice), building your own forge, and so on.
In addition, the best place to learn, see, and even get your hands dirty is your local ABANA ( Artist Blacksmith Assn North America) affiliate chapter. Their web site is ABANA.org, i think.
Most of the states have a blacksmith's Assn in them, and most of them hold meets and conferences. Very often there will be smithing demonstrations, sometimes teaching stations and often tailgate sales selling the right equipment. That's the place to learn the most in the shortest time at a modest cost.
It should be noted that it's possible to gather plain old junk and cobble together a functioning smithy able to turn out fine work,
with a very small cash outlay.
It's also possible to spend thousands of dollars on a smithy and turn out junk.
Expect to make lots of mistakes and grow your very own junk pile of rejects along the way.
Have fun and good luck!

On Aug 27, 2014, at 8:08 AM, Nathan wrote:

To all and any who wish to respond,
      I am a recent addition to The Forge mailing list.  I am looking to start doing some metal work in the fashion of a blacksmith.  I have been interested for sometime and would like to start gathering the required tools or instruments needed.  I plan on starting with basic concepts and branch out from there.  My oldest son, he is 8, wants to help me make swords and knives (what 8 year old doesn't), but that is a little advanced I presume.  So I turn to the experience of the members here and ask for advice.  What would I need to do some basic blacksmithing?  What is a appropriate sized anvil?  If I would like to use coal for my forge what type and where would I find it?  Are there anyways to get an inexpensive anvil that is not a railroad tie or random peice of metal?  Any advice you have is appreciated.  Thank you.

Nathan
		 	   		  
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