Blacksmithing Pete in the Blacksmith Shop

Blacksmithing at French Creek Valley Forge

Last updated 6/2/2009

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I, Pete, began blacksmithing in earnest in about 1986, although I have worked with metal since I was 7 years old. And I have been learning the craft of the blacksmith ever since. Now it's time to give back some of what I have learned.
      In 1986 I joined the Guild of Metalsmiths, a Minnesota/Wisconsin blacksmithing organization. This Guild is now about 30 years old and has a liberal sprinkling of mentors.
      After "taking" from the Guild of Metalsmiths through mentorship, through its formal blacksmith education courses and through general networking for a year or so I became active in Guild management. I chaired the program committee, took over database management and then the vice presidency including the job of recording secretary. I co-teach a couple of levels of basic blacksmithing now and I write regularly for the Guild's quarterly newsletter, "The Metalsmith".
      A nice heated blacksmithing/metalworking Shop has grown up on our place over the years and to date I have collected and made a lot of blacksmith tools. Nine of these tools comprise my collection of 25# and 50# power hammers (or trip hammers, as they are often called). (See "Powerhammer"link below).
      My wife Sheran supports me constantly in blacksmith guild work. She is deeply into fiber arts and crafts and is currently quite involved in the spinning of wool using traditional 17th to 19th century techniques. Several years ago we began demonstrating our crafts as a pair, dressed in 1870's costume.

General Blacksmithing-Related Things:                                                             A Dozen or so Pages of How-To Blacksmithing Stuff:
Blacksmith Anvils                                                                                                 Annealing Steel in My Ash Bucket, an experiment with data for you
Gas Forge, Make Your Own, Hans Peot Style; Learn About Propane             Fire Making with Flint and Steel
16th Century Gothic-Design Steel Chest Project                                               Heat Treating in a Coal or Gas Forge, One Approach
Poor Man's Hydraulic Press                                                                                 Hit it Red (Excellent hammer control exercise)
Blacksmith Crossword Puzzles for You to Solve                                                 Hole Tapping, Where to Begin
My Blacksmithing/Metalworking Shop                                                               Hole Tapping Tips
16th/17th century Padlock Project                                                                       Hot Rolled vs. Cold Rolled Steel
Postvises                                                                                                               Journeyman Blacksmith Skill Set
Powerhammers                                                                                                     Calibrating Your Own Blacksmithing Skill Level
Treadle Hammers                                                                                                 Leg Vise Smashed Finger for the Last Time
Basic Tools Made in Guild blacksmithing workshops                                         Passivating Stainless Steel, Some Ways to Do It
                                                                                                                                Propane Powered Leg Vise, A New Product Review
                                                                                                                                Coal forge Vs.Gas Forge?

Answers to the Basic Blacksmithing Crossword Puzzle