Reddit mentions: The best metal work books
We found 142 Reddit comments discussing the best metal work books. We ran sentiment analysis on each of these comments to determine how redditors feel about different products. We found 47 products and ranked them based on the amount of positive reactions they received. Here are the top 20.
1. The Complete Modern Blacksmith
- Crestline
Features:
Specs:
Color | Black |
Height | 10.96 Inches |
Length | 7.73 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | February 1997 |
Weight | 1.42418621252 Pounds |
Width | 0.6 Inches |
2. The Backyard Blacksmith
- Crestline
Features:
Specs:
Height | 10.3 Inches |
Length | 8.3 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | August 2009 |
Weight | 2.02 Pounds |
Width | 1 Inches |
3. Build Your Own Metal Working Shop From Scrap (Complete 7 Book Series)
- Fits 4 x 5 index cards
- Fits up to 100 cards per case
- Features snap closure and includes 5 dividers and adhesive label tabs
- Includes poly dividers for easy organization
- 4 Pack, Assorted colors
Features:
4. New Edge of the Anvil: A Resource Book for the Blacksmith
Used Book in Good Condition
Specs:
Height | 10 Inches |
Length | 8 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | September 1994 |
Weight | 1.34922904344 Pounds |
Width | 0.61 Inches |
5. The Charcoal Foundry (Build Your Own Metal Working Shop from Scrap, Vol. 1)
Specs:
Height | 8.5 Inches |
Length | 5.75 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Weight | 0.16 Pounds |
Width | 0.25 Inches |
6. The Complete Book of Locks and Locksmithing (Complete Book of Locks & Locksmithing)
- COMFORT: This Burgmeister leather strap is double sewn and has a fine embossed structure. By using genuine leather strap provides cozy touch around the wrist. The elegant pin buckle completes an overall high-quality picture.
- QUALITY: The round watch case is made of solid stainless steel (316L), particularly resistant to acid and corrosion whilst the embossed Burgmeister logo on the case back shows its high value and the screwed watch bottom ensures water resistance.
- EXTREME SCRATCH-RESISTANT & HIGH READABILITY: The antireflection coating mineral glass of the watch ensures high readability even for unfavorable light incidences. The special hardened mineral glass provides an outstanding scratch resistance.
- GUARANTY: Our brand has the highest standards when it comes to the selection of movements which are characterized by high reliability and accuracy. Each watch passes through a detailed inspection after assembled; 100% satisfaction with 24 months warranty.
- PACKAGING: The elegant designed dial makes the watch an unobtrusive companion in the office or at an evening event. The watch is packed in an original Burgmeister gift box which is perfect for birthday, Valentine's Day, Christmas or any other occasion.
Features:
Specs:
Height | 9.25 Inches |
Length | 7.25 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Weight | 2.12084696044 Pounds |
Width | 1.5 Inches |
7. Complete Metalsmith: Professional Edition
Used Book in Good Condition
Specs:
Height | 9 Inches |
Length | 8.25 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Weight | 2.3 Pounds |
Width | 1.25 Inches |
8. Working Wood 1 & 2: the Artisan Course with Paul Sellers
- Working Wood 1 & 2 is part of a comprehensive course in woodworking and accompanies 7 DVDs.
- Projects include: spatulas, spoons, cutting boards, bowls, three-legged stools, bookshelf unit, Shaker-style dovetailed box, chairside table and a European workbench.
Features:
Specs:
Height | 2.5 Inches |
Length | 11 Inches |
Weight | 2.25 Pounds |
Width | 9 Inches |
9. Shotgun News Gunsmithing Projects Book
- Brand new
- cabinet
Features:
Specs:
Height | 12.25 Inches |
Length | 10.25 Inches |
Weight | 2.31044450576 Pounds |
Width | 1 Inches |
10. The Charcoal Foundry (Build Your Own Metal Working Shop From Scrap Serie Book 1)
- Butterworth-Heinemann
Features:
Specs:
Release date | October 2011 |
11. A Blacksmithing Primer: A Course in Basic and Intermediate Blacksmithing
- Used Book in Good Condition
Features:
Specs:
Height | 10 Inches |
Length | 8 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | January 2004 |
Weight | 0.9810570659 Pounds |
Width | 0.55 Inches |
12. The Metal Lathe (Build Your Own Metal Working Shop from Scrap)
Used Book in Good Condition
Specs:
Height | 8.75 Inches |
Length | 5.75 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Weight | 0.35 Pounds |
Width | 0.25 Inches |
13. Locksmithing, Second Edition
Specs:
Height | 9.2 Inches |
Length | 7.3 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | January 2010 |
Weight | 1.58953290902 pounds |
Width | 0.9 Inches |
14. Making Simple Model Steam Engines
Crowood Press
Specs:
Height | 9.7 Inches |
Length | 7.6 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Weight | 1.873929227 Pounds |
Width | 0.6 Inches |
15. The Home Blacksmith: Tools, Techniques, and 40 Practical Projects for the Home Blacksmith (CompanionHouse Books) Beginner's Guide; Step-by-Step Directions & Over 500 Photos to Help You Start Smithing
The Home Blacksmith Tools Techniques and 40 Practical Projects for the Blacksmith Hobbyist
Specs:
Height | 9 Inches |
Length | 7.25 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Weight | 1.37568451488 Pounds |
Width | 0.5 Inches |
16. The DIY Blacksmithing Book (Blacksmith Books) (Volume 1)
Specs:
Height | 9 Inches |
Length | 6 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Weight | 0.23 Pounds |
Width | 0.16 Inches |
17. Perfect Match: Earring Designs For Every Occasion
Used Book in Good Condition
Specs:
Height | 7.999984 Inches |
Length | 7.999984 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | June 2008 |
Weight | 0 Pounds |
Width | 0.51999896 Inches |
18. The Backyard Blacksmith: Traditional Techniques for the Modern Smith (Backyard Series)
Used Book in Good Condition
Specs:
Height | 10 Inches |
Length | 8.125 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | June 2006 |
Weight | 1.1243575362 Pounds |
Width | 0.5 Inches |
19. The Lockback Knife: From first Design to Completed Folding
- Used Book in Good Condition
Features:
Specs:
Height | 10.75 Inches |
Length | 8.75 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Weight | 1.3 Pounds |
Width | 0.75 Inches |
🎓 Reddit experts on metal work books
The comments and opinions expressed on this page are written exclusively by redditors. To provide you with the most relevant data, we sourced opinions from the most knowledgeable Reddit users based the total number of upvotes and downvotes received across comments on subreddits where metal work books are discussed. For your reference and for the sake of transparency, here are the specialists whose opinions mattered the most in our ranking.
Awesome! Glad to see another person interested, smithing is fun! Getting started is actually pretty easy as long as long as you aren't planning on crafting gorgeous blades right off the get-go. You really only need a few things:
An anvil can be pricey, even used, if you get a real one but a piece of railroad can be obtained pretty cheaply though not always easily. Don't pay more than $2-4 a pound for an anvil if you buy a used one. The heavier, the better but starting out it should at least weigh 60+ lbs, preferably 150+. Don't try to use a jeweler's anvil or a cast iron anvil. There's some good videos covering types of anvils and where to find them. Everything else will be easy and cheap to obtain.
You can find all the info you need to get started by searching YouTube for knife making or knife smithing. Walter Sorrells in particular has a good channel with some high quality videos. He focuses more on making knives from steel blanks than on forging, but he does have a couple of good forge videos and happens to have spent some time studying under Japanese smiths so he has some decent info on forging Japanese swords and knives if you are interested. Honestly, for a normal knife/sword the forging isn't that hard, it's the finishing part that takes all the time, effort, and skill. (Not to downplay the skills of most medieval smiths, they had to be much more precise in their smithing than we do today because we have power sanders and grinders to quickly fix mistakes). Most YouTube channels will focus on smithing knives instead of swords and I recommend you start with the same even though swords are awesome. It's the same techniques and process, but knives are cheaper to practice on and swords are more difficult to get right.
If you want or prefer a book, there are a few good ones for sale on Amazon. The Backyard Blacksmith, The Complete Modern Blacksmith, The $50 Knife Shop, How to Make Knives, and The Wonder of Knife Making are all great beginner books (only the last two deal with actually making knives). When you get some practice under your belt, Jim Hrisoulas has a couple of books on bladesmithing that are designed for experienced smiths who want to build better blades and deals with swords specifically.
Depends on what tech level you want to maintain.
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First up, natural resources.
Trees. Lots and lots of trees. You need paper, fuel, charcoal, wood for construction... wood is *the* most precious resource humans have.
Water. Goes without saying, but ideally in the form of a river that can be tapped for hydropower.
Productive gardens. Which doesn't have to mean good farmland, if you can build the soil yourself. But you do need to feed yourself, as well as produce fibre (animal or plant based) for clothing, linen, rope etc.
Clay. You can use it for making waterproof tiles, for roofs, aqueducts, bathtubs etc. It is necessary for lining furnaces. Humanities second oldest material, behind wood.
Limestone, for cement, mortar, and a flux in your iron furnaces.
Sand. It's coarse, it's rough, it's irritating... but it's used everywhere. If you want glass, you need sand. If you want to do sandcasting, you need sand. If you want to make concrete... but I repeat myself.
Iron ore. You can recycle iron a lot, but if you want to be sustainable or to expand, you need your own source of iron. Or you can go back to the stone age, taking you back five millennia rather than two centuries. Life is a lot easier with steel shovels, knives, axes, saws (and screws!); and the big advantage that engines have over horses is that they don't need feeding when not in use.
That's resources. I've probably left some off (copper ore, for example), but that's harder to find that bog iron. No electricity, sorry.
​
Next up, tools, and the skills to use them.
The first thing you're going to need is a machine shop. You can build one from scrap metal, so you should be able to replicate the machine shop from new steel. You're going to have to include a furnace too, which fortunately you can build using stuff you find in the wild. These will let you build all the other tools that are going to be required.
Other basic tools, I've already mentioned. Stuff like knives and shovels, which also include wood to a large degree in their manufacture. Lanterns, since I'm discounting electricity here, but even if I wasn't lightbulbs are probably too difficult for a small community to manufacture. Bicycles, and pedal systems for powering machinery.
Glass production. I'm not as familiar with this, so I don't know what tools you're going to need for it. Glass gives you jars, a reusable and sustainable canning method. Better lanterns. Windows and greenhouses. Perhaps most importantly, reaction vessels for your chemical industry. If you can't do chemical processing, you're going to struggle to manufacture essential medicines. You're going to need other chemicals too, like sulphuric acid. Another book on the list I need to buy.
A brick press. One of the successes from the folks at Open Surce Ecology. Other designs are of course available, at the expense of requiring more work.
Stuff to manufacture paper and paper products. Used for wiping up and wiping off. Used for writing. Makes good storage boxes that can be composted when you're finished with them. Speaking of sanitation products, there's an Indian invention for making sanitary pads that would be of use. It's been extended to produce incontinence pads too.
The list goes on and on, and needs to be properly fleshed out. I haven't mentioned sewing machines, looms, water turbines, mills for grinding corn, spectacles, buttons, threshers, scythes, bread ovens, and all the other machines you could build with your shop. SCISSORS.
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Finally, skills.
You need farmers/gardeners, first and foremost. No food, everyone gets hungry, they can't concentrate on their work. But you shouldn't need more than 10-20% of your population engaged in agriculture. Lumberjacks too, and shepherds.
Skilled artisans. Carpenters, masons... and machinists. Seamstresses and tailors. Everything, really, you would expect to find in a medieval market town. Fortunately, you'll be able to free up a lot more labour than they had back then, thanks to more efficient food production.
Professionals. A doctor-surgeon, who can treat animals too. You probably can't sustain a med school (just how big is this community?), so you're going to have to train you new professionals with apprenticeships, like every other job. Chemists. A librarian - you want to keep a big library, including lots of information that won't see day to day use. Teachers. Judges... definitely judges, if everything has collapsed and you have to provide dispute resolution within the community.
Like the tools list, this is only a small number of the skills you'll need. Hopefully your population will be good at learning from books, since you won't be able to support lots of specialisation.
Well, that was a longer post than I intended. Possibly more detailed than was asked for...
Easier than becoming a barber, harder than becoming a gardener. It depends on location. I can only speak to the U.S. and as a lock manufacturer not a locksmith.
First let's define scope: a locksmith is someone who does more than copy keys, but does less than manufacture locks. The bread and butter of course is making key copies, but they also charge premiums for lockouts and master keying facilities.
House keys can be copied by a Redbox like robot. More obscure keys (think 1991 Pontiac Firebird with GM VATS resistors) need a trip to a locksmith. You'll also call up a locksmith for lockouts - usually it's a bit different business that serves car lockouts vs home lockouts. Lastly if you are a landlord and need to master-key a building, you'll set up a relationship with a local locksmith to architect the system for you, and return to them when you need to rekey doors. Depending how oldschool this is, it can be a system on pen and paper, MS-DOS (not even joking), or a web dashboard.
In general locksmithing is a semi-protected profession. It is not anywhere near as rigorous as being a doctor or lawyer which is what one initially thinks. The closest thing is a certification process through a private organization similar to computer certs like CISSP or A+ but through an organization like ALOA or SAVTA (a subsidiary of ALOA) and a license through a government agency.
Locksmith certifications are issued by private companies. Locksmith licenses are issued by state governments. Certifications require a test of knowledge (picking, safes, automotive, how to hinge and hang a door). Licenses lean towards a one page proof of identity and application fee.
An ALOA certification doesn't just test knowledge of how to pick locks. It also requires knowledge of:
License requirements vary from state to state. There are 15 states that license locksmiths (AL,CA, IL, LA, NJ, NC, OK, TN and TX) and 35 that don't. If you don't need a locksmith license you likely need a 'contractor' license if you are doing more than $500 in work. California for instance needs both a locksmith license and a contractor license.
I'll give you two extremes. Virginia is wild. You could start locksmithing today with a drill. See this NPR story for more. Buy some deadbolts at Home Depot for $35 and a drill for $100. Sign up with a callcenter. Wait by the phone. Charge someone $200 to drill their lock.
Texas on the other hand is one of the most regulated environments. If you think taxi cab medallions where hard to come by, try locksmithing in Texas. It's run by a locksmith guild and there are only two paths:
In general people are for licensing but certification is a hotly debated topic in the locksmith community. ALOA Security Professionals Association, Inc. is a private for profit company in charge of most of the certifications in the U.S. The same arguments for or against are found in pretty much every other private credentialing organization.
Judge for yourself.
But the TLDR for most places is:
If on the other hand, you just want to learn to pick locks get a kit on Amazon for ~$20.
Bill Philips' books on locksmithing are pretty good. See both The Complete Book of Locks and Locksmithing and Locksmithing, 2nd Edition
I too was in your position just a few years back. Here is a list of my recommendations for the entry-level versions of the items you listed above as well as some other things I like to have handy.
Now for my personal suggestions;
I hope this list helps and I wish you well on your journey in beginning Bladesmithing!
Spike knives are great to practice knifemaking on. They will be decorative however since, as you pointed out, they do not contain enough carbon to heat treat or keep an edge. But do work with them; it's free steel and you can practice how to go about profiling a knife on them.
As far as hammers go, I have known accomplished smiths who are happy with the hammer they picked up at a flea market. I've also known those who have made their own, or those that have bought from Centaur Forge or from other smiths.
It seems everyone has their own idea of what works for them. Quality of steel, balance, and ergonomics are obviously the main priorities, but the rest is up to you.
At this stage, just use what's economical until you start refining your smithing style.
Pick up The Backyard Blacksmith and The $50 Knife Shop. If you've got time, I would also invest in The Art of Blacksmithing, mainly for it's ideas on projects and moving metal.
As for your forge questions, I'm not sure what the best answer is as I primarily work with coal and only occasionally work with gas. The gas forges I use are pretty big, so I don't have experience in your model. Maybe try to stick a RR spike in there, close the doors, and see how it does? You can make small knives for now until you figure out the direction you want to take. Hope this all helped, good luck!
Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, which might be considered the genre defining work, would actually be a decent reference. It's not information packed, but it outlines a process that would be achievable by a 19th-century engineer, in a way that your modern McMaster-Carr dependent engineer couldn't.
But I am a little confused as to what exactly you're asking. Essentially, there are a couple steps of social, technical, and practical problems:
A. Use tools like crop rotation, the iron moldboard plow, and selective breeding etc. so a smaller fraction of the population needs to be farmers.
B. Use natural energy resources, interchangeable parts, and the assembly line to reform metalurgy, textile, and other industries so that each individual is more productive.
C. Distribute and collate information using, variously, the printing press, telegraph, and computer (I may have skipped a step in there) to speed the process by which the system improves itself.
Another resource you might be interested in, with slightly more realistic goals, would be Build Your Own Metal Working Shop From Scrap which takes you from raw scrap metal (or, if you felt compelled to do so, from a charcoal furnace, though after proving to yourself that you can make iron from ore, steel from iron, and bars or wire from ingots, it's more effective to just go down to the local scrapyard and buy it by the ton) to a modern machine shop, complete with lathe and mill. I don't have it, but as another reader of this genre, that book is definitely on my wish list!
I've taught metal casting before and I think I have some relevant experience.
For melting:
Plus other assorted items like regulators, flux, safety gear, ect...
OK! now you can melt aluminum, pewter, nickle silver, brass, bronze, copper, silver, and gold. Next up is figuring out how to cast it into interesting shapes, this is done by using one of the many different types of molds.
All items I linked are just me quickly looking things up. Cheaper prices most certainly can be found with more than 5 minutes of googling. This list of equipment is also not exhaustive. I ain't gunna write the whole budget for you so your going to have to look into some more of the details.
There are loads of metal smiths out there on places like Youtube that is worth looking into. There are also books like The Complete Metal Smith and loads of others.
There is a great book for beginners called "The Backyard Blacksmith" by Lorelei Sims that you could benefit tremendously from. It has a section in there about how to layout a forge area that I think works really well. If you search for it at amazon you can do the "look inside" thing and actually see that page before you buy it. But I recommend buying it, its a hardcover with great info and pictures along with a few beginner projects. its definitely worth the $12 us. Good luck with it. heres a link to it http://www.amazon.com/Backyard-Blacksmith-Lorelei-Sims/dp/0785825673/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1463055951&sr=1-1&keywords=the+backyard+blacksmith
Not so ...
Engines have been around a LOT longer than the internet. Before you could google anything, you could find books on the subject. There are lots and lots of books on model engineering and building small engines of various sorts. I have some books on building miniature steam engines that are over 100 years old.
This one isn't terribly old:
https://www.amazon.com/Miniature-Internal-Combustion-Engines-Malcolm/dp/1861269218/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1539635163&sr=8-1&keywords=building+internal+combustion+engines
And it's a pretty good book - not really a beginners book or detailed how to get started book, but good nonetheless. As others have mentioned, I'd recommend building a simple steam engine first.
Here's a good book for doing that:
https://www.amazon.com/Making-Simple-Model-Steam-Engines/dp/1861267738/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1539635352&sr=1-1&keywords=model+steam+engines
It is more of a beginner's book with complete plans for several simple engines.
Good luck!
I would first like to say that I agree with everyone else here who recommends buying a used one and restoring it (or just keeping looking for a good deal, they're out there).
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That being said, there is a series of books available by David Gingery that has instructions on how to build basic metalworking machines from scrap. The first book in the series builds a foundry that enables you to cast aluminum, the second book builds a lathe, third a shaper, fourth a milling machine, etc. Seven books in total I think.
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If you do look into going this route, I'd strongly recommend looking into some of the more modern forms of sand casting, specifically the "lost foam" method which seems to be a lot easier to get consistent results from.
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Additionally, there are quite a few youtube series that build lathes either directly from Gingery's designs, or inspired by them. I was introduced to Gingery via the Makercise series and he, if I remember correctly, mostly follows Gingery's designs (he also covers lost foam casting as well)
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Note: if this series seems interesting to you, it would be cheaper to buy the hardcover book containing the whole series (or all 7 individual softcover books as a set) than it would be to buy each individually. However, if all you care about is the lathe, then just the first two should be enough to get you started (and you can always pick up the others later if you find yourself still interested in proceeding)
I think it has been easiest for me to pick a project and get the tools I need to complete it. Rinse and repeat.
Working Wood 1 & 2 is a great primer for getting started with hand tools. Lots of projects that teach technique, tool advice, etc. Paul Sellers' website is also a great resource.
The Anarchist Tool Chest is also a great resource for sorting out hand tools.
Greetings from /r/metalfoundry!
Using a break drum forge, probably not. Or at least, if you do reach sufficient temperatures, it will only be at the cost of massively inefficient waste of fuel.
A couple other things:
When you talk about "collecting iron with a strong magnet", I hope you are talking about random discarded scrap metal. If you are thinking about finding iron ore, then the vast majority of that is in the form non-magnetic iron oxide. Also, you may have better luck investing in even a lower end metal detector compared to just trying to use a high power magnet.
You can't just use a regular ceramic crucible. You need to use a crucible with a lid that you seal up air-tight with clay. If air gets to your hot iron, it will both burn out the carbon in your steel, and burn the iron into iron oxide and that won't do you any good. The lid needs to seal on very tightly because ideal gas law means the air that remains in the crucible is going to raise in pressure along with the temperature, and you don't want the lid to pop.
You need to use a combination of scrap iron, crushed glass (cullet) and a blend of other additives depending on what is in the scrap you're starting with to get your desired alloy. At a minimum, usually at least a little carbon (crushed hardwood charcoal) Other additives may depend on the material used to make your crucible. You need to gradually heat it up until well past the melting point of iron. You need to hold it at that temperature long enough for the carbon to distribute through the iron. You need to allow the crucible to cool at least down to forge-welding temperature. If you use a lower grade crucible (eg. modified terra cotta flowerpot, which I don't recommend), there's a decent chance you will shatter the thing when extracting your iron/steel. Also, don't expect your foundry to survive terribly long when you run it at the temperatures needed for crucible steel.
Getting back to how you would heat this crucible, The cheapest setup would be a Gingery style backyard charcoal foundry. It's something like a 7 gallon bucket lined with a few inches of refractory material (It can be made using about $40 worth of stuff from the hardware store), You make a raised mound for the crucible, a tangential hole at the bottom, and a lid with a hole in the center. You allow it to dry for a few days (more weather depending), then bake slowly using a wood fire to harden. You put your prepared crucible in place, pack the thing loosely with charcoal all the way to the top, light the charcoal. Once started, you hook up a leaf blower to the bottom hole and hit it. Now you get to constantly add more charcoal until the process is complete, and it does burn pretty fast.
Even if you do all this correctly, you can still have failures. Niels Provos has a playlist where he attempts to make crucible steel, and only has limited success.
Not in my field, but my best friend is a Blacksmith, and his bible is The Edge of The Anvil. As a non-blacksmith, I've often referred to it when I've wanted to build something out of steel. A great book and worth buying.
Black powder kits are fun and easy, but i think you would be bored with one. It sounds like you have some basic skills and knowledge already, and most blackpowder kits are designed for people with little to no experience. Projects I give our shop apprentice: Stock refinishing (easy to do, hard to do well. big money maker), polishing with draw files, sandpaper, and polishing wheels (another huge money maker. takes lots and lots of practice, but little skills more than patience), AR15 builds (not incredibly cheap, but damn near impossible to fuck up if you take your time and do your research) Sight installation (providing you have access to a mill or drill press, drilling & tapping holes in a straight line is a big deal in Gunsmithing. Shot out barrels, or even pieces of cold rolled 1018 steel are good scraps to practice).
This is also a great book. it has some advanced stuff in it, but lots of beginner wood & steel projects, as well as practice exercises for machining and using hand tools. http://www.amazon.com/Gunsmithing-Projects-Shotgun-News-Staff/dp/1934622540
Take a look at:
Your friend will have to answer what she wants to do specifically:
Each of these are unique in & of themselves. She should check out /r/Locksmith & /r/lockpicking -- there is quite a bit of overlap, people are friendly & helpful. If there is a TOOOL or Locksport chapter in that area, I'd suggest checking it out to interface with other locksmiths & see about gaining an apprenticeship.
My understanding is that you can either get the apprenticeship & show that you have skills/some experience, or you at least start with the book & Foley-Belsaw & then try to get an apprenticeship. Myself, I've yet to take it that far -- I'm just a hobbyist. Just be aware that it is a male dominated industry by & large as with most things. I've heard women are more adept to a lot of things in the locksmithing industry, however.
I hope your friend pursues this! :)
As well as buying that book, i also bought this book from Amazon.
The Sims book is a great resource for getting started. She walks you through the very beginnings and I loved her photos.
The Weygers book is just insane in terms of what you come to understand a qualified blacksmith is actually capable of creating. It's not as polished, but I think that you could pretty much maintain a small society with the information in that book and the proper skills. He has a special focus on tool making (he's a wood carver and looks to have made each of his tools) as well.
The Complete Metalsmith is a great reference book covering nearly every aspect of metal forming.
For tools, keep it basic. jeweler's saw (and a lot of blades), one flat and one half-round file, needle files, a couple of hammers (I'd suggest a deadblow or rawhide and a ball-peen, maybe a cross-peen if you're feeling ambitious). You don't need a charcoal block to solder on, just a surface that is heat resistant (firebrick, elevated hardware cloth, steel), heck, you don't even need to solder to make jewelry, look up cold connections.
A lot of the tools you need can be bought from a local hardware store for the fraction of the cost of buying from a jewelry specific supplier. None of my hammers cost more than $25 from Amazon and are perfectly serviceable. I'd pass on the knew concepts saw and bonny doon hammer for now.
Don't scoff at "student" tools, mine still serve me well. You're still very early in the learning stage, get the basic tools so you can get the basic skills down. Beth Millner makes beautiful pieces with what are often considered the most basic of jewelry skills.
I read 3 books, one which was not very good and 2 that were phenomenal.
My favorite was probably The Backyard Blacksmith. It had great information and detail. I couldn't have been happier.
The Home Blacksmith was pretty good and has given me some projects for the future.
The one I did NOT like was The DIY Blacksmithing Book. It was garbage. It was little more than a pamphlet. looking around in google and youtube provided MUCH more useful information than this book. For a few dollars more the other books were MASSIVELY more helpful. The "DIY Blacksmithing Book" was a complete waste of money.
This book has basic wire work instructions and lots of pictures for inspiration. I’ve had it for a long time and loaned it out to friends, always a hit.
Perfect Match: Earring Designs For Every Occasion
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1600610684/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_mO1MDb7R16QYP
Edit to add - for earring gems/beads check SmallLotGems on Etsy. She sells in small quantities perfect for earrings. Also FabulousRocks on Etsy.
you might get away with melting Aluminium, but to be honest if you plan on doing casting you'll want a forge and a foundry. the foundry is a better shape to handle a crucible, and inappropriate for most forging - but it can be done.
but for that you want to go with something like a kaowool and hot face - if you want portable.
have you looked at http://www.amazon.com/Charcoal-Foundry-Build-Metal-Working-ebook/dp/B005STTBBM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1463618766&sr=8-2&keywords=gingery
Get him Paul Sellers book
http://www.amazon.com/Working-Wood-Artisan-Course-Sellers/dp/0956967302
Tools, clamps, etc are great gifts but the gift of knowledge is the best of all
Backyard Blacksmith like Raeladar recommended, by Lorelei Sims
http://www.amazon.com/The-Backyard-Blacksmith-Traditional-Techniques/dp/1592532519/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1341272167&sr=8-1&keywords=backyard+blacksmith
The Complete Bladesmith by Jim Hrisoulas has a TON of detailed info like forgewelding (important throughout blacksmithing, not just bladesmithing)
http://www.amazon.com/The-Complete-Bladesmith-Forging-Perfection/dp/1581606338/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1341272167&sr=8-4&keywords=backyard+blacksmith
and The Complete Modern Blacksmith by Alexander Weygers has good info as well
http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Modern-Blacksmith-Alexander-Weygers/dp/0898158966/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_c
my library is growing from these books as well as the forge I'm putting together.
I am by no means an experienced blacksmith, but I found this book to be fairly enlightening when I was first getting into it: The Complete Modern Blacksmith.
It covers stuff like the forge /u/ColinDavies outlined.. and gives a very good intro into the "bootstraping" nature of blacksmithing (IMO :D)!
You need a big piece of heavy metal to use as an anvil. A lot of people like to use a section of railroad track mounted to a stump. For more money you can find a real anvil on craigslist or at local farm auctions for a few hundred dollars, depending on your area. Then you need a forge to heat the steel. Here is a plan to make one out of an old brake drum and shop vac. Last thing you need is hammer, a 3lb engineers hammer is a good one to start with.
I would recommend getting a book like A Blacksmithing Primer. It with take you through all the basics. Also check out /r/Blacksmith/ and other online blacksmith communities like IforgeIron.com
I think you'll find that there is more material out there for slipjoints than lockbacks, but there is some stuff. Here is a decent list of folding knife work-in-progress posts and tutorials on the Knife Dogs forums. It has tons of tutorials and WIPs, for folders of all kinds as well as fixed blades and just general knifemaking techniques. I also have this book, which is very good. One more option would be to buy a lockback kit from a knifemaker supply shop, like USA Knifemaker and copy the pattern or something.
get a piece of forklift tine, strike with hammer repeatedly, rinse repeat.
If you're doing backyard DIY stuff than any good high carbon steel will do, I've used pieces of grader blades before, I used a tree stump one time too but that was to win a bet.
There is a good step by step tutorial in The Complete Modern Blacksmith for cutting, shaping and hardening a piece of railroad rail into an anvil.
Read everything you can. Books are one of the best tools a smith can have IMHO. A good book to start with is backyard blacksmith by Lorelei Sims. It is filled with pictures and has good ideas and techniques.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Backyard-Blacksmith-Lorelei-Sims/dp/0785825673
So much for my reading skills -- sorry.
I've made some of that type of chain, it's tedious, but very rewarding. If you are serious about it, this is the classic book. I have the spiral bound one (stays flat), it's very good.
check out "Backyard Blacksmith" by Lorelei Sims. It covers the basics of what smithing is, basic tools needed, basic smithing techniques, different types of steel, how to make your tools, and how to heat treat your tools. The last section is a collection of about 20 projects, arranged from basic to advanced that you can start on day one. It even tells you what sizes of stock to use, and breaks the project down into steps. Probably the best basic book I've come across.
https://www.amazon.com/Backyard-Blacksmith-Lorelei-Sims/dp/0785825673/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1474489905&sr=8-1&keywords=lorelei+sims+book+backyard+blacksmith
This isn't exactly what you wanted. But is an amazing set of books on how to build your own fully functional machine shop from scrap. This guy does his own castings from scraps then builds that into a lathe, and other equipment. It's really amazing.
http://www.amazon.com/Build-Metal-Working-Complete-Series/dp/1878087355
Get, read and absorb the following:
The knowledge is more important than the tools. That said, don't scrimp on the anvil, the vise and the flatter hammer.
I'm a bit of a generalist. I always have lots of projects going on at once, each in a different state of completion. The books I have listed I do own, and read and pick through the most often.
The first two are generalist books. I say that because they both have such a breadth of information it's hard to describe them. The third is more specialist in that it covers only a single subject, but does so in such detail and in a recipe type format that it's easy to follow along. It starts with how to build a blacksmith shop, what tools you need, and how to use tools you make to build bigger tools to help build other, bigger tools.
https://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Country-Living-40th-Anniversary/dp/1570618402
https://www.amazon.com/Self-Sufficient-Life-How-Live/dp/0756654505/ref=pd_sim_14_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=FR7BRBKJ9CA3XRWW1N8H
https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Modern-Blacksmith-Alexander-Weygers/dp/0898158966/ref=sr_1_15?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1473081102&sr=1-15&keywords=blacksmithing
I would also recommend Shotgun News Gunsmithing Projects Book available on Amazon. If nothing else it's a very fun read. Here is the Amazon Link https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1934622540/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Give it a try! It's surprisingly cheap if you don't go overboard like I did. Outside of commercial refractory - I have maybe 50$ worth of scrap and welding consumables invested into mine. Hours of productive feeling work and fun involved.
Check out Gingery's books.
There's this book series by David J. Gingery called "Build Your Own Metal Working Shop From Scratch", which describes in seven books how to progressively build an industrial metal sheet brake starting from a charcoal foundry. Building the tools to build the tools to build etc. I haven't read it myself, but I hear many great engineers consider it a formative text.
Woah, far from a snappy title there... But I think I see what you're getting at. How to achieve industrial self-sufficiency?
I think people badly underestimate the current limitations of additive manufacturing (3D printing). It's a neat new invention that's brought down the price of some specific scenarios, but they're a very, very long way off self-replication when you consider motors, electronics, bearings and chains etc. Difficult to get structural strength from a 3D-printed part, they tend to be brittle and crack along the print lines. Not sure I'd want to trust one with a critical load-bearing part replacement, like Mark Watney's Mars airlock. SpaceX have possibly cracked this with their printed rocket components but that's an insanely expensive bit of kit - the raw materials are also way expensive and need a spec that'll have to come from Earth - this isn't going to be able to make parts that everyone in the colony has access to.
Personally, I always liked the adage about "with a milling machine and a lathe, you can build a milling machine and a lathe".
Given the mass of metal and its insane structural capabilities when machined and welded by easily-trained workers, I'd suggest mining, refining, and fabricating parts onsite is going to be essential. Here's a fascinating book about building a metal shop from scrap, starting with a foundry and moving on to more complex machinery. If I had to survive after the collapse of civilisation I'd want that book. I think the same applies on Mars.
So:
>The Complete Metalsmith, Tim McCreight, and DO make sure you get the Pro Edition.
The only reason I've been holding off on getting that book is the high-quality 2-star reviews on Amazon. Are they blowing things out of proportion?
>It's not the only metalworking book on my shelf but it's by far the most useful.
...if you had to name one more, what would it be?
Your best resource is the resident blacksmith. But here are the books I've taught myself with:
* The Backyard Blacksmith by Lorelei Sims
I am incredibly jealous of your opportunity, that living history stuff always seems like a blast.
This guy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Weygers
Wrote a book called "The Complete Modern Blacksmith":https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Modern-Blacksmith-Alexander-Weygers/dp/0898158966
It has good information on making wood and stone-working hand tools.
The new edge of the anvil is a good book for traditional processes.
https://www.amazon.com/New-Edge-Anvil-Resource-Blacksmith/dp/1879535092
I haven't found a good blacksmithing book with information on heat treatment. You should attempt to look up the recommended schedule from whatever manufacturer made the steel you're working. Absent that, Alro has a good booklet that covers a bunch of steels.
http://www.alro.com/datacatalog/014-toolsteel.pdf
A book by Alexander Weygers, "The Complete Modern Blacksmith" is good. I've read it and use it as a guide to get started. For a cheap start, I'd buy some stock and coal locally, building my own easy forge with materials I have on hand or can get cheaply. Instructables has some good stuff too and there is some to-do-for gas forge gear sold on eBay. Personally when I have some money I'll go there. Getting used equipment on eBay is possible, but there will be competition, especially by people collecting "old" equipment as decorative or collecting items. I'd buy a few hammers online or in local stores depending on which was cheaper and more convenient, buy your first pair of tongs and make some of the rest. I don't have any pictures of my work but I'd be glad to share some of my metalsmithing results if you're interested. Don't buy an anvil online... shipping is killer. Also, as far as I know the anvils sold at say, harbor freight are pieces of crap that won't last very long. Try to find a farrier locally to buy an anvil from. Craigslist usually has an anvil or twenty for sale depending on your area.
http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Modern-Blacksmith-Alexander-Weygers/dp/0898158966
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Weygers
2: Yes, mild steel is fine/good for tongs and fire maintenance tools. You actually don't want to use high carbon steel for tongs, since you'll be dunking them in water quite a bit
3: I'm still a newb, but this is advanced stuff. If you want higher carbon steel on a budget, get some old car spring material.
Just get some mild steel square and round stock, and The Backyard Blacksmith, and start working on the basic skills - it's a lot harder than it looks! :)
https://www.amazon.com/Backyard-Blacksmith-Lorelei-Sims/dp/0785825673/
The Complete Book of Locks & Locksmithing is a good reference book & How to Pick Locks with Improvised Tools has a bunch of info on the theory of lockpicking so you can imporvise.
"I'm like Miles Davis with a 12-guage." - Gunther
You need to read this book. See if your library has it; there's also a pdf of it on the net.
Another great source of info: the Home Model Engine Machinist board.
Whatcha making?
A good book to start with if you are interested in the topic: https://www.amazon.com/Charcoal-Foundry-Build-Metal-Working/dp/1878087002
Edge of the anvil is the only one I've ever read and it's quite good. Was recommended it by the blacksmith I did a couple classes with.
http://www.amazon.com/New-Edge-Anvil-Resource-Blacksmith/dp/1879535092
Start with this book. It's cheap, and perhaps the best smithing book available.
Was it this one?
Yep, but a solid iron anvil and a iron hammer with a bit of hardened steel forge-welded on to the face is much better than a big stone bolder and a stone hammer, as it was abandoned as soon as possible.
Think of a light anvil of maybe 50 pounds of iron. Now think how much work it took to make less than an ounce of iron.
Thanks! I'll see if I can find it online.
Edit: Here it is!
Paul Sellers' book Working Wood 1 & 2 takes you from carving spoons to making your workbench and is written in his easily accessible and super-informative style. A little pricy ($35) but completely worth it:
https://www.amazon.com/Working-Wood-Artisan-Course-Sellers/dp/0956967302
Buy it wherever, but I like this book.
Another one you may enjoy is the Build Your Own Metalworking Shop from Scrap series of books.
Thanks! Just working my way through - Working Wood 1 & 2: the Artisan Course with Paul Sellers. Followed his design.
Here’s the link
Pick up a copy of The New Edge of the Anvil. Or go to either Project Gutenberg or the Open Library, search for blacksmithing books, download, and go to town. :)
If you're interested and want to start from scratch check out this book series on making your own shop, from foundry up.
http://www.amazon.com/Charcoal-Foundry-Build-Metal-Working/dp/1878087002/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1369891234&sr=8-2&keywords=David+Gingery
Might be a good place to start.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Complete-Book-Locks-Locksmithing/dp/0071448292
a good start. Perhaps not as much history as you're looking for, however.
I'd love to see a video, but there's a book series that describes something along those lines:
https://www.amazon.com/Charcoal-Foundry-Build-Metal-Working-ebook/dp/B005STTBBM
I think you mean this book: Wayne Goddard's $50 Dollar Knife Shop
I would also recommend The Backyard Blacksmith by Lorelei Sims.
Alright metalsmiths of reddit: that book on metalwork, is it just for jewelry, or is it really all kinds of metal work?
The comments all seem to be relating to jewelry stuff.
I'm a fan of this one, lots of specific build info and techniques: Shotgun News Gunsmithing Projects Book https://www.amazon.com/dp/1934622540/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_OaHgzb5SPDV83
There are many unexpected dangers in metalcasting and I didn't watch the whole video to see which ones they warn about. A good book is the first book of Dave Gingery's series.
If you aren't machining the material afterwards, cans are probably OK as a source material.
Also see New Edge of The Anvil, also by Andrews. I believe it contains most of the same information with some slight revisions and updates.
Amazon (UK) Link:
New Edge of the Anvil: A Resource Book for the Blacksmith https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1879535092/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_GHFUCbR6D5GG9
Link to this book on amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Backyard-Blacksmith-Lorelei-Sims/dp/0785825673/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1397710685&sr=1-1&keywords=backyard+blacksmith
Anvilfire.com
Iforgeiron.com
hammertyme.com
reddit.com/r/blacksmith
/r/blacksmithing
/r/bladesmith
/r/metalworking
http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-Blacksmithing-Alex-Bealer/dp/0785803955
http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Modern-Blacksmith-Alexander-Weygers/dp/0898158966
http://www.anvilfire.com/bookrev/
Those are just a few to get you started.
ALSO. Start learning metallurgy as soon as possible.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1878087355/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1491940788&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=David+J+Gingery&dpPl=1&dpID=51lFbYGCpkL&ref=plSrch
Put your face in a book schoolboy.
As for books I can wholly vouch for this one.
Here is the mobile version of your link
The New Edge of The Anvil.
https://www.amazon.com/New-Edge-Anvil-Resource-Blacksmith/dp/1879535092
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1878087355
Metal Working Series: Gingerly
http://www.amazon.com/Build-Metal-Working-Scrap-Complete/dp/1878087355/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1392611899&sr=1-1&keywords=Build+Your+Own+Metal+Working+Shop+from+Scrap
http://www.amazon.com/Working-Wood-Artisan-Course-Sellers/dp/0956967302
If you look at the buying options, there is someone selling a new copy for $34.99 USD.
The Charcoal Foundry (Build Your... https://www.amazon.com/dp/1878087002?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
David gingery has a whole series starting with making a foundry and eventually making your own machine tools.
Here is a thing called an Afghan Lathe.
Then there is "Build Your Own Metal Workshop" Book(s).
I've not done either, but they are intriguing.
If you're not afraid of DIY, maybe try Gingery?
Don't get too caught up in buying a London pattern anvil. Remember, the ancients used rocks for anvils. Check out the book "The Complete Modern Blacksmith by Alexander Weygers. In it, he talks about other items that can be used for an anvil. Go to the nearest scrap metal yard--one that will allow you to walk the yard--and see if you can find a large chunk of steel off of old machinery. I currently have a piece of RR track that someone had cut shaped into an andiron. Its not the prettiest, but it works.
The point is to just start pounding hot metal, and add tools as you can.
Aww, shucks. I don't remember where I saw it that made me find it somewhere, but if I am dead set on finding something, I usually find it at some point. It may be out of print but Amazon has it readily available.