The forge goes in the one you don't use to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning. The bedroom you sleep in is far more suited to a woodworking shop because that's what it sounds like when you're sleeping anyway.
To punch a hole in a piece of stock that narrow, I would use a straight shank punch instead of a tapered drift, and I would start by upsetting the material in the location of the hole to give it more wall thickness around each side. That helps with the hole 'walking' off to one side like you were getting, and it gives the piece a bit more strength around the hole.
Winterfalke Seconded on that. Needs a hot cut/punch that is shaped like a hammer with a straight shafted punch that tapers a little way up the shaft (to help it not get stuck) on one side and striking surface on the other. Only risk with the straight punch is it getting stuck as the metal cools but with the tapered one you get a tapered hole. That could be ok depending on how you want to make it. Strap and rivet or forge welding would be a lot easier. All said and done, endless ways to approach the project. Thinking more like a machinist or carpenter than a blacksmith. Pretty natural thing to do at first. Just got to keep hammering metal until it makes sense. Ambitious first project. Also working the metal maybe 15 seconds too long, you can see it losing color right about when he's taking the last couple swings more than once. That'll crack the metal if you aren't careful. ...six generations of smiths in my family. I'll likely be the last.
+Fredrick Laverdiere Drilling the holes would take 2 mins max. Punching took ten and a half minutes. That is 10.5 mins of ads and viewing for more TH-cam dollars. It is ALL about the $$.
when you drill the metal you lose the material, when you punch a hole like he is, the majority of the material is pushed to either side and only a small plug is lost, meaning the punched hole will be stronger than the drilled one.
Your anvil seriously needs fettling up. You need the top and table to be flat and the edges sharp. You can either build it up with weld (hard face the edges) and grind back, or just grind it flat...... If you dip your punch in water, then coal or charcoal dust before applying to the hot steel, it won't stick in the hole. The carbon gasses in the heat, and that acts like a high temperature lubricant.... it works better than grease! It's also easier to start the hole with a pointy punch and finish with an almost-parallel one for the final blows. Keep at it buddy, it takes practice. Love your wee forge... It's easier to keep your fire up with good coking coal, although charcoal like you are using is very very clean..... :-)
Watching you drop the tool and piece made me feel better about the zillion times I've done so myself. Glad to know one more talented than I can be humble enough to show mistakes. It's encouraging to the lot of us
He kept calm throughout the whole video not cursing even with all the tools slipping out of his hands falling to the floor and i started chuckle which then evolved in a full blown out laughter. I gotta hand it to ya buddy, i love the fact that you didnt edit all these " mistakes" away cause that made my day a lot better.
I really enjoy these types of videos with no talking. Don't get me wrong, I love all of the stories you tell Cody, but there is just something appealing about the silence of it. You can focus on what is really happening and just enjoy it :)
2:28 first thought: damn those are some big centimetres, (Brit here) second thought: that must be a tiny anvil and he has some tiny hands. realisation: it's in inches. aren't brains weird.
It might be a smartass sorta question, but why bother with firing up the forge instead of drilling the holes with a hand drill? Many more people are more likely to have that than a blacksmith forge and disposable firewood. This may be useful when there is grid-down but even then a manual drill should cut it if you are not drilling through hardened steel and that way, no wood is wasted. It is different if you are broaching a non-round hole, than using a forge is legit if you do not have a press. But otherwise it is just a waste of time and energy. Makes for a good smithing practice though that I see you are in need of. Why not use a tool cart next to the anvil to put the tools so you don't drop them? Why put anything on the anvil base when you are hammering a piece of red hot metal? Why wear just one glove, when doing any sort of rough metalwork? You need both of your hands right? Sorry if this comes off as trolling, not by intention. These are just thoughts that immediately came into my mind after watching this vid. It still looked wicked sharp though, so I am keenly waiting for the next segment! I really like your style of editing and the music you use. :)
You've got a power drill. We've seen it. Also, that wasn't 1/2". I like most of your vids bro, but this "skills all guys should master" is BS. There are better ways. Also, you're punches on the first piece were dead center, but your hot holes being stamped were way off. Center that hot punch and slow down. Or just drill dem holes like Adam Urmos says. Keep up the good work, but don't get a head of yerself. ;)
+Wranglerstar Frankly, I just don't see the point in this argument. For one thing, you are stating the obvious that hand-drilling through 1/2" steel is hard if not impossible. and you are right, I never tried it. But having worked in the metal industry, my approach would be just to tale it straight to the 100 ton press. If you don't have a press, than use the drillpress. No drillpress? Use a hand drill. And if you don't have a hand drill then it is better not to even bother with it. I did manually drill thin sheets of mild steel which was doable. I meant that in my orignal comment. Secondly, you did not respond to my question of why are you using a forge, a tool that most folks don't have for a job as common as putting round holes in a piece of steel. The video looks great as I said, so it is completely fine to say that you only made it cause it looks good. But you said something else. You also did not address any of my other questions. You are of course not obliged to do so, but if you do respond, it is not the wisest to dismiss a misrepresented argument as if it was an attack. It was not.
Ádám Ürmös Adam, I don't think the comment was meant as an attack, but I think what you're missing here is that what Cody is demonstrating here is one technique on how to punch holes through thick metal stock, not the only, or most efficient method. Surely if money were no object then Cody would have an incredibly expensive CNC machine create all his metal parts while he sips his coffee. The point of this video, and all his videos is to relish the process. It's more about the experience itself not the object. For example I loved the whole back to basics video series because it was about living in the moment, and drinking in everything mother nature provides and appreciating it which we have been so disconnected from.
As a welder since the age of 15 /now 50 i can tell you one thing..this is a dying art ..without metal we have nothing ..who will make the tools ..who will make the knives ..nails ect..this is what its all about ..primal needs . great vid my friend .
um... well... forging? I'd say you're punching holes. I used to forge alot before, but I think I'd have used a drill in this case. That'd be more effective and precise.
try drilling a half inch round hole in a piece of half inch round bar. Now, you can punch and drift that with no issue. or, drill a 3/8" hole in 1/2" square steel. now punch and drift a 3/8" hole in a piece of 1/2 square. if done properly, and with experience (not how Cody did it) it will be much better structurally. When you drill, you remove a lot of metal, compared to when you punch, you just distort it, and remove a little bit of material. Now If I was to want a really precise hole, than yes I would drill it, but if I want a better, more structurally stronger hole, than I would punch it.
Mark Ling I see what you're getting at, but in this case I'd still drill it because putting a battery into a drill is way easier than firing up a forge, I really don't know of anything metal that I'd rather punch than drill, in regards to the first part of your comment, I don't know if you were saying that punching is easier than drilling but I'm gonna have to disagree, I drilled 4 holes in the frame of my truck, which is a good 3 quarter inch thick I'd say, in under 2 minutes, you just need the right drill bit, meaning not one from China
I'm a metal smith, machinist, welder, fabricator, brain scientist, mechanic, carpenter, son, plumber, brick mason, stone mason, block layer, aircraft mechanic, gunsmith, corpsman, rifleman, servant, friend, buddy, leader, mentor, dad, husband, guitar player, ditch digger, bobo fixer, rocket surgeon, roofer, brother, taxi driver, computer guy, but, being a blacksmith is one of the best jobs I've ever undertaken. You work out ALLOT OF AGGRESSIONS AND YOU SLEEP LIKE A CHAMP. I have made everything needed except for my fire pot, clinker, Tyer (I think that's how you spell it), blower and Columbia anvil. It's well worth messing with.
Build them. Everything he has you could build out of a trip to the junk yard. Ancient man weren't using an anvil either, they worked up to it. Build your forge, start with bronze if you wan.
Robert Loban Blacksmithing and woodworking are pretty cheap to get into if you have the patience to find old tools and the desire to clean them up...The forge and the workbench can be made cheaply, and the materials can be free! Woodworking can be done in your house or apartment and blacksmithing can be done in your back yard...you can also find local clubs who have the facilities and will let you use tools and space, and teach you, for a small fee or nothing at all.
They can pretend they are made out of gold all they want. Buy and make your own, hell you can use a piece of scrap rail for an anvil pretty effectively even. Literally a few dollars at a scrap yard can have you rocking a very serviceable anvil. It's not about buying the 'proper tools' it's about buying what actually works and is available.
i learned blacksmithing from a master blacksmith who was also a master woodworker,and built his own CNC machinery, I collected many of the unused tools during my learning process simply because nobody knew what they where for,or how to use them. These techniques used to be taught in schools in England; before the nanny state decide it was much too dangerous to let children use hacksaws or hot metal,for fear of hurting themselves.these same people who banned tree-climbing and playing conkers would have the world coated in foam rubber to avoid injuries.The world, in some ways, is TOO safe... Forge-work was done MANY years before the vikings. 'steel' is a comparatively new material,all things before it where forms of iron gained by melting rocks. the Vikings developed early ways of mixing ingredients to form harder metals; hence their reputation in europe and so on to america; so did the japanese and the chinese..but the western world wasn't in contact with these countries,or their technology.Some of the japanese sword blades where harder than anything made in the west; but they closely guarded their secrets. Many of the processes used by the ancient metalworkers where lost completely when the Romans wiped out the tribes who developed them; to this day there are articles in museums which could not be made,simply because no one knows just how they where crafted. Anyone who says the knowledge of metalworking is obsolete is a fool; who do you think the pioneers of the industrial revolution asked for advice when they where developing their machinery? yep..the blacksmiths.they made most of the pieces! now we rely utterly on huge factories to supply everything we need to survive,BIG mistake...the biggest after getting so complacent we abandon hard-won knowledge because it 'isn't needed'...One day it will be;then what?
Women can have this skill too. I use a tabletop Hibatchi that sits on a metal chair, with a hole drilled in one side for a pipe that sticks through with a blow dryer hooked to the other end, I start the fire with Matchlite Charcoal and then add Anthricite from Tractor Supply. Can't afford a forge, but my cheaper version works great! Just found a real Anvil in an Antique store that I will be picking up with my Christmas bonus. Have been using a 55lb Harbor Freight anvil that is dead. Cant wait to forge on the real thing! I am 57 and love hammering red hot metal into something!!! Better than knitting!
Great idea with the Hibatchi Debra. Wish I had thought of that idea for mine years ago. I used an old rider mower rim and an old sign post for the legs. I added a fitting to the side of the rim and a small regulator to that. Hook it up to the air compressor and I can adjust my air pressure to what works best for me at any given time. I did find out that the cheaper brand charcoal does not work to good for ANYTHING, LOL. It makes a mess and burns up before the wood can start buy hey, it was here and needed to be gotten rid of so I used it up :). I have a short section of railroad track for an anvil. Not the greatest bit it works for now. Peace and happy forging to you.
Debra, you have a real forge, even if you built it yourself. What you DON'T have is a real anvil! ;) A big, heavy chunk of scrap steel with decently flat surfaces from the scrap yard will work better than your ASO (Anvil Shaped Object). But using what you have to do what you want is far more admirable than complaining that you can't do something because you don't have everything perfect before you start. Congrats on making it work! :)
I have the same thought when I see people processing wood like that. Perhaps the camera angle makes it look more dangerous. Or maybe the people who have chopped off their thumbs don't upload the footage.
Liberty FiveFiveSix Well i once was splitting wood, and my tomahawk hit my hand, it didnt bleed, or hurt much it left a scar , and it was a close call, and luckily the tomahawk wasnt that sharp at the time, and hey he can split kindling anyway he wants,, it does seem, like a fast way to do it, but its just too dangerous for me
there was that episode of "Alone" where the woman put a nasty gash in her thumb/hand with an axe. had to be evacuated and did lose some function in her thumb as I recall. Not something I'd be interested in taking a chance, however small.
Usually when punching a hole through metal to make an ax or whathaveyou, it's best to chisel a hole in first then use the drift to widen it. Doing it that way ensures minimal irregularities in the final product (depending on your skill-level anyway). Always glad to share knowledge to those eager to learn.
Don't quench your punches in water. That'll make them brittle and cause them to break. Use beeswax instead. Flatten your barstock before you backpunch.
Right at 10:00, I would suggest nobody ever work on an anvil with anything in the Hardy or pritchel holes. I have known a couple blacksmith who have lost fingers by working on an anvil with their hot cut still in the Hardy. I have personally broken a finger by doing alexactly what you did here. Had a punch standing upright in the pritchel hole, and hammered on something to close. The entire force of the hammer pinching against solid steel is not going to end well. Just a tip from a blacksmith.
use the tools you have but you may want to make a slit punch for that square bar and then drift it round afterwards. To those saying they could do it faster with a drill press you are correct (usually, but I've seen blacksmiths do it very quickly), but could you drill a 1/2" hole in a 1/2" bar..... no but you could punch and drift a 1/2" hole in 1/2" bar and you leave more material around the hole for support
Hey Cody; I've been watching your videos for three years that have supplemented what I've learned living in similar environments. This video has been the best without narration because it's the way I learned growing up. Just watching. No talk, that's how I learned.
I thoroughly enjoyed this video! Listening to the whole video with no noise except for the actual forging and no background music! Reminds me of when I work alone... no sound, just clanks and electric buzzing from the welding... :)
In a good way, I like/ gain even more respect when you make some small mistakes or clumsiness. It goes to show that you are not perfect and that it is ok for us to make mistakes every now and then. Thank you for your videos they are very enjoyable!
stamps Bullshit. That is the excuse those of us that fail use. I will accept that he who never made a mistake never innovated, however once a path to success is established mistakes are just sloppy behavior.
I enjoyed the quality of the video. Nice shot angles. Thanks for posting. Don't get discouraged by all the needlessly negative comments. It's kind of fun and funny to see the mistakes. Did you lean anything from watching it later?
I like the video but would like to have known what you were doing. both the steps and the project. I guess my comment is Say Something! talk to your viewers
Nunya Biz just because it's the opposite of what most TH-camrs do does not make it a quality video, we have no context, no foundation, and as someone who once made a living hammering red hot steel there better be a pretty good reason for all the irregularities in his technique that can be explained in the next video otherwise I call very amateur blacksmithing skill on his part. Edited In his defence he does start talking a bit in his follow-up video and explains that he is just learning how to blacksmith. But that just leads back to my original point that these are things that would have helped to make this video a quality video if he had explained from the beginning, however the audience had no idea and we gained no knowledge of anything he was doing or why until a completely different video that I could only find after a whole lot of digging through his channel. So from both a videography and blacksmithing perspective it's far from quality content. That being said I do respect anyone, man or woman, who is willing to try to learn the skills it takes to shape a red hot piece of metal into a work of art.
The thing he's doing is called hotpunching. As to why he's doing it, I can't say for certain. I'm pretty sure the bar he punched is going to become a pair of thongs tho
Garrett Millard drilling removes much more material, whereas punching and drifting sorta stretch the metal instead of cutting it. Plus it's a lot more fun/cool to use a forge and hammer for it
well you could, but you would have to anneal the steel and it's not fun unless you have a drill press, it's mostly because cody has a forge. drilling holes in steel isn't a fun pastime, where as forging holes is.
As in so many topics it's all relative, and "fun/cool" really shouldn't be a part of the conversation. I ive on the Eastern edge of the High Plains. Be it be electrical, gas or wood I have to import energy. In my case it makes more sense to attain hand tools to make holes in metal. Use electrical power to heat metal yo bend it or weld it.
Punched holes are technically stronger because you remove less material, and if you are already forging things and have the forge hot it's faster. Once you are good at punching it should only take 1-2 heats to punch the hole, where as with the drill press you have to run the bit slow with cutting oil as well as setting up and center punching for all your holes.
Now this is what I like to see, in contrast with our technological progression! The skills to use manually operated tools and the techniques to do it well!
For god's sake man. Flatten your steel it drives your punch straighter. And strike faster. Have you never heard of striking while the iron is hot. You waited so long that you keep having to reheat right away. After a couple of times your going to burn your steel.
He is learning/practing blacksmithing, there are tons of easier ways to do it, heck he could just go buy the finished product. I wish i had room and resources to get into it.
James Purcell it is a little bit harder to forge at lower temperatures. needs to be forged at a yellow heat for the best result. When heat treated it is a LOT harder, when it is annealed it is almost the same.
Don't understand why this vid has attracted so many negative comments. He is just showing some basic skills. He's not the best but so what? He 's not the worst.
What kind of wood? Why, it's blessed wood of course. Isn't it? It's the only kind of wood that floats, burns, and can be used as a torture device if you shape it into a crucifix. Duh!
"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects." - Robert Heinlein, Time Enough for Love Plus: no talking or music, just the noises of the workshop. I like that. Minus: I'm curious as to what "lost skill" is being demonstrated here? Is it the lost skill of cranking a manual bellows that someone else built? Perhaps the lost skill of inefficiently and wastefully making small quantities of charcoal? Or the "lost skill" of punching uneven, off-centre holes into metal? I'm a little confused as to what "lost skill" you're trying to demonstrate here. (note for the uninitiated: punching keeps most of the metal mass and thus tends to keep the strength of the material. Drilling weakens the material. Which you use depends on what you need the hole for.) ps: someone asking why you're punching instead of drilling, and answering that question by talking about how hard it is to use a manual drill, after having cut the bar with an electric band-saw, is just taking the piss. Actually makes me wonder if you know why you're punching instead of drilling, rather than saying anything about the person you're replying to.
Or, here's a possible scenario: Let's say your car is the victim of a DDoS attack because it runs through the use of several IoT devices (which were not secure possibly because a software engineer in San Diego couldn't properly separate two statements...). You'd need to know more than how to put gas in it and drive it to the mechanic's appointment to get around.
Working with wood or metal would be a nice hobby and a good way to use your hands to make things differently than you do in your day job, using the materials of the natural world. Plus, it's a good way to relax.
Long before Nörsemen(Viking was the name for the warrior) forged steel on anvils, the ancient romans did, which actually gave them a great advantage in warfare, since their weapons, and later armor(scaled bent steel plates), were far more durable then the iron weapons of other civilization in ancient times. Nice video!
You just did me a huge favor so thank you. I'd never seen a handcrank blower before. I've done some metal work and am currently working on doing some silver jewelry along with smelting some things from aluminum. Built a forge but am using a wet/dry vacc to force the air which wears out the vacc and makes it hard to control the heat [[ask me how many crucibles I've melted.]] Anyhoo-the Zomax blower! Perfect! Being on disability [[hence the need to expand my skillset]] it will take a couple of months but maybe by Summer. :)
I like this, but it's sort of weird to talk about this as a self-reliance thing where you can only achieve this through massive amounts of civilization and infrastructure - the cast blower, the bandsaw, the iron blank, the anvil, the firebrick, the nice big prefab building. The idea of self-reliance is great, but it should be tempered with the remembrance that no man is an island and we all rely on each other. Which is as it should be.
Great video and production. I used to work in a huge industrial machine shop where we manufactured parts for the space shuttle and nuclear subs.....and the like. To the uninitiated I must say that even with the most advanced machinery that corporate America can buy, we still needed a full time, on-site BLACKSMITH who performed what we machinists and fabricators could not do. Let's face it, full-on custom work like a nuclear attack sub is not stamped from a production line. As long as there is a need for custom fabrication and people ride horses, there will be found a blacksmith earning a living. So ignore the scoffers and pass on the trade, science, and heritage to your children and others who would learn. Bravo! P.S., have you done a video on the design and fabrication of your hand forge? I like the design and would like to bespoke one for myself. Brilliant.
Cody. Your camera work has come a long way. This video seems more like a professional documentary then one mans TH-cam video. Great work my friend and God bless!
While I'm all for self-reliance and bringing back lost skills... Way back in the Viking days, regular men went to blacksmiths whose job was to do this stuff. You could say the same for baking, cheese-making, tanning leather, tailoring, etc.
Hand made pride is kinda nice though. Doesn't 'have' to be smithing, it could be leather working, shoe making, sewing, carpentry. Many of those fields are becoming lost arts being left to mass fab. Picking up one as a hobby will never hurt, can can make great gifts. Far more personal than store bought. First world problem though.
Every guy can do them. I'm not sure why people think these are hard. It's not about how easy or hard it is, it's just about the willingness to do it. His skills at doing this aren't advanced, he's doing his best though and he's willing to make the effort. His setup isn't perfect, his tools aren't the best, he's not using them the beset way. But he's DOING IT. Any average person can do this, they just have to be WILLING to do it.
hey wrangler wrat, I'm a machinist here in Oklahoma City. one of the materials that I machine on a daily basis is phenolic. it's tougher than anything. and I believe it would make a great axe,hammer or knife handle. I could send you a piece like the other rubes on this thing. but dammit it's your job to entertain me. so get busy.lol plus it's like 400 bucks for a 4x4 sheet of .500 stock. that's 1/2 inch for the simpletons in the room .great video btw.
Charles Shanafelt seriously when I see anyone process kindling like that I cringe. I have quite a few woodsman friends that swing axes for a living that still don't showboat when doing something as menial as making kindling.
I don't mean to be a 'Safety Sally', but I was pretty much thinking the same thing. There was a lot of cringing going on while I was watching that. I like my thumbs where they are thank you very much!
carjacker0 is i dick, but I would have thought that with half a million subscribers you would have learned by now that you never feed the trolls. Also, for a cooler video, don't make what looks like a bracket. MAKE A SWORD!!!
He, carjacker0, is obviously too young to grasp that the "lost skill" concept was being used in a historical manner. That or he/she is uneducated. Not being rude as we know it, just not understanding.
Most blacksmiths work in pairs they have a striker with them , my father was a blacksmith,then went on to a boiler maker , then development engineer, I know I I worked with him , if you had someone with you ,you would have done this in no time, brings back great memories thanks
If you want a quick exercise in how to meld, vs how to drill. This is all center punch related. Type these into a piece of flat bar your playin with. X where you want a hole. V where you want the metal to shift to//away from. For decorative work, and bonus points, and tons of fun. Make an x, then put a v in every one of the x's sides (single x, four v) and see how easy it is to put holes where the lines intersect.
here's the thing I have noticed. when punching the holes, if you look at the glow of the square stock, it tells you where its hottest (more maluable) now im not a blacksmith, but ive looked into it for years so i have some knowledge torwards it. i suggest try heating it up the hottest right where the work to the metal is gona be done. it will make your life easyer! also, if you beat metal while its not hot enough yiu can force cracks into the metal, depending on thickness and whatnot.
Those Basic skills and the word 'MASTER' are not meant to be used together. But i agree that forging is something that every guy should have done at least once .
I have to admit there's something special about hot steel. Having said that, I hate it when a person doesn't put a tool back in the right place every time. Especially round tools that are prone to rolling off on the floor. Worked in one machine shop where if a wrench hit the floor, everyone in the shop would pick up a wrench and drop it on the floor. Point being, there's a place the tool belongs. Put it there and quit dropping it.
stan brown too true Stan, its nice to learn some old skills, some take too much for granted and grow old and fat, skills like this keeps you active in mind and body
I really enjoyed 6:25. I could imagine you laughing at yourself and it made me smile. What makes me enjoy watching you the most is the great combination of your humility and perseverance. I am not a handy person, however I hope to be a man like you one day. Keep it up Cody!
How mean are you, at least he's giving it a go. Good on you blacksmithing isn't a skill learnt overnight. I worked with a guy who had 50 years of blacksmith experience and stopped only for 2 years to go fight in WW2 and he was a master at his trade.
When punching a hole in bar stock like this, if it starts to go off centre (and that's not what you're going for), you can cool out the 'thin' side before continuing to punch (or drift); and that'll help to move things back towards the middle. (You'll get more movement of the stock on the hotter/softer side).
Does it make any difference if you use those pieces of wood as they are vs. turning them into coals/charcoal and then using them for the fire pit? I mean, do they last longer, or smoke less?
Curious. You often do things the smart way (like your gun cabinet vs. safe). Why not drill the hole in the second piece rather than punch it through after forge heating?
these are my favorite style of videos you post. just silent, real-time, work i dont want to discourage you from doing instructional, break downs, timelapses or anything. but i would like to see more of this
Hey man, great video but just a quick note. On your smith pliers there is a groove running down the center, that is so you can hold round stock better but it is also perfect for grabbing bar stop by the angles, it gets you a much better grip and will stop your work from bouncing about as you work on it. Again, great video.
Thank you. You got my like and subscribe!!! I feel sorry for the one's that dislike this and other great videos and almost forgotten craftsmanships and things that people used to do with their hands!!!! All those couch professionals that put negative comments and all , they only know how to play video games and criticize others!!!!
Every man should be a blacksmith. And a carpenter. And a lumberjack. And a glassblower. And a saddler. And a fisherman. And a mechanics. And a machinist. And a cook. Wait no that's for women isn't it ?
Perhaps not a skill every guy should know, but a trade that should remain practiced so it's not forgotten for sure. If you look back in history, not everyone knew how to do it, but enough people were competent at it that those who didn't know could turn to them when they needed something made. In modern times, I think it's important to make and do things by hand -- we are at an age where people are so disconnected from the material goods they own that they will dispose of almost anything to replace it with a new style or an updated version all the time without thought towards the engineering, energy, and resources that go into making it. Practicing and keeping alive and sharing artisan trades are one good way to combat the thoughtless waste we have in today's society. Even better if the materials used are not new material and rather recycled bits that are otherwise sitting in piles rusting away.
yeah.. I'll get right on that, as soon as I figure out which of the 2 bedrooms in my 2 bedroom apartment is going to be the forge.
The forge goes in the one you don't use to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning. The bedroom you sleep in is far more suited to a woodworking shop because that's what it sounds like when you're sleeping anyway.
@@Seagull780 well the woodworking shop is a place we all could sleep in
I mean the smell in there is orgasmic
If you're in Texas, all you need is for the power go out in the summer time, and then both bedrooms will be the forge.
Skills every guy should master: Drilling.
ba dum tssss
You know, the drill.
Punched holes are technically stronger because you remove less material, and if you are already forging things and have the forge hot it's faster.
Lite Roadie since we only have crude tools, the first thing you want to do is fire up the band saw....lmao
Lite Roadie band saw and no drill. wait what
To punch a hole in a piece of stock that narrow, I would use a straight shank punch instead of a tapered drift, and I would start by upsetting the material in the location of the hole to give it more wall thickness around each side. That helps with the hole 'walking' off to one side like you were getting, and it gives the piece a bit more strength around the hole.
finally a piece of actually useful constructive criticism
Winterfalke Seconded on that. Needs a hot cut/punch that is shaped like a hammer with a straight shafted punch that tapers a little way up the shaft (to help it not get stuck) on one side and striking surface on the other. Only risk with the straight punch is it getting stuck as the metal cools but with the tapered one you get a tapered hole. That could be ok depending on how you want to make it. Strap and rivet or forge welding would be a lot easier. All said and done, endless ways to approach the project.
Thinking more like a machinist or carpenter than a blacksmith. Pretty natural thing to do at first. Just got to keep hammering metal until it makes sense. Ambitious first project.
Also working the metal maybe 15 seconds too long, you can see it losing color right about when he's taking the last couple swings more than once. That'll crack the metal if you aren't careful. ...six generations of smiths in my family. I'll likely be the last.
Winterfalke I think I would just punch the holes with my ironworker. Pretty sure I could have punched about 200 in the time this guy took to do 2.
chop wood make coals heat Iron, ruin Iron,, are these the skills you are trying to promote ? I must have missed your explanation!!!
C4 directional cap works also.
" hey brah, how did you burn your apartment down?" " trying to master lost skill all men should know."
Any reason for not just using a drill instead of the tedious process of heating and reheating in order to use a punch?
Thermin Ator Far from it. Hipsters are just modern dilettantes.
Fredrick Laverdiere because drilling a hole isn't at all enjoyable.
drilling thins the wall of the hole. Punch and drift just stretches it and keeps most of the material in place.
+Fredrick Laverdiere Drilling the holes would take 2 mins max. Punching took ten and a half minutes. That is 10.5 mins of ads and viewing for more TH-cam dollars. It is ALL about the $$.
when you drill the metal you lose the material, when you punch a hole like he is, the majority of the material is pushed to either side and only a small plug is lost, meaning the punched hole will be stronger than the drilled one.
Your anvil seriously needs fettling up. You need the top and table to be flat and the edges sharp. You can either build it up with weld (hard face the edges) and grind back, or just grind it flat...... If you dip your punch in water, then coal or charcoal dust before applying to the hot steel, it won't stick in the hole. The carbon gasses in the heat, and that acts like a high temperature lubricant.... it works better than grease!
It's also easier to start the hole with a pointy punch and finish with an almost-parallel one for the final blows.
Keep at it buddy, it takes practice. Love your wee forge... It's easier to keep your fire up with good coking coal, although charcoal like you are using is very very clean..... :-)
Sinon y a la perceuse....
Watching you drop the tool and piece made me feel better about the zillion times I've done so myself. Glad to know one more talented than I can be humble enough to show mistakes. It's encouraging to the lot of us
He kept calm throughout the whole video not cursing even with all the tools slipping out of his hands falling to the floor and i started chuckle which then evolved in a full blown out laughter. I gotta hand it to ya buddy, i love the fact that you didnt edit all these " mistakes" away cause that made my day a lot better.
dont you just so want to grab the metal every time even though its red hot :)
No I don't,
T Woody ya the temptation is there for shere!
T Woody I think you do that once in your life and then never again!
It's a mistake you'll only make once... hopefully.
+Edward Spencer definetly. It hurts. Lots.
Well done. Your talent as a videographer has gotten tremendous. Without saying a word you had me captivated for ten full minutes.
I really enjoy these types of videos with no talking. Don't get me wrong, I love all of the stories you tell Cody, but there is just something appealing about the silence of it. You can focus on what is really happening and just enjoy it :)
Wesley Aring my name is cody as well lol
Wesley, I wish more people feel as we do.
Some of these guys talk way too much.
2:28
first thought: damn those are some big centimetres, (Brit here)
second thought: that must be a tiny anvil and he has some tiny hands.
realisation: it's in inches.
aren't brains weird.
It might be a smartass sorta question, but why bother with firing up the forge instead of drilling the holes with a hand drill? Many more people are more likely to have that than a blacksmith forge and disposable firewood. This may be useful when there is grid-down but even then a manual drill should cut it if you are not drilling through hardened steel and that way, no wood is wasted. It is different if you are broaching a non-round hole, than using a forge is legit if you do not have a press. But otherwise it is just a waste of time and energy. Makes for a good smithing practice though that I see you are in need of. Why not use a tool cart next to the anvil to put the tools so you don't drop them? Why put anything on the anvil base when you are hammering a piece of red hot metal? Why wear just one glove, when doing any sort of rough metalwork? You need both of your hands right?
Sorry if this comes off as trolling, not by intention. These are just thoughts that immediately came into my mind after watching this vid. It still looked wicked sharp though, so I am keenly waiting for the next segment! I really like your style of editing and the music you use. :)
Have you ever drilled through 1/2" steel with a manual drill? Go do it then get back to me,
Ádám Ürmös Again I think you're missing the whole point of this channel. Sometimes it's about the journey not the final destination.
You've got a power drill. We've seen it. Also, that wasn't 1/2". I like most of your vids bro, but this "skills all guys should master" is BS. There are better ways. Also, you're punches on the first piece were dead center, but your hot holes being stamped were way off. Center that hot punch and slow down. Or just drill dem holes like Adam Urmos says.
Keep up the good work, but don't get a head of yerself. ;)
+Wranglerstar Frankly, I just don't see the point in this argument. For one thing, you are stating the obvious that hand-drilling through 1/2" steel is hard if not impossible. and you are right, I never tried it. But having worked in the metal industry, my approach would be just to tale it straight to the 100 ton press. If you don't have a press, than use the drillpress. No drillpress? Use a hand drill. And if you don't have a hand drill then it is better not to even bother with it. I did manually drill thin sheets of mild steel which was doable. I meant that in my orignal comment. Secondly, you did not respond to my question of why are you using a forge, a tool that most folks don't have for a job as common as putting round holes in a piece of steel. The video looks great as I said, so it is completely fine to say that you only made it cause it looks good. But you said something else. You also did not address any of my other questions. You are of course not obliged to do so, but if you do respond, it is not the wisest to dismiss a misrepresented argument as if it was an attack. It was not.
Ádám Ürmös Adam, I don't think the comment was meant as an attack, but I think what you're missing here is that what Cody is demonstrating here is one technique on how to punch holes through thick metal stock, not the only, or most efficient method. Surely if money were no object then Cody would have an incredibly expensive CNC machine create all his metal parts while he sips his coffee. The point of this video, and all his videos is to relish the process. It's more about the experience itself not the object. For example I loved the whole back to basics video series because it was about living in the moment, and drinking in everything mother nature provides and appreciating it which we have been so disconnected from.
As a welder since the age of 15 /now 50 i can tell you one thing..this is a dying art ..without metal we have nothing ..who will make the tools ..who will make the knives ..nails ect..this is what its all about ..primal needs . great vid my friend .
um... well... forging? I'd say you're punching holes. I used to forge alot before, but I think I'd have used a drill in this case. That'd be more effective and precise.
and about 10 minutes quicker too!!
try drilling a half inch round hole in a piece of half inch round bar. Now, you can punch and drift that with no issue. or, drill a 3/8" hole in 1/2" square steel. now punch and drift a 3/8" hole in a piece of 1/2 square. if done properly, and with experience (not how Cody did it) it will be much better structurally. When you drill, you remove a lot of metal, compared to when you punch, you just distort it, and remove a little bit of material. Now If I was to want a really precise hole, than yes I would drill it, but if I want a better, more structurally stronger hole, than I would punch it.
duncan kotlewski but not nearly as enjoyable
Mark Ling I see what you're getting at, but in this case I'd still drill it because putting a battery into a drill is way easier than firing up a forge, I really don't know of anything metal that I'd rather punch than drill, in regards to the first part of your comment, I don't know if you were saying that punching is easier than drilling but I'm gonna have to disagree, I drilled 4 holes in the frame of my truck, which is a good 3 quarter inch thick I'd say, in under 2 minutes, you just need the right drill bit, meaning not one from China
Bruce Lawrence well... there is two ways of looking at your handicraft. Recreational activity or product making.
I'm a metal smith, machinist, welder, fabricator, brain scientist, mechanic, carpenter, son, plumber, brick mason, stone mason, block layer, aircraft mechanic, gunsmith, corpsman, rifleman, servant, friend, buddy, leader, mentor, dad, husband, guitar player, ditch digger, bobo fixer, rocket surgeon, roofer, brother, taxi driver, computer guy, but, being a blacksmith is one of the best jobs I've ever undertaken. You work out ALLOT OF AGGRESSIONS AND YOU SLEEP LIKE A CHAMP. I have made everything needed except for my fire pot, clinker, Tyer (I think that's how you spell it), blower and Columbia anvil. It's well worth messing with.
Kinda hard when you don't have the facilities and buildings etc.
Build them. Everything he has you could build out of a trip to the junk yard. Ancient man weren't using an anvil either, they worked up to it. Build your forge, start with bronze if you wan.
Robert Loban Blacksmithing and woodworking are pretty cheap to get into if you have the patience to find old tools and the desire to clean them up...The forge and the workbench can be made cheaply, and the materials can be free! Woodworking can be done in your house or apartment and blacksmithing can be done in your back yard...you can also find local clubs who have the facilities and will let you use tools and space, and teach you, for a small fee or nothing at all.
>I guess he means situations like living in a small flat in the town center :v
I would like to know where you are getting old tools cheap. Around here people know they have value and pretend they are made out of gold.
They can pretend they are made out of gold all they want. Buy and make your own, hell you can use a piece of scrap rail for an anvil pretty effectively even. Literally a few dollars at a scrap yard can have you rocking a very serviceable anvil. It's not about buying the 'proper tools' it's about buying what actually works and is available.
i learned blacksmithing from a master blacksmith who was also a master woodworker,and built his own CNC machinery, I collected many of the unused tools during my learning process simply because nobody knew what they where for,or how to use them.
These techniques used to be taught in schools in England; before the nanny state decide it was much too dangerous to let children use hacksaws or hot metal,for fear of hurting themselves.these same people who banned tree-climbing and playing conkers would have the world coated in foam rubber to avoid injuries.The world, in some ways, is TOO safe...
Forge-work was done MANY years before the vikings. 'steel' is a comparatively new material,all things before it where forms of iron gained by melting rocks.
the Vikings developed early ways of mixing ingredients to form harder metals; hence their reputation in europe and so on to america; so did the japanese and the chinese..but the western world wasn't in contact with these countries,or their technology.Some of the japanese sword blades where harder than anything made in the west; but they closely guarded their secrets.
Many of the processes used by the ancient metalworkers where lost completely when the Romans wiped out the tribes who developed them; to this day there are articles in museums which could not be made,simply because no one knows just how they where crafted.
Anyone who says the knowledge of metalworking is obsolete is a fool; who do you think the pioneers of the industrial revolution asked for advice when they where developing their machinery? yep..the blacksmiths.they made most of the pieces! now we rely utterly on huge factories to supply everything we need to survive,BIG mistake...the biggest after getting so complacent we abandon hard-won knowledge because it 'isn't needed'...One day it will be;then what?
Women can have this skill too. I use a tabletop Hibatchi that sits on a metal chair, with a hole drilled in one side for a pipe that sticks through with a blow dryer hooked to the other end, I start the fire with Matchlite Charcoal and then add Anthricite from Tractor Supply. Can't afford a forge, but my cheaper version works great! Just found a real Anvil in an Antique store that I will be picking up with my Christmas bonus. Have been using a 55lb Harbor Freight anvil that is dead. Cant wait to forge on the real thing! I am 57 and love hammering red hot metal into something!!! Better than knitting!
Debra Guy Way cooler than knitting!
Debra Guy I saw nowhere in the video where it said woman can't have skill, this is a video about men needing to learn this skill nothing about women
Great idea with the Hibatchi Debra. Wish I had thought of that idea for mine years ago. I used an old rider mower rim and an old sign post for the legs. I added a fitting to the side of the rim and a small regulator to that. Hook it up to the air compressor and I can adjust my air pressure to what works best for me at any given time. I did find out that the cheaper brand charcoal does not work to good for ANYTHING, LOL. It makes a mess and burns up before the wood can start buy hey, it was here and needed to be gotten rid of so I used it up :). I have a short section of railroad track for an anvil. Not the greatest bit it works for now. Peace and happy forging to you.
Awesome, Debra. Would love to see a video about you using that Hibachi. What a cool innovation.
Debra, you have a real forge, even if you built it yourself. What you DON'T have is a real anvil! ;) A big, heavy chunk of scrap steel with decently flat surfaces from the scrap yard will work better than your ASO (Anvil Shaped Object). But using what you have to do what you want is far more admirable than complaining that you can't do something because you don't have everything perfect before you start. Congrats on making it work! :)
you should have actually forged SOMETHING instead of just drifting a couple of holes
Write on...
In The Beginning of the video, isnt using that technique dangerous, ? i mean isnt it possible, for you to swing to hard and cut your thumb?
Only if you miss,
I have the same thought when I see people processing wood like that. Perhaps the camera angle makes it look more dangerous. Or maybe the people who have chopped off their thumbs don't upload the footage.
Liberty FiveFiveSix Well i once was splitting wood, and my tomahawk hit my hand, it didnt bleed, or hurt much it left a scar , and it was a close call, and luckily the tomahawk wasnt that sharp at the time, and hey he can split kindling anyway he wants,, it does seem, like a fast way to do it, but its just too dangerous for me
there was that episode of "Alone" where the woman put a nasty gash in her thumb/hand with an axe. had to be evacuated and did lose some function in her thumb as I recall. Not something I'd be interested in taking a chance, however small.
Usually when punching a hole through metal to make an ax or whathaveyou, it's best to chisel a hole in first then use the drift to widen it. Doing it that way ensures minimal irregularities in the final product (depending on your skill-level anyway). Always glad to share knowledge to those eager to learn.
Don't quench your punches in water. That'll make them brittle and cause them to break. Use beeswax instead. Flatten your barstock before you backpunch.
Right at 10:00, I would suggest nobody ever work on an anvil with anything in the Hardy or pritchel holes. I have known a couple blacksmith who have lost fingers by working on an anvil with their hot cut still in the Hardy. I have personally broken a finger by doing alexactly what you did here. Had a punch standing upright in the pritchel hole, and hammered on something to close. The entire force of the hammer pinching against solid steel is not going to end well. Just a tip from a blacksmith.
There's some advice
That's what internet is for.
That and other forms of edutainment.
Good advice. I haven't done that yet but I ain't gonna
use the tools you have but you may want to make a slit punch for that square bar and then drift it round afterwards. To those saying they could do it faster with a drill press you are correct (usually, but I've seen blacksmiths do it very quickly), but could you drill a 1/2" hole in a 1/2" bar..... no but you could punch and drift a 1/2" hole in 1/2" bar and you leave more material around the hole for support
This is the most valuable comment on this board. His clear and concise instructions reveal he has a practical knowledge of blacksmithing.
The crackling of the fire is really soothing to hear. Reminds me of when I used to go camping at Pinecrest lake
I wish some of these videos didn't drop off after the magical 10-minute mark.
Hey Cody; I've been watching your videos for three years that have supplemented what I've learned living in similar environments. This video has been the best without narration because it's the way I learned growing up. Just watching. No talk, that's how I learned.
I agree--this is a very useful skill to master. Looks like you're having fun Cody. Love these quiet craftsman videos the best by far.
I thoroughly enjoyed this video! Listening to the whole video with no noise except for the actual forging and no background music!
Reminds me of when I work alone... no sound, just clanks and electric buzzing from the welding... :)
In a good way, I like/ gain even more respect when you make some small mistakes or clumsiness. It goes to show that you are not perfect and that it is ok for us to make mistakes every now and then. Thank you for your videos they are very enjoyable!
Thank you Joel. I'm just learning.
its never ok to make a mistake on a 2000+ year old art that is well documented and quantified. Especially in the information age.
The only man that never made a mistake never made anything.
stamps
Bullshit. That is the excuse those of us that fail use.
I will accept that he who never made a mistake never innovated, however once a path to success is established mistakes are just sloppy behavior.
Ha! You'll learn.
I enjoyed the quality of the video. Nice shot angles. Thanks for posting. Don't get discouraged by all the needlessly negative comments. It's kind of fun and funny to see the mistakes. Did you lean anything from watching it later?
I did. Thank you John.
I like the video but would like to have known what you were doing. both the steps and the project. I guess my comment is Say Something! talk to your viewers
Exactly!!!
Nunya Biz just because it's the opposite of what most TH-camrs do does not make it a quality video, we have no context, no foundation, and as someone who once made a living hammering red hot steel there better be a pretty good reason for all the irregularities in his technique that can be explained in the next video otherwise I call very amateur blacksmithing skill on his part.
Edited
In his defence he does start talking a bit in his follow-up video and explains that he is just learning how to blacksmith. But that just leads back to my original point that these are things that would have helped to make this video a quality video if he had explained from the beginning, however the audience had no idea and we gained no knowledge of anything he was doing or why until a completely different video that I could only find after a whole lot of digging through his channel. So from both a videography and blacksmithing perspective it's far from quality content. That being said I do respect anyone, man or woman, who is willing to try to learn the skills it takes to shape a red hot piece of metal into a work of art.
Lmao
The thing he's doing is called hotpunching. As to why he's doing it, I can't say for certain. I'm pretty sure the bar he punched is going to become a pair of thongs tho
people are rude. I appreciate the videos you post.
My grandfather was a blacksmith and I’m gradually getting things together to have a go myself.see how much I remember from what he told me
theres a lot to be said for a pillar drill lol
I thought exactly the same
yea same ;D
There was something about the silence of this video that makes you really focus in and appreciate the art of blacksmithing
Cody's the Dad we didn't have, and the one we're trying to be. God bless you, man!
Thank you for such a kind compliment.
I know. I feel the same way!! Thanks Cody for all the awesome content!
Kudos on Wranglestar for dropping the ceaseless dialog!! thank you!!!
Blacksmithing is very cool and definitely has it's uses, but can someone explain to me why he didn't, I don't know, use a drill?
Garrett Millard drilling removes much more material, whereas punching and drifting sorta stretch the metal instead of cutting it. Plus it's a lot more fun/cool to use a forge and hammer for it
well you could, but you would have to anneal the steel and it's not fun unless you have a drill press, it's mostly because cody has a forge. drilling holes in steel isn't a fun pastime, where as forging holes is.
As in so many topics it's all relative, and "fun/cool" really shouldn't be a part of the conversation. I ive on the Eastern edge of the High Plains. Be it be electrical, gas or wood I have to import energy. In my case it makes more sense to attain hand tools to make holes in metal. Use electrical power to heat metal yo bend it or weld it.
Punched holes are technically stronger because you remove less material,
and if you are already forging things and have the forge hot it's
faster. Once you are good at punching it should only take 1-2 heats to
punch the hole, where as with the drill press you have to run the bit
slow with cutting oil as well as setting up and center punching for all
your holes.
Garrett Millard you put more effort and fun to it and get a few chicks
Not to knock your video title, but my wife has been a blacksmith for 15 years now. Keep up the great videos, l enjoy them!
Very nice and well edited video. Very impressed if you did this all yourself!
It wasn't well edited - there were continuity issues where close-ups of holding the drift were with ungloved hands.
Now this is what I like to see, in contrast with our technological progression! The skills to use manually operated tools and the techniques to do it well!
For god's sake man. Flatten your steel it drives your punch straighter. And strike faster. Have you never heard of striking while the iron is hot. You waited so long that you keep having to reheat right away. After a couple of times your going to burn your steel.
+Jay Bee i'm a beginner doing the best I can
Sorry about the tone of my comment. I did mean only to convey info, not to deride.
YOU AS ALWAYS well DONE!
Thank you!
I'm not being mean, just curious. Why not just use a drill bit to make a hole? I have made screw drivers and spoons using an anvil, fun.
He is learning/practing blacksmithing, there are tons of easier ways to do it, heck he could just go buy the finished product. I wish i had room and resources to get into it.
It's faster to punch a hole when you do it correctly, if you already have the forge hot that is.
Sorry Ethan you are wrong, I can drill 6 holes and more while you are warming up your piece of iron.
Spring steel is quite harder than plate isn't it? Not sure what he was using.
James Purcell
it is a little bit harder to forge at lower temperatures. needs to be forged at a yellow heat for the best result. When heat treated it is a LOT harder, when it is annealed it is almost the same.
Id bet there is more blacksmiths today than there ever was at any point in history.
still looking for the skills im supposed to learn...
4 years later and still no reply... just join the gang with the smithing mam
Don't understand why this vid has attracted so many negative comments. He is just showing some basic skills. He's not the best but so what? He 's not the worst.
what kind of wood is that?God Bless
+livingcheap 👍
Fir and oak . Once you have a good fire built , you can burn green wood . Coal is better , and gas more still .
What kind of wood? Why, it's blessed wood of course. Isn't it? It's the only kind of wood that floats, burns, and can be used as a torture device if you shape it into a crucifix. Duh!
+rpprevost I was asking what kind of wood soft or hard.. Don't be so rude..
"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects."
- Robert Heinlein, Time Enough for Love
Plus: no talking or music, just the noises of the workshop. I like that.
Minus: I'm curious as to what "lost skill" is being demonstrated here? Is it the lost skill of cranking a manual bellows that someone else built? Perhaps the lost skill of inefficiently and wastefully making small quantities of charcoal? Or the "lost skill" of punching uneven, off-centre holes into metal? I'm a little confused as to what "lost skill" you're trying to demonstrate here.
(note for the uninitiated: punching keeps most of the metal mass and thus tends to keep the strength of the material. Drilling weakens the material. Which you use depends on what you need the hole for.)
ps: someone asking why you're punching instead of drilling, and answering that question by talking about how hard it is to use a manual drill, after having cut the bar with an electric band-saw, is just taking the piss. Actually makes me wonder if you know why you're punching instead of drilling, rather than saying anything about the person you're replying to.
I am a software engineer in San Diego. Why would I need to learn any of these skills?
You're a software engineer in San Diego. Why did you feel the need to comment?
Or, here's a possible scenario: Let's say your car is the victim of a DDoS attack because it runs through the use of several IoT devices (which were not secure possibly because a software engineer in San Diego couldn't properly separate two statements...). You'd need to know more than how to put gas in it and drive it to the mechanic's appointment to get around.
Working with wood or metal would be a nice hobby and a good way to use your hands to make things differently than you do in your day job, using the materials of the natural world. Plus, it's a good way to relax.
eyj 5280 who said I was left? I'm conservative.
eyj 5280 ah some bigoted hatred. classic.
Long before Nörsemen(Viking was the name for the warrior) forged steel on anvils, the ancient romans did, which actually gave them a great advantage in warfare, since their weapons, and later armor(scaled bent steel plates), were far more durable then the iron weapons of other civilization in ancient times. Nice video!
A skill that men should master: talking
You just did me a huge favor so thank you. I'd never seen a handcrank blower before. I've done some metal work and am currently working on doing some silver jewelry along with smelting some things from aluminum. Built a forge but am using a wet/dry vacc to force the air which wears out the vacc and makes it hard to control the heat [[ask me how many crucibles I've melted.]] Anyhoo-the Zomax blower! Perfect! Being on disability [[hence the need to expand my skillset]] it will take a couple of months but maybe by Summer. :)
I like this, but it's sort of weird to talk about this as a self-reliance thing where you can only achieve this through massive amounts of civilization and infrastructure - the cast blower, the bandsaw, the iron blank, the anvil, the firebrick, the nice big prefab building. The idea of self-reliance is great, but it should be tempered with the remembrance that no man is an island and we all rely on each other. Which is as it should be.
Great video and production. I used to work in a huge industrial machine shop where we manufactured parts for the space shuttle and nuclear subs.....and the like. To the uninitiated I must say that even with the most advanced machinery that corporate America can buy, we still needed a full time, on-site BLACKSMITH who performed what we machinists and fabricators could not do. Let's face it, full-on custom work like a nuclear attack sub is not stamped from a production line. As long as there is a need for custom fabrication and people ride horses, there will be found a blacksmith earning a living. So ignore the scoffers and pass on the trade, science, and heritage to your children and others who would learn. Bravo! P.S., have you done a video on the design and fabrication of your hand forge? I like the design and would like to bespoke one for myself. Brilliant.
Skills Every Man Should Master:
1. Selecting a manly music track
Song is Hometown by Haley Bonar in case someone is curious.
Wonderfully filmed Mr. Wranglerstar!
Thank you.
Apprentice RJ best videos on TH-cam. high quality as usual from wranglerstar. keep up the good work
Cody. Your camera work has come a long way. This video seems more like a professional documentary then one mans TH-cam video. Great work my friend and God bless!
not even a single cuss through all the dropped tools = manly manners
TheCanadianBubba it's all I do lol
Bet he was cussing in his head tho.
I try to stick with the principale if its not good you don't need to say it.
You looked like a well trained "chef" chopping your dish for the day....you know what you're doing with a hatchet! -Sam
I found this video very calming and enjoyable to watch. Can't wait to see more like it!
I love these types of videos. Wood turning is always relaxing also.
Primitive technology look him up
He's the master.
Sharp
Works UI IP
Nostalgia, in the wrong hands, is a dangerous thing. Evolve, men!
Thats one skill I can live my whole life and not learn.
While I'm all for self-reliance and bringing back lost skills... Way back in the Viking days, regular men went to blacksmiths whose job was to do this stuff. You could say the same for baking, cheese-making, tanning leather, tailoring, etc.
If every guy could do them they wouldn't be as special and a lot of guys would lose out on income.
Your content is wonderfully relaxing thank you for creating it.
Hand made pride is kinda nice though. Doesn't 'have' to be smithing, it could be leather working, shoe making, sewing, carpentry. Many of those fields are becoming lost arts being left to mass fab. Picking up one as a hobby will never hurt, can can make great gifts. Far more personal than store bought. First world problem though.
Every guy can do them. I'm not sure why people think these are hard. It's not about how easy or hard it is, it's just about the willingness to do it. His skills at doing this aren't advanced, he's doing his best though and he's willing to make the effort. His setup isn't perfect, his tools aren't the best, he's not using them the beset way. But he's DOING IT. Any average person can do this, they just have to be WILLING to do it.
do you think a one armed man could do it??
roy hoco given time and effort!
hey wrangler wrat, I'm a machinist here in Oklahoma City. one of the materials that I machine on a daily basis is phenolic. it's tougher than anything. and I believe it would make a great axe,hammer or knife handle. I could send you a piece like the other rubes on this thing. but dammit it's your job to entertain me. so get busy.lol plus it's like 400 bucks for a 4x4 sheet of .500 stock. that's 1/2 inch for the simpletons in the room .great video btw.
Don't think I will be emulating your wood chopping as I can still count to 10.
+Charles Shanafelt I can count to 21
Charles Shanafelt seriously when I see anyone process kindling like that I cringe. I have quite a few woodsman friends that swing axes for a living that still don't showboat when doing something as menial as making kindling.
I don't mean to be a 'Safety Sally', but I was pretty much thinking the same thing. There was a lot of cringing going on while I was watching that. I like my thumbs where they are thank you very much!
I really like the sound of the iron you are working the sound it makes with each time you hit it
Don't think you lost a skill if you didn't have it to start with. Ever heard of "a jack of all trades and master of none".
Why leave such a rude comment? I'm trying to learn the trade is all,
+Wranglerstar those who look to put others down are not happy with themselves, pity them
carjacker0 is i dick, but I would have thought that with half a million subscribers you would have learned by now that you never feed the trolls. Also, for a cooler video, don't make what looks like a bracket. MAKE A SWORD!!!
He, carjacker0, is obviously too young to grasp that the "lost skill" concept was being used in a historical manner. That or he/she is uneducated. Not being rude as we know it, just not understanding.
I rest my case.
Most blacksmiths work in pairs they have a striker with them , my father was a blacksmith,then went on to a boiler maker , then development engineer, I know I I worked with him , if you had someone with you ,you would have done this in no time, brings back great memories thanks
Yes, making holes in hot steel and growing beards, yearghll... Now you've become a real man.
Jörgen Börg , we take too much for granted now !
I can't tell if you are serious or being sarcastic.
So you have a problem.
Jörgen Börg he’s not just hammering holes in hot steel he’s making a handle of some kind or a hammer
drills for example!
If you want a quick exercise in how to meld, vs how to drill. This is all center punch related. Type these into a piece of flat bar your playin with. X where you want a hole. V where you want the metal to shift to//away from. For decorative work, and bonus points, and tons of fun. Make an x, then put a v in every one of the x's sides (single x, four v) and see how easy it is to put holes where the lines intersect.
I shave with a straight razor... How about that??
here's the thing I have noticed. when punching the holes, if you look at the glow of the square stock, it tells you where its hottest (more maluable) now im not a blacksmith, but ive looked into it for years so i have some knowledge torwards it. i suggest try heating it up the hottest right where the work to the metal is gona be done. it will make your life easyer! also, if you beat metal while its not hot enough yiu can force cracks into the metal, depending on thickness and whatnot.
Why? I have a drill press.... and if I didn't I could use a cordless drill, and failing all electricity I could still use a hand drill....
godzuki101 no one asked you lol
Yeah but in times where there isnt a drill i think this is great
Jack Dallas... i just keep a forge and anvil in my pocket at all times! never know when you might need to drill some... sorry punch some holes...
Those Basic skills and the word 'MASTER' are not meant to be used together. But i agree that forging is something that every guy should have done at least once .
how does this improve my wifi?
I have to admit there's something special about hot steel. Having said that, I hate it when a person doesn't put a tool back in the right place every time. Especially round tools that are prone to rolling off on the floor. Worked in one machine shop where if a wrench hit the floor, everyone in the shop would pick up a wrench and drop it on the floor. Point being, there's a place the tool belongs. Put it there and quit dropping it.
I just don't understand people!! Why they need to pick everything apart. It's sad
stan brown too true Stan, its nice to learn some old skills, some take too much for granted and grow old and fat, skills like this keeps you active in mind and body
True we lost jobs because of machines. Skills are good
It's because people try to destroy things they can't do or don't understand .
Yeeeeeah... I live in an apartment. I think an anvil and a forge are contract enders.
You look like you were having a bad day, very uneasy about the task.
Nicholas Smerk i noticed that as well, maybe he drank too much coffee
Frank M I feel like after about 4 punch and drift holes the little things start to bother me (I'm a artist blacksmith)
I wouldn't say that I'm any different.
I really enjoyed 6:25. I could imagine you laughing at yourself and it made me smile. What makes me enjoy watching you the most is the great combination of your humility and perseverance. I am not a handy person, however I hope to be a man like you one day. Keep it up Cody!
not too skilled are you?
Not yet, I'm learning,
How mean are you, at least he's giving it a go. Good on you blacksmithing isn't a skill learnt overnight.
I worked with a guy who had 50 years of blacksmith experience and stopped only for 2 years to go fight in WW2 and he was a master at his trade.
that is totally unrelevant.
Gudnazon irrelevant?
Gudnazon he's mentioning something in the very title of the video, what could be more relevant?
Man is there ever a lot of drilling holes through steel enthusiasts on this channel.
People have done inspiring things throughout history. Whether they knew what they were doing, is another thing
Never seen a blacksmith with pretty, soft and clean hands no dirt under his fingernails.
When punching a hole in bar stock like this, if it starts to go off centre (and that's not what you're going for), you can cool out the 'thin' side before continuing to punch (or drift); and that'll help to move things back towards the middle. (You'll get more movement of the stock on the hotter/softer side).
Thanks for your helpful videos.
Metal working used to be taught in school, but now they teach kids how to take tests, instead.
Does it make any difference if you use those pieces of wood as they are vs. turning them into coals/charcoal and then using them for the fire pit? I mean, do they last longer, or smoke less?
Have you ever forgot you weren't wearing a glove and picked up a piece of hot metal?
Good video. Thumbs up!
Curious. You often do things the smart way (like your gun cabinet vs. safe). Why not drill the hole in the second piece rather than punch it through after forge heating?
these are my favorite style of videos you post.
just silent, real-time, work
i dont want to discourage you from doing instructional, break downs, timelapses or anything. but i would like to see more of this
Hey man, great video but just a quick note.
On your smith pliers there is a groove running down the center, that is so you can hold round stock better but it is also perfect for grabbing bar stop by the angles, it gets you a much better grip and will stop your work from bouncing about as you work on it.
Again, great video.
i like the second set of holes more than the first. sweet shop!
Thank you. You got my like and subscribe!!! I feel sorry for the one's that dislike this and other great videos and almost forgotten craftsmanships and things that people used to do with their hands!!!! All those couch professionals that put negative comments and all , they only know how to play video games and criticize others!!!!
Every man should be a blacksmith. And a carpenter. And a lumberjack. And a glassblower. And a saddler. And a fisherman. And a mechanics. And a machinist. And a cook. Wait no that's for women isn't it ?
Perhaps not a skill every guy should know, but a trade that should remain practiced so it's not forgotten for sure. If you look back in history, not everyone knew how to do it, but enough people were competent at it that those who didn't know could turn to them when they needed something made.
In modern times, I think it's important to make and do things by hand -- we are at an age where people are so disconnected from the material goods they own that they will dispose of almost anything to replace it with a new style or an updated version all the time without thought towards the engineering, energy, and resources that go into making it. Practicing and keeping alive and sharing artisan trades are one good way to combat the thoughtless waste we have in today's society. Even better if the materials used are not new material and rather recycled bits that are otherwise sitting in piles rusting away.