4 Blacksmithing

Blacksmithing is another form of fabrication, used primarily to form steel. For welders, forging is a useful skill set.

There are an infinite number of tools that can be used to form steel. We will only need to worry about a few categories of them.

Anvils:

The Anvil is the center of the blacksmith’s shop. Anvils have five major components:

1. Horn: used to bend the steel in a round shape as well as “draw out” the material.
2. Face: used to flatten the steel in any direction. One side of the face usually will have a rounded edge that allows you to start a scroll or create a bend without pinching the steel.
3. Step: used to offset the steel or form unusual shapes that a flat surface won’t allow.
4. Hardy hole: A place to put hardy tools into. The hardy can be viewed as a custom anvil extension allowing you to place a variety of functional shapes that would normally not be included in the anvil.
5. Pritchel hole: this is a round hole mostly used to punch through the material but can also hold a variety of other tools

Forges:

The forge is the most important tool in the blacksmith’s shop. Without a forge, the smith must use hand torches to heat the steel which makes it hard to heat the material consistently. There are two types of forges, gas, and coal. Both have their pros and cons.

Tongs:

Tongs are the blacksmith’s hands; they hold the material at a distance as to not burn themselves. There are a variety of tong types that hold a variety of material shapes. The blacksmith’s tongs are usually the first tool made by a blacksmith.

Hammers:

If you thought there were a lot of different types of tongs, wait until you see all the hammers available to the blacksmith. Each hammer has a specific role to play in the metal forming process. If the wrong hammer is used, you run the risk of ruining the piece or even the tools.

The hammer should never be swung downwards. All your energy should be spent lifting the hammer and letting it drop. If the hot metal isn’t moving the way you want it too, use a bigger hammer, not a stronger blow.

Files:

Files are used to form the final shape of objects created in the forge. Files come in many different sizes, shapes and coarseness. Rasps are also in the file family and are used to coarsely remove material

Hole punches and chisels:

Hole punches and chisels are used to create holes and cut material. In order to successfully cut a hole through hot steel, you must allow the punch to move past the steel into the pritchel hole. In the image above are some examples:

• A: Hole Punch
• B: Drift
• C: Center Punch
• D: Chisel

Hardy tools:

A hardy is designed to sit within the anvil to allow for many different types of tools.

1. Mandrels are horn shapes that allow for smaller circles than the anvil horn would allow.
2. Bending forks are used to create ornate scrolls and s-bends.
3. Fullers allow you to “draw out” or extend the steel into a smaller profile.
4. Half rounds or ball posts can be used to shape thin sheet metals.

Numerous other shaping faces with as many variations as possible allow a full range of metal forming.