A Black Smith shop right down the road. I'm so excited.

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The construction company I work for is building a very large Black Smith shop right down the road from here. It's not my project but I've been out there to take a look a couple times. My boss asked them if they would have night classes and they said if there was enough interest they would. I can't believe how much concrete they had to pour for a trip hammer. They have several stations for gas and coal forges. In the next year they will build a welding shop and I'm hoping to learn tig welding. It is art based and I don't know if that s good or bad for learning tig. I'm not saying anything bad about art (I'm just not very good at it nor do I have a good eye for it) I'm just afraid to pick up any bad habits. Either way I hope to learn some valuable skills in the future. I'm just thrilled with the chance to learn anything about Blacksmithing.
Reply:"I'm not saying anything bad about art (I'm just not very good at it nor do I have a good eye for it)"Now settle down just a little bit.Art, as a word.......is very hard to define.Blacksmithing is an art form, and a science, and a craft, and a vocation.  It is many things but it certainly is a form of art.You may in fact be hiding an artist and artisan under that cloak.
Reply:Yes, it is an art form. My father and great-grandfather are/were blacksmiths, my great-grandfather taught my father, and my father taught me. But, you just might in fact be a TRUE BLACKSMITH. Blacksmithing is a dieing art, it's good to see someone take interest. I hope you pursue it, and become successful. I look forward to seeing your art on the forum. Proverbs 4:23My company welds.
Reply:Originally Posted by BuzzBoxYes, it is an art form. My father and great-grandfather are/were blacksmiths, my great-grandfather taught my father, and my father taught me. But, you just might in fact be a TRUE BLACKSMITH. Blacksmithing is a dieing art, it's good to see someone take interest. I hope you pursue it, and become successful. I look forward to seeing your art on the forum.
Reply:I've seen plenty of Yellin's work in Philly, at the National Cathedral and elsewhere. He's got work all over the country.I think more than anything else Yellin was a great marketer as well as a savvy businessman. The one thing though about a great deal of Yellin's work is it's very similar everywhere you go. His work at say the National Cathedral is very similar to his work say Yale or Princeton..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Originally Posted by BuzzBox Blacksmithing is a dieing art, it's good to see someone take interest.
Reply:You are one lucky fellow. Blacksmithing is something every welder should know a little about. I use my forge for everything from shoeing horses to tempering gears to making stuff for the wife. Hard to make a living at it when just blacksmithing I think. Good thing your welding too. Here's a picture of my forge I built several years ago. Handy to have. Relatively cheap to build. Besides the refractory lining. Attached ImagesArcon Workhorse 300MSPowcon 400SMTPowcon SM400 x 2Powcon SM3001968 SA200 Redface1978 SA250 DieselMiller Super 32P FeederPre 1927 American 14" High Duty LatheK&T Milwaukee 2H Horizontal MillBryan
Reply:About 8 miles from home here, there is the antique gas & steam engine museumhttp://www.agsem.com/They have a great blacksmith shop with an old kerosene engine running an overhead shaft which powers all sorts of tools, looks like indrustrial revolution England in there. Hand crank forges etc. etc.They have a show twice a year, small donation to get in. Worth it! The last piece of equipment from building the Panama Canal is here, a humongus Cat dozer that works still. Steam engine row is neat. You must bring your kids!!
Reply:Originally Posted by DSWI've seen plenty of Yellin's work in Philly, at the National Cathedral and elsewhere. He's got work all over the country.I think more than anything else Yellin was a great marketer as well as a savvy businessman. The one thing though about a great deal of Yellin's work is it's very similar everywhere you go. His work at say the National Cathedral is very similar to his work say Yale or Princeton.
Reply:Guys I'm sorry if I didn't word this post right but the real question I have would be- Is learning to tig weld in an art type setting a bad idea? When I took welding they didn't offer tig and I never have  learned but I want to. As far as the Blacksmith classes go I'll take them if they do them nights and weekends as long as money allows. I belong to an antique tractor club and we now have a group of blacksmiths and a nice Blacksmith shop. I'm not in that group (I have no knowledge) but I'm fascinated with the work they do. When I was a kid we still had a working blacksmith shop here and I could watch him work for hours. I do have an awesome anvil that my wife bought me for my b-day a couple years ago and although I no nothing about forge work I use the anvil quite often.
Reply:Nice forge, you did heck of a job. I've got a NC Forge, I don't have the patience to build my own.  Originally Posted by blawlessYou are one lucky fellow. Blacksmithing is something every welder should know a little about. I use my forge for everything from shoeing horses to tempering gears to making stuff for the wife. Hard to make a living at it when just blacksmithing I think. Good thing your welding too. Here's a picture of my forge I built several years ago. Handy to have. Relatively cheap to build. Besides the refractory lining.
Reply:Okay, not a complete dieing art.  Originally Posted by DSWI'm not sure I agree with that 100%. True the industrial blacksmith isn't in as much demand as he once was. However there is a fair number of "artist" blacksmiths working today. I can list close to a dozen or more near me. There are any number of schools and art centers that still teach blacksmithing scattered around the country. You'd probably be surprised at how many hobby blacksmiths as well as professionals there actually are.ABANA ( Artist Blacksmiths Assn of North America) has a big get together every year. The one in 2014 is in the middle of Aug. in Delaware. ABANA lists just a few places where you can take classes on their web site as well as a fraction of the Blacksmithing "clubs" that are out there.I've taken a few classes in blacksmithing. If I can swing the cash, I'd like to attend all four days in Delaware this summer. I haven't decided yet if I can swing the hotel for the whole time or not yet. I've got until Jan 15 to decide if I want to take advantage of the $50 discount on the rate for the whole 4 days, or if I'll hold off and just pay the day rate when things get closer. It may come down to choosing between if I'll do the class again this summer, or if I'll go to all 4 days in De.
Reply:blawless that forge looks great and I'd love to see more pics if possible. Thanks for the reply. I've been watching videos and plan to build a forge in the future. I hope with a blacksmith shop up the road I can get some good coal.
Reply:Originally Posted by AR. HillbillyGuys I'm sorry if I didn't word this post right but the real question I have would be- Is learning to tig weld in an art type setting a bad idea?
Reply:Here are a couple more pics of my forge. The burners were built out of the hardware store with a .045ish mig tip in each for a jet. I put 2 inch kao wool(fire/refractory blanket) all around. Those are two standard fire bricks in the bottom. I coated everything with plistix 900* I built that a long time ago so check for updates. Use a good regulator. I can turn that up where it sounds like a jet airplane. Then I wet my pants, turn it off and run and hide under something sturdy.I rotated the pics and the sunsabitches went sideways anyhow. sorry Attached ImagesArcon Workhorse 300MSPowcon 400SMTPowcon SM400 x 2Powcon SM3001968 SA200 Redface1978 SA250 DieselMiller Super 32P FeederPre 1927 American 14" High Duty LatheK&T Milwaukee 2H Horizontal MillBryan