The Blacksmith
When my son was a little kid like 4 or 5, (he's 17 now) he went on a field trip to the local "Frontier Culture Museum" and saw a blacksmith in action. He was fascinated by the blacksmith's trade.

Soon after, it was determined he would need glasses. Worried that he would not take care of the new glasses, his mom offered him a treat if he kept them in good shape for some specified period of time. He managed them to the degree that he earned the treat, which he determined would be an anvil. We bought him a little 10 lb. anvil. He carried it everywhere, it was his prize possession.

Time and years passed, he remained fascinated with bending metal, especially after his scout master demonstrated a quick way to craft a forge from a VW brakedrum and electric hair dryer. Soon, we began having to find coal and metal for him, and ultimately the quest was on for a bigger anvil.

Now, anvils are not just laying around anymore. (I offered to take a ride out to Monument Valley figuring that there had to be hundreds of them laying around having been dropped by Wile E. Coyote, but no one took me seriously.) Many of the pre-war anvils had been melted down and turned into tanks. We'd go to auctions to wait for hours then watch them go for more money than we had, or those that were available were all beaten up. They sell ASOs (Anvil Shaped Objects) that come from Russia and China, but they're no good; essentially a steel face over a plastic case filled with shot or sand. After a year or so of looking, he found this guy a couple of hours from here who had new good anvils for sale. They struck a deal, and over in December, 2006 he picked up this fine 175 pound anvil. Two horns, two hardy holes, an upsetting block, all cool anvil parts in place. (Check out the website for these anvils.)

He banged on this anvil and his VW brake drum forge for a year or so, then decided he needed a better shop - "smithy." So around Thanksgiving, 2007, we built his Smithy. Mom calls it a house around his anvil. We built it next to the existing shed that houses the Ferguson Our plan is to match the old roof to the new metal roof, but we ran out of time and money, so that's a later project.

The yellow shelf stand next to the tool boxes is the foundation of his old forge. Currently there is a frying pan on top of the hole that's cut in the top shelf. The brake drum fit in this hole, then a muffler pipe clamped to a flexible heater hose from the VW connected to the electric blowdryer. This was the beginning.,,

Fortunately for him, our town had an ornamental blacksmith shop. These guys made ornamental metal like fireplace pokers, gates, chandeliers and hardware for high end architecture. He'd pester them, riding his bike down there and hanging around asking questions and trying to get involved in the trade with these guys. One day in the fall, he showed up with this hand cranked fan used to add air to the forge. The shop in town was closing, so they offered it along with some other bits to the boy. Of course he was thrilled, and quickly incorporated it into his operation.

In an attempt to increase his forge capacity from the small brake drum he'd been using, he used an old mower deck, then welded 1/4 inch steel to build a fire box to create the forge. The mower deck offers room to keep the fire on one side and has room for his fuel to be stored to the side. Here he has mated the fan to the mower deck forge and cranks away.

His quest contineud to obtain a bigger brake drum to use as the fire box for his forge. I was able to get a cracked fire truck brake drum rendering it as scrap - for the fire truck, not for the blacksmith!

Over the 2007 Christmas break from school, this drum was then incorporated into a new forge complete with a stand and hood. After a lot of welding, this is the finished forge. Later a stack will be added to the hood. Note the tool rack at the front of the stand.

He added the stack, and now adds to the hydrocarbon content of the atmosphere.

The blacksmith forges away on a set of tongs in the smithy. He's removed the hood and stack of the forge in this pic. At this point, more effort has been spent on the creation of the space and equipment. We're not yet seeing many forged items. He has used railroad spikes to make crude knives, and the hooks hanging from the ceiling are his creations. He's also crafted many tools, such as clamps to be used with the anvil, hardy tools, and chisels that are on the tool rack behind him. He offers he needs good steel, so the quest for good steel continues...

February 2008 (He tells me) truck springs, axles and frames are great steel. I worked with a friend who had a derelict truck in a field to have him cut the frame and bring the rear of the truck to us. On a very cold evening, this baby arrives to the blacksmith's extreme excitement. Once the treasure is unloaded, photographed and he's back inside, he reported that his face hurt from smiling so much!

This is the filet of the beast, in blacksmith terms. These springs are great steel to be turned into forged things... Check back soon to see the treasures that will be forged from this beast!