At some point in their lives everyone has used a hammer. Its a hammer that you would use to change the shape of the metal otherwise its some other tool that was used to hit the metal in order to change its shape as that does not happen on its own. In its most basic form, that is what a Blacksmiths does with this hammer.

Hammering a piece of hard cold metal into a new shape is time consuming, requires a lot of effort and may not be successful. Its good to remember that when you apply pressure or force to metals they can be brittle depending on the particular metal so you can cause breakage and cracks. Its for this reason and this reason alone that you find blacksmiths pick and choose the material that they work with because it must be malleable in order to withstain the forming process. And before he tries to hammer it into shape, he heats it up until it reaches a consistency that allow him to hammer it into shape the shape he wants without damaging the metal.

Once the metal is heated in the forge, it is placed on an anvil and the Blacksmiths uses a variety of different hammers to shape the metal as he wants. In general the largest hammers, with the biggest and heaviest heads are used to create the basic shape and then smaller and lighter hammers are used to create the finer shapes and finishes. The blacksmith’s hammer is his main working tool in shaping metal and he has be strong to apply the force to the hammer blow, accurate in hitting the exact spot, knowledgeable about which hammer to use when and also be able to work fast – from the time the metal leaves the forge it starts cooling off and within a short time it will have cooled to the extent that shaping it properly become impossible.

There are many different application of the Blacksmiths hammer in metal working.
· Firstly is the one everyone knows – hammering the hot iron on various parts of the metal with differing amounts of force and from different angles to form a shape. This can include bending it to from a curve or create a corner of a specific shape. The hammer is also used hammer on the flat sheet of iron to make it thinner and create more surface area. This is known as “drawing” the metal. The reverse of this is “upsetting” where the blacksmith hammers on the sides of the iron piece to make is shorter and thicker.
· The hammer is used along with a “punch” to literally punch holes in the metal. The punch is placed over the spot where the hole is to be made and then hit with the hammer to create the hole.
· The hammer is used along with a chisel to either cut or split the iron. If you are wanting to cut through the metal, then you will use one end to hold down the surface of the metal and then hit the hammer on the other end which will then cut through the metal. The chisel can also be used against the end of the iron piece to split it into a Y shape.
* There is another use for a hammer that comes in handy when you want to make rivets or when you want to join two pieces of metal together.
· And finally, when if two pieces of metal are heated to almost the melting point and then the then hammered so that they meld into one piece; that is called hammer welding.

Blacksmith Zone is a brand new website that is all about blacksmithing. Blacksmith Zone is your perfect place to join with the rest of your blacksmith friends. Come by Blacksmith Zone today to get your free ebook on Blacksmithing just for signing up for free to be a member on the site. Visit Blacksmith Zone today!
 

The picture of a Blacksmithing most people have in their minds is that of a big well muscled man standing in a shop with a raging furnace in a corner and using a huge hammer to shape a piece of red hot metal. With all of the new advances in tooling and technology that has been brought into blacksmithing, its good to remember that the basic concepts of blacksmithing remain the same. Except now the blacksmith does not have to be a huge overly muscled man with the ability to apply massive force to the hammer blow. A great invention came about in the early 19th centry when humas muscle was not needed to work metal into the various shapes because the power hammer could do that for them.

The first hammers that did not use direct muscles power to strike the metal were trip hammers. These were lifted to the top of their frame water power (and later by steam) and once they were at the top of the frame, were released and fell with their own weight to make the strike. The hammer blow is created by something we face every single day, and that item that produces the hammer blow is known as gravity. Power hammers are a development of the trip hammer. In the case of the blacksmith’s power hammer, energy is stored in the form of compressed air or steam and using a system of mechanical linkages this energy is added to the force of gravity and increases the force of the hammer blow. Power hammers are categorized according to the force applied at the time of the hammer hitting the metal and large industrial hammers exceed 100 tones in force.

The first power hammers were steam powered and continued to be in use till the middle of the 20th century. However, by the beginning of that century, smaller mechanical power hammers became popular with Blacksmithing . These hammers were powered by electric motors that powered the ram that drove the hammer. These were easier to use and since no boilers were required to create the steam pressure they occupied much less space and were also safer.  The motor driven hammers were also easier to control and set for the desired force behind the hammer blow.

Modern blacksmiths power hammers are extremely precise machines, often with micro chip based controls and moveable beds that allow for the easy placement and adjustment of the metal to be worked on. The versatility of the hammer is what makes it a great tool becuase you can not only do work that is included in the finer shaping and finishing stage, but also you can do the broad based work in the beginning stages.

The modern blacksmith metal artist uses power hammers that range between 25 to 500 pounds of strike force, although larger one are used for very large projects.

The blacksmith of yore used his muscles combined with his skill to produce metal objects of high quality that were often works of art. The power hammer removes the need for physical strength and allows those of slight build to shape metal and become Blacksmith and, in increasing numbers, metal artists.

Blacksmith Zone is a brand new website that is all about blacksmithing. Blacksmith Zone is your perfect place to join with the rest of your blacksmith friends. Come by Blacksmith Zone today to get your free ebook on Blacksmithing just for signing up for free to be a member on the site. Visit Blacksmith Zone today!
 

The first anvils were the large, heavy and hard stones that cavemen used a work benches. A piece of bone of flint would be placed atop this stone and a smaller stone held in the hand would be used to chip away at the bone or flint to create a shape, usually an arrow or spear head. In the millennia since then anvils have come a long way, but there basic function remains the same. The modern anvil, as we know it, came into existence in the Middle Ages when metal working was a major activity.

The upper or working area of the anvil, where the heated metal is placed is called the face. If you are worried about the tool loosing shape over time, thats not a concern becuse when the tool is made it is hardened and tempered to prevent exactly this from happening. The constant force of the hammer blows is transferred through the metal being worked to the anvil and a soft face will become misshapen and useless. The hardened face of the anvil will also absorb very little of the impact of a hammer blow so that the effect of each blow on the metal being worked will be both greater and more controllable. The tool is extremely important and you don’t want any defects in it or it won’t work correctly as well as you must have the tool completely smooth. Marks or scratches on the face will create unwanted impressions on the underside to the metal being worked on. An important aspect of maintaining the integrity of the face is to never let the hammer strike it directly since this will cause damage.

The anvil will normally have rounded edges since squared off ends result in sharp edges that that many cut into the metal that be being worked on. Some anvils have a step with a squared off edge at one end. This tool, if used correctly, will end up cutting metal by hammering at a specific point to where it ends up acting like a knife. Many blacksmiths do not use this design as they feel that the hammer force being applied to the edge of the face can, over time, cause it to warp.

If you take a closer look at anvils, you will see that they have more of a cone shaped projection that comes out of one side of the anvil. These are used for hammering the metal into curved shapes and since the hammer blows are around the cone and not directly on it; these do not need to be made out of hardened tempered steel. The cones are also used for stretching the metal by pulling it over the curved surface to make it both longer and thinner.

Some anvils have two holes on the side of the face. The square one is called the Hardy Hole and is designed to hold special forming and cutting tools which are used for bending and punching holes in the metal being worked.

The round hole is called the Pritchel hole which is used for punching holes in the metal. The spot where the hole is to be created is place directly over the Pritchel hole and a punching tool or bit is then hammered over the metal, punching a hole.

Blacksmith Zone is the best place to go for information that is up to date on blacksmithing. Blacksmith Zone is your perfect place to join with the rest of your blacksmith friends. Come by Blacksmith Zone today to get your free ebook on Blacksmithing just for signing up for free to be a member on the site. Visit Blacksmith Zone today!
 

Blacksmithing is one of the few trades, if any; where the artisan can make the basic tools he requires using the very same blacksmithing process for which he will be using the tools. Indeed, for many years, a blacksmith had to either go to another blacksmith to get his tools made (not always a good idea – after all, who wants to provide the competition with good equipment?) or make them himself.

Today’s Blacksmith has a huge variety of tools and equipment available. But the basics are few and have remained substantively unchanged over the centuries from the time when metal working began.

If you have a forge then you have one of the most important tools in a blacksmith shop. This is the fireplace where the metal to be worked on is heated to a temperature where it becomes malleable. The traditional forge was just a charcoal fired hearth with bellows to provide forced air to control the heat. Today’s blacksmiths still use the same system, although many of them now use modern electric or multi fuel furnaces.

Then there are the tongs which are used to lift the metal out of the forge and hold it while it is being worked on. A blacksmith’s shop will have a ranges of tongs in various sizes and shapes. The size of the tong will depend on the size of the metal being worked on and the shape of the gripping end will vary depending on how the material is to be held and whether it is to be hammered, bent or twisted.

The anvil is the Blacksmith workbench. It is made out of a large block or iron or steel and is where the heated metal is placed so it can be worked on. Accessories that are used with the anvil consist of dies called swages and fullers. The swage is like a stencil made of iron or steel and is placed between the anvil and the heated metal. The metal, when hammered, will be forced in to the cutouts in the swage and take their shape. The swage has an opposite and this tools is called a fuller and what a fuller does is put a depression in a variety of shapes into the metal. Swages and fuller are often used together. An example of this could be to create a small shallow dish with the fuller forcing the metal into the shape of the swage. Blacksmith shops will always have swages and fullers hanging around their shops because usually for every project they do they need to have a differen swage or fuller made.

A blacksmith shop will have a variety of hammers of different weights and sizes. The size of the hammer head will vary depending on the shape that is to be created with the largest ones being used for hammering the metal into shape and the smaller ones for doing the finishing.

Besides these basic tools, a Blacksmiths doing artistic work will have tools for embossing or etching on the metal.

There are many more tools that modern technology has provided the blacksmith, some using state of the art metal working technology. But if a blacksmith has the basic tools mentioned above, he is in business.

Blacksmith Zone is a brand new website that is all about blacksmithing. Blacksmith Zone is your perfect place to join with the rest of your blacksmith friends. Come by Blacksmith Zone today to get your free ebook on Blacksmithing just for signing up for free to be a member on the site. Visit Blacksmith Zone today!
 

The term Blacksmithing has an interesting origin.  The “smith” part of it comes from the old English word “smite” which means to hit. If people tell someone he is a “smith” then its a person whos work involved hitting and pounding that produces a finished product.  Depending on the type of metal being used, the artisan was known as a goldsmith, a coppersmith and so on. Since ferrous metal like iron and steel are black in color, the person who work on shaping the metals was known as a blacksmith.

One of the first materials that blacksmiths used and liked working with was wrought iron. When iron ore is smelted to create a useable metal, some quantity of carbon is usually to the molten metal. A good general rule of thumb is that you are going to have a more brittle piece of metal the higher the carbon content in the metal. High carbon contents of over 2% result in what is known as cast iron. This iron has a low melting point and can easily be pored into moulds and cast into various shapes. Iron with a carbon content of less than 0.25% and which has iron silicate or slag added to it is wrought iron. Wrought iron has a high melting point and the iron silicate give it a doughy or plastic like texture when it is subject to extreme heat.  The characteristic of not melting but becoming malleable when heated makes it the ideal metal of choice for Blacksmiths to use.

Most people aren’t familar with the face that wrought iron is both a process and the name of the commonly used metal. The word wrought means to work a metal into a shape by hammering, pressing, twisting and bending. In other words, a product created by any or all of these processes is said to be wrought. Unlike many other ferrous metals wrought iron is corrosion resistant and because of its rough finish, accepts painting or any other form of coating well.

However, in America wrought iron is no longer made and the last plant making wrought iron closed shop in 1969.The reasons for this were economic. Producing wrought iron is a labor intensive and expensive process and steel, which can replace wrought iron in many respects, is both cheaper and easier to produce. The only way a Blacksmithing can procure wrought iron today is to import it in the form of scrap metal from Europe. The perfect piece of metal that every blacksmith wants is really not even close to being possible.

Some of the greatest traits of wrought iron are also found in mild steel which is the replacement as it has a very low carbon content. What this means is that when we refer to a blacksmith’s products as being wrought iron, we are no longer talking of the material used in the manufacturing process but of the process itself.

Any ferrous metal can be “wrought” or heated and worked into shape so irrespective of the material a blacksmith is using, in common parlance it is still known as wrought iron. Most forged items that come from a blacksmith are now made of mild steel, which is not as easy as wrought iron to work with, but the advanced is forge and metal working technology and equipment have compensated for this this, so the quality and finish of the “wrought iron” products remain even though they are no longer made from iron.

Blacksmith Zone is a brand new website that is all about blacksmithing. Blacksmith Zone is your perfect place to join with the rest of your blacksmith friends. Come by Blacksmith Zone today to get your free ebook on Blacksmithing just for signing up for free to be a member on the site. Visit Blacksmith Zone today!
 

Some of the first formed and shaped pieces of metal date back to 5000 years ago and we only know about this because it was found on an archeological dig. History has taught us that the very early humans lived on a diet of wild crops and lots of hunting. The hunting was done using rocks, wooden clubs, large bones and sharpened wooden poles. The problem was that rocks, clubs and bones required both brute strength and close contact with the prey. The sharp pole cold be thrown from a distance but the point would often not be strong enough to pierce the hide of the animal. Farming was an unknown concept because sharpened bones and wood would break in the ground. All this changed with the discovery of metal and the development of the skill of shaping it. The persons who knew how to heat and shape metal into arrow and spear heads and also to make iron implements for tilling the soil were the first technicians of the human race. Once people started to get a hang of things and found that hunting and farming could be much more effieient, then blacksmiths were in hot demand.

The main focus of the first Blacksmith was to make weapons of death. From weapons for hunting it was an easy step to produce weapons of war – the same arrow and spear heads would be used for both animals and humans. In times of peace, when the demand for weapons of war dropped, blacksmiths had to find other products from which to earn their livelihood. It was during these periods in the ancient past that blacksmiths learned the more sophisticated aspects of their trade and began to make items of everyday use like vases, urns, goblets and the like. Blacksmiths were forced to keep refining their skills to meet the demands of the increasingly more demanding clientele. Of course, through the ages, Blacksmithing continued to produce ever more sophisticated weapons from knives and swords to iron bolts for crossbows to shields and armor and then to cannons along with farming equipment ranging from ploughs to horse shoes.

With the coming of the industrial age, the blacksmith found himself to be the lynchpin of progress. Simply put, the Industrial Revolution was made in part by this mans ability to make the parts and components to make this wonderful machine. As the machines became bigger and more sophisticated, so did the blacksmith skills in producing the parts needed for them. Sadly the machines the blacksmith has helping to build would soon replace him. By the end of the 19th century factories could produce metal work in larger numbers and more economically that the blacksmith could. The trade suffered a huge decline and by the time of World War II, the few blacksmiths left were only producing decorative wrought iron work.

However, in the 1960s metal started to be used more and more in architecture and furniture. The demand for artistic iron work also began to grow and the industry underwent a revival and today, while it is no longer a lynchpin of industry, is a viable and growing business.

Through the ages, the tools and equipment used by Blacksmithing have undergone immense change. The first blacksmiths would not know what to make of a modern forge with its electric forges and furnaces and mechanical presses and hammers. The ABC’s of blacksmithing have never changed and that is heat the metal and then you can shape it. Perhaps if the ghost from the past saw this, he would feel a kinship with the present.

Blacksmith Zone is a brand new website that is all about blacksmithing. Blacksmith Zone is your perfect place to join with the rest of your blacksmith friends. Come by Blacksmith Zone today to get your free ebook on Blacksmithing just for signing up for free to be a member on the site. Visit Blacksmith Zone today!
 

Archeological finds show that the art of Blacksmith has been known to mankind for around 6000 years, making it one of the oldest professions known to man.

If you look back at some of those things that really were important in moving the human race forward, the discovery of metal was exactly one of those. There were a lot of things about metal that people really liked, but people were stuck on the fact that they weren’t sure how to make the best use out of it. With the understanding that heating metal would soften it so that it could be formed into useable shapes came the beginning of blacksmithing. Blacksmiths learned how to heat metal in a fire until it was soft enough to be beaten into shapes like spear and arrow heads and pointed lengths of iron that could be used for tilling the earth.  With the ability to both hunt and grow crops more efficiently than had been done earlier using stones and carved bones, the human race began to prosper.

The modern Blacksmithing has progressed a long way from his simple beginnings. The principle bechind blacksmithing which is the way you head and shape metal as not changed although you will find a lot of new tools, hammers, and presses that will help you work with this very principal. The modern blacksmith now works with complex alloys and is also involved in the heat treatment of metals to make the products stronger and more resilient as well and creating finishes that improve the esthetic appeal of the works he produces.

The modern Blacksmith is no longer just and artisan but a skilled technician. He must understand the properties of various metals and alloys to know what is best suited for what product. He must also understand associated skills like welding and painting since today’s blacksmith is required to be able to produce a finished product and not something that has be sent to another workshop for someone else to complete.

The modern blacksmith can be either a single person working in his own forge or a workman in a large factory. The single (or sometimes cooperative) blacksmith set up usually produces one off items which are made to order, like specially designed architectural fittings (gates, grills, wall fixtures etc.). If he has an artistic temperament, he may be an artist who produces intricate works of shaped and welded metal art which can range for delicate domestic table decorations to huge works of outdoor sculpture. These blacksmiths will have modern equipment in their workshops to save time, money and ensure that the best qualities are achieved, but a great deal of the molding and shaping work, because of its uniqueness, will still be done by hand.

The blacksmith who works in a large production unit will need to be able to operate the equipment, often very complex, that is used in the mass production process. There are a lot of technical drawings that need to be read and deciphered in order to creat that final finished project.

Whatever be the nature of blacksmithing work being done, a good blacksmith needs to have a keen eye for shapes and sizes, quickness of hand and eye, an understanding of the qualities of the metals be used and the ability to judge a material’s temperature by eye. That means that he must know, by looking at the color of heated metal, whether it is ready to be worked on.

Blacksmith Zone is a brand new website that is all about blacksmithing. Blacksmith Zone is your perfect place to join with the rest of your blacksmith friends. Come by Blacksmith Zone today to get your free ebook on Blacksmithing just for signing up for free to be a member on the site. Stop by the new community full of Blacksmither’s today!