I was a machinist for many years, and the majority of the job was making tools, jigs, fixtures, et cetera. During my training, all of my practice assignments were tool making. Not everybody can afford a multi thousand-dollar mill or lathe, but most people can get ahold of the necessary tools for blacksmithing. Also, blacksmithing is much more of an art form and just does more for the soul, from my experience.
I love machining work, and it often has to work into production for smithing (a drill press, band saw, router, and a few other basics for instance), just like welding. Sure, you could forge weld it, and for some things you should, but if a few minutes with a stick welder will save you an hour, I'm all for it. I look at metalworking with a multi-disciplinary approach. You use the forge and anvil for the majority of the work, you use the power tools and machines when it makes sense to save huge chunks of time, and you occasionally use a welder instead of forge techniques to move forward. I've been smithing for less than a month, but I spent about 6 months pulling together a wood/metal shop on a shoestring budget out of my garage. So far I've made two punches, a hammer drift, an ax drift, and two decent knives. Already I can see that I need to learn welding if I want to try (scrap)Damascus as well as to set up most scrap-made coal forges. Aside from that, I've acquired and learned a lot about basic machining techniques to compliment and help made my work have a "finished" look. My point is- if you're really smithing and making nice stuff, you really need blacksmithing, woodworking, machining, and welding skills in combination to be really successful.
Another alternative is short lengths of wiring or cable, these are often in the same diameters as round steel stock, so no compensation has to be made for differing size. 👍
My apron has an entire row of leather "fringe" on the bottom, Scott, and this story hangs on the wall. Mankind gradually moved from the Stone Age into the Iron Age. Every single tool had its genesis in a Blacksmith shop, almost always developing implements for agriculture or war. Great video.
There are a lot of personalities and “influencers” and dare I say Blow Hards! But!!! There is a channel on this here interwebs that showcases an individual who has the gentlest of spirit, the wise knowledge of a learned scholar, the demeanor of a prince…. And the humility with no compare. The channel EC…. The man… SW…. You fine sir are a gentleman’s gentleman. A craftsman’s craftsman…. And a friend and mentor to many you know and many others you don’t. Thank you for what you do!
Thank you for the tool tips for blacksmithing and for the great story at the end. You certainly have a gift for storytelling! If you have more to share, I am sure we would be a most willing audience!
One of the best lessons I received was when I started to use one of my dad's screwdrivers with an odd slot cut into the blade, and my dad stopped me. He explained that it was a tool he had made for adjusting carburetor jets, not for use on normal screws now. That day was when I learned that I could make my own tools, for any job.
That story is in Mark Aspery's first blacksmithing book. I bought my copy from Mark at a CBA hammer in. I made my first forge weld under his direction.
Nothing has taught me more about blacksmithing than making my own tools. Sure it takes longer and I often have to make them more than once to get it right but every project and every tool is a lesson in smithing. Most of us don’t have master smiths to apprentice under but experience will always be the best teacher in the long run. Plus there’s a certain pride to looking at all the hammers and tongs and chisels and whatnot and know I created all that with my own two hands. Hadn’t heard the king of the blacksmith story yet. Guess I’ll have to go put some slits in my apron 😀
Great story, I loved it! As a stonemason I really appreciate and admire the work of a blacksmith(probably the most underrated profession). Respect to all blacksmits out there! Imho there is nothing better than making your own tools that will last generations and will be passed down to our kids and good friends.
I've just started my journey in blacksmithing, I am a well rounded woodworker/carpenter/carving, however, I am loving every second of blacksmithing, learning as much as I can, I made my first anvil from a piece of railroad track equipped with a horn and hardy hole, after around 200 hours it is still holding strong, but realized I needed a real anvil, which I bought just today.. (Not my dream anvil but a step in the right direction)"The story of the blacksmith has giving me even more passion for the craft, with a new found respect for anyone and everyone on this incredible journey." Thank you kindly for sharing. P.S I am going out to my blacksmith shop to put three notches into my leather apron!!!
❤❤2012 to 2020. I worked in jeffersonville indiana, Mishawaka indiana, elkhart indiana , Shepardvill Kentucky and waxahachie texas. I leaned so much from craftsman. Today, I am back home and great respect. Thank you Downey California
This was a Great Video. I watch Every thing you put out. You are an Incredible Teacher. Thank You. You are Truly utilizing You're Gift to Humanity. I really Appreciate You're Content. And That is the Reason why you are Essential
Damn, Scott! Lost count on how many videos I’ve heard you say something along the lines that everything civilization has required came from the face of an anvil And now crown the end this video with that story. Beautiful! Would love to have heard it sooner, or for it to have earned its own video Thanks! I love what you do! By the way. What other craftsman makes its own tools? Ask your favorite son in law 😏
A quick tip with a rounding hammer is to have one edge of the handle rounded and the other edge with a flat. If you have the rounded edge on the same side as the rounded hammer face and the flat edge on the same side as the flat hammer face, you can tell which way your hammer is aligned without having to look at it.
To measure curvy stuff I use a sewing tape measure, it's liké if they are made for this job, and before I had one in the shop I was using old backstand band that I cut, it works great as well, easy to bend in a vert smooth shape. Thanks for your work from France, you are an inspiration
Could you build a playlist on your channel with the videos that have all your old stories Or even think about making mp3 or some sort of digital album to sell on I tunes or through your channel My family look forward to hearing another story told by you Thank you
I picked up a tiny 2lb mechanic hammer a few years ago. One side I rigged some material for a softer mallet-type strike, the other stock. This is very specific to my work, but if that thing walks away from my work station I'm going on a hunt and not coming back without it. It gets jokes every so often being so small but it gets more use than any other hammer I've bought.
I bought an Ace 2.5 lb "Engineer's Hammer" when I started a couple of weeks ago and ground the faces with a fiber disc on an angle grinder to round one face and completely flatten the other. In recent weeks, I've acquired several other great hammers from friends and family and salvage, but that 2.5 rounder that I made from a $15 hammer from the hardware store is definitely my 'go to' hammer.
i started getting into blacksmithing a month ago. I did it because I started a little coppersmithing about a year ago because I got inspiration from blacksmithing. I have been watching blacksmith videos for the last 10 years but I could not start it because I lived in a flat for 10 years. Now i have a house with a yard and last year i thought i will start with coppersmithing small items learvning to rivet etc, and now i have started blacksmithing with steel. the reasons I decided to start blacksmithing are 1/ to earn extra income 2/ I really enjoy it. I am nearly 50 years old, I need to get out of my routine and start doing something for myself as I am always tight on a budget. sadly I dont have the resources to buy an anvil or a professional forge. I use a sledgehammer head on a fig tree and i made a gas forge out of a coffee can with handheld mapp gas. I managed to make my first item afew days ago, a pair of tongs. it has inspired me to make tools and repair tools. it is really frustrating working on a sledgehammer head can hardly work significant sections of the stock. was thinking of making a reinforced concrete anvil for the time being with steel plate on the edges and top what do you think of this? We have a church dedicated to st Christopher here near my house. he protects the people who go on journeys.
Thank you Sir. To add to your story about the king and his castle builders: try to find the tale of OLD CLEM, or, KING SOLOMON'S BLACKSMITH. Eye opening I would say.
Sir, i have watched some of your videos and i really enjoy your method of teaching. I wonder if you have a video on repairing a post vise? I bought one long ago but there are no female threads in the box (I hope i am saying that correctly). I wonder if it was filled with molten babbit around the screw. Thank you for your thoughts if you have time. I subscribed 😊 Best, Norm in Arizona
The ironmaster or ironmonger are the people that enable me to be a blacksmith. Without them turning the raw minerals into iron and steel.I would not have any material to work with.
Unless you’re going to do a lot of architectural scrollwork, a roll of lead free solder from the hardware store will do you- and you can put a pinch of it between your lip and gum if you’ve a mind to.
This guy tells good jokes, makes clever innuendos, has thrived in construction industry, basically understands how the world works and has worked it. My experience with true believer type Christians has never exposed me to this kind of guy before. They might be ok after all.
But couldn't machinists be considered an offshoot or extension of blacksmithing? Its all about shaping and molding metal to conform to a particular shape and design, right?
Don't need to be a Blacksmith to make your own tools. 🤷 Machinist, Carpenter and Electrician here and I've made hundreds of different tools and I've never done any Blacksmithing beyond heating and beating with a torch.
Recall that the Philistines forbade blacksmithing among the Israelites for fear they would make swords and spears, so the Israelites were forced to go to Philistine blacksmiths to have their tools made and sharpened.
Nice story, but completely inaccurate as no King would allow a commoner to eat at his table. Sowing needles would have been made by a silversmith, as they are to small and precise for a medieval blacksmith. Also every castle I've been in had mold, but no molding.
I have to disagree. I challenge you to look around and tell me what you have that doesn't have machining integral to the process. Blacksmiths are like prehistoric machinists.
Exactly. Everything is done by eye. The first steam engines were all built by a particularly clever Smith and a wealthy man. They were all done by eye and by hand. Threads were invented/created by Smiths. Without threads (and their standardization), Mankind would live in a different world.
Blacksmithing or Welding is a better next-skill set to earn/learn? Smithing for custom furniture trim and welding for frames/car work? Thank you so much for your work and sharing with us.
If you're looking for a valued skill that will make money, take up welding or machining. If you want something that's good for the soul, take up smithing In an ideal world, take up both - it's cheaper than you'd expect, and they complement each other absolutely perfectly. Both hobbies can be started for less than 200 USD each. I live hand to mouth, but even I could scrimp and save enough for my tiny smithy over a few months. Whether you want to fabricate furniture with a few handmade details, or tack weld a few jigs together to make your smithing easier and more versatile.
I was a machinist for many years, and the majority of the job was making tools, jigs, fixtures, et cetera. During my training, all of my practice assignments were tool making. Not everybody can afford a multi thousand-dollar mill or lathe, but most people can get ahold of the necessary tools for blacksmithing. Also, blacksmithing is much more of an art form and just does more for the soul, from my experience.
So they will inevitably discover that it causes cancer
Ok
Sounds like you worked for John Deere
@@damienreisner2183 Better than that, I worked for Paccar's R&D facility.
I love machining work, and it often has to work into production for smithing (a drill press, band saw, router, and a few other basics for instance), just like welding. Sure, you could forge weld it, and for some things you should, but if a few minutes with a stick welder will save you an hour, I'm all for it. I look at metalworking with a multi-disciplinary approach. You use the forge and anvil for the majority of the work, you use the power tools and machines when it makes sense to save huge chunks of time, and you occasionally use a welder instead of forge techniques to move forward.
I've been smithing for less than a month, but I spent about 6 months pulling together a wood/metal shop on a shoestring budget out of my garage. So far I've made two punches, a hammer drift, an ax drift, and two decent knives. Already I can see that I need to learn welding if I want to try (scrap)Damascus as well as to set up most scrap-made coal forges.
Aside from that, I've acquired and learned a lot about basic machining techniques to compliment and help made my work have a "finished" look.
My point is- if you're really smithing and making nice stuff, you really need blacksmithing, woodworking, machining, and welding skills in combination to be really successful.
That lead wire suggestion has helped me out alot!
I just substituted it with a roll of solder
Thts pretty smart
Another alternative is short lengths of wiring or cable, these are often in the same diameters as round steel stock, so no compensation has to be made for differing size. 👍
The lighting in this video is Rembrandt-like. The visual is amazing, several levels above your ordinary run-of-the-mill TH-cam video.
thanks! Glad you noticed!
Definitely noticed!
My apron has an entire row of leather "fringe" on the bottom, Scott, and this story hangs on the wall. Mankind gradually moved from the Stone Age into the Iron Age. Every single tool had its genesis in a Blacksmith shop, almost always developing implements for agriculture or war. Great video.
That story at the end is the best. Thanks
So good to see this thing saved from the scrapper and being put back on the road
There are a lot of personalities and “influencers” and dare I say Blow Hards! But!!! There is a channel on this here interwebs that showcases an individual who has the gentlest of spirit, the wise knowledge of a learned scholar, the demeanor of a prince…. And the humility with no compare. The channel EC…. The man… SW…. You fine sir are a gentleman’s gentleman. A craftsman’s craftsman…. And a friend and mentor to many you know and many others you don’t.
Thank you for what you do!
Thank you for the tool tips for blacksmithing and for the great story at the end. You certainly have a gift for storytelling! If you have more to share, I am sure we would be a most willing audience!
One of the best lessons I received was when I started to use one of my dad's screwdrivers with an odd slot cut into the blade, and my dad stopped me. He explained that it was a tool he had made for adjusting carburetor jets, not for use on normal screws now. That day was when I learned that I could make my own tools, for any job.
That story is in Mark Aspery's first blacksmithing book. I bought my copy from Mark at a CBA hammer in. I made my first forge weld under his direction.
So special to work and learn from Mark🤙🏽⚒🔥
Aside from the amazing knowledge you share freely with us all, I could listen to your stories all the long day. Thank you.
Nothing has taught me more about blacksmithing than making my own tools. Sure it takes longer and I often have to make them more than once to get it right but every project and every tool is a lesson in smithing. Most of us don’t have master smiths to apprentice under but experience will always be the best teacher in the long run. Plus there’s a certain pride to looking at all the hammers and tongs and chisels and whatnot and know I created all that with my own two hands. Hadn’t heard the king of the blacksmith story yet. Guess I’ll have to go put some slits in my apron 😀
The lead wire is a handy trick and I like your rendition of the story!
Great story, I loved it! As a stonemason I really appreciate and admire the work of a blacksmith(probably the most underrated profession). Respect to all blacksmits out there! Imho there is nothing better than making your own tools that will last generations and will be passed down to our kids and good friends.
I've just started my journey in blacksmithing, I am a well rounded woodworker/carpenter/carving, however, I am loving every second of blacksmithing, learning as much as I can, I made my first anvil from a piece of railroad track equipped with a horn and hardy hole, after around 200 hours it is still holding strong, but realized I needed a real anvil, which I bought just today.. (Not my dream anvil but a step in the right direction)"The story of the blacksmith has giving me even more passion for the craft, with a new found respect for anyone and everyone on this incredible journey." Thank you kindly for sharing. P.S I am going out to my blacksmith shop to put three notches into my leather apron!!!
❤❤2012 to 2020. I worked in jeffersonville indiana, Mishawaka indiana, elkhart indiana , Shepardvill Kentucky and waxahachie texas. I leaned so much from craftsman. Today, I am back home and great respect. Thank you Downey California
🙄
This is such a cool story of the blacksmith. Thank you for sharing.
Only a few men can captivate you the way E.C or Cy Swan does. Great story.
What an awesome story I love it. Haters will hate but hard work we appreciate.
That is quite a tale you weave. Thank you for sharing this yarn. I SAW it coming!
Hi Scott I,ve used the same thing for years but I use a roll of plumbers lead solder love the content of all your video,s
This was a Great Video. I watch Every thing you put out. You are an Incredible Teacher. Thank You. You are Truly utilizing You're Gift to Humanity. I really Appreciate You're Content. And That is the Reason why you are Essential
Thank you for the blacksmiths story. I've heard it many times before, but you do it great justice! Long may the anvil ring.
Damn, Scott! Lost count on how many videos I’ve heard you say something along the lines that everything civilization has required came from the face of an anvil
And now crown the end this video with that story. Beautiful! Would love to have heard it sooner, or for it to have earned its own video
Thanks! I love what you do!
By the way. What other craftsman makes its own tools? Ask your favorite son in law 😏
A quick tip with a rounding hammer is to have one edge of the handle rounded and the other edge with a flat. If you have the rounded edge on the same side as the rounded hammer face and the flat edge on the same side as the flat hammer face, you can tell which way your hammer is aligned without having to look at it.
To measure curvy stuff I use a sewing tape measure, it's liké if they are made for this job, and before I had one in the shop I was using old backstand band that I cut, it works great as well, easy to bend in a vert smooth shape.
Thanks for your work from France, you are an inspiration
Master Storyteller, Thank You
Fantastic story.
Always nice to know the meaning behind each trades “quirks”.
I love this story. Thank you
Substitute solder (lead free if you want) for the lead wire.
Could you build a playlist on your channel with the videos that have all your old stories
Or even think about making mp3 or some sort of digital album to sell on I tunes or through your channel
My family look forward to hearing another story told by you
Thank you
I picked up a tiny 2lb mechanic hammer a few years ago. One side I rigged some material for a softer mallet-type strike, the other stock. This is very specific to my work, but if that thing walks away from my work station I'm going on a hunt and not coming back without it. It gets jokes every so often being so small but it gets more use than any other hammer I've bought.
Love you, Scott. Use twine instead of lead. We don't need you going loco. ;)
I bought an Ace 2.5 lb "Engineer's Hammer" when I started a couple of weeks ago and ground the faces with a fiber disc on an angle grinder to round one face and completely flatten the other. In recent weeks, I've acquired several other great hammers from friends and family and salvage, but that 2.5 rounder that I made from a $15 hammer from the hardware store is definitely my 'go to' hammer.
Greetings from Bosnia and thanks for the Story :)
i started getting into blacksmithing a month ago. I did it because I started a little coppersmithing about a year ago because I got inspiration from blacksmithing. I have been watching blacksmith videos for the last 10 years but I could not start it because I lived in a flat for 10 years. Now i have a house with a yard and last year i thought i will start with coppersmithing small items learvning to rivet etc, and now i have started blacksmithing with steel. the reasons I decided to start blacksmithing are 1/ to earn extra income 2/ I really enjoy it. I am nearly 50 years old, I need to get out of my routine and start doing something for myself as I am always tight on a budget. sadly I dont have the resources to buy an anvil or a professional forge. I use a sledgehammer head on a fig tree and i made a gas forge out of a coffee can with handheld mapp gas. I managed to make my first item afew days ago, a pair of tongs. it has inspired me to make tools and repair tools. it is really frustrating working on a sledgehammer head can hardly work significant sections of the stock. was thinking of making a reinforced concrete anvil for the time being with steel plate on the edges and top what do you think of this? We have a church dedicated to st Christopher here near my house. he protects the people who go on journeys.
Ahh, great story!
Thank you for another great video
Make the workbench wadsworth
Thank you Sir. To add to your story about the king and his castle builders: try to find the tale of OLD CLEM, or, KING SOLOMON'S BLACKSMITH. Eye opening I would say.
It seems like you guys have recently had some developments with your camera and lighting work. Just wanted to say it looks AWESOME!!! Keep it up!
Thanks so much!
Interesting snippet there.
Thanks. I've acquired an amazing rivet forge. And it's nice to look at. 😌
Speaking of tools, Scott, have you tried the Makita DTR180 cordless rebar tying tool? Looks like another game changer.
Great tools. Greater story....
Awesome Story!
Great job. Thank you 😊
A good source for 1/8" lead wire is your local Electro-plater.
Keep up the good work
Sir, i have watched some of your videos and i really enjoy your method of teaching. I wonder if you have a video on repairing a post vise? I bought one long ago but there are no female threads in the box (I hope i am saying that correctly). I wonder if it was filled with molten babbit around the screw. Thank you for your thoughts if you have time. I subscribed 😊
Best,
Norm in Arizona
Happy birthday for other day Scott
Your quite the storyteller!
Q: what is the only tool that can be used to reproduce itself without a loss of precision?
A: a lathe
Nice.
The ironmaster or ironmonger are the people that enable me to be a blacksmith. Without them turning the raw minerals into iron and steel.I would not have any material to work with.
Good morning
What did you mean by ‘for the most part’?
Unless you’re going to do a lot of architectural scrollwork, a roll of lead free solder from the hardware store will do you- and you can put a pinch of it between your lip and gum if you’ve a mind to.
This guy tells good jokes, makes clever innuendos, has thrived in construction industry, basically understands how the world works and has worked it. My experience with true believer type Christians has never exposed me to this kind of guy before. They might be ok after all.
There’s actually a lot of them out there, but the really good ones are the ones that you want to call your friends.
1:57 cause ya money around with em.
I use my bolster plate to square my shoulders.
Nice story but did your light bulb burn out?
Oh to the contrary! His light bulb burns ever so brightly, but I see that your 'scissors' have become rather dull.
By hammer and hand all trades doth stand !
I wish you had a little more lighting on the objects you were showing and talking about
"The Blacksmith is the only craftsman who can make his own tools" A whole bunch of machinists would argue that point with you.
But couldn't machinists be considered an offshoot or extension of blacksmithing? Its all about shaping and molding metal to conform to a particular shape and design, right?
Don't need to be a Blacksmith to make your own tools. 🤷 Machinist, Carpenter and Electrician here and I've made hundreds of different tools and I've never done any Blacksmithing beyond heating and beating with a torch.
👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻😊
So if i make my own tools im a blacksmith ,nice
Recall that the Philistines forbade blacksmithing among the Israelites for fear they would make swords and spears, so the Israelites were forced to go to Philistine blacksmiths to have their tools made and sharpened.
The commercial interrupted the story with annoying music
That's youtube's fault, the video uploader doesn't have much control over that. Complaining about it here is the same as shouting into the void.
Again, two cameras in this video are one too many.
An interesting video regardless.
Thanks for the honest feedback! We're going to make an adjustment to the b-cam and use it more sparingly :)
Nice story, but completely inaccurate as no King would allow a commoner to eat at his table. Sowing needles would have been made by a silversmith, as they are to small and precise for a medieval blacksmith. Also every castle I've been in had mold, but no molding.
I have to disagree. I challenge you to look around and tell me what you have that doesn't have machining integral to the process. Blacksmiths are like prehistoric machinists.
Exactly. Everything is done by eye. The first steam engines were all built by a particularly clever Smith and a wealthy man. They were all done by eye and by hand. Threads were invented/created by Smiths. Without threads (and their standardization), Mankind would live in a different world.
I don't know anything about you more than your comment but you might like the book One Good Turn. @@5x535
Blacksmithing is Nice...But C.n.c,ing is better
Bob Ross and Ansel Adams both did artwork.
@@randywl8925 2 Rights 👉
Blacksmithing or Welding is a better next-skill set to earn/learn? Smithing for custom furniture trim and welding for frames/car work? Thank you so much for your work and sharing with us.
If you're looking for a valued skill that will make money, take up welding or machining.
If you want something that's good for the soul, take up smithing
In an ideal world, take up both - it's cheaper than you'd expect, and they complement each other absolutely perfectly.
Both hobbies can be started for less than 200 USD each. I live hand to mouth, but even I could scrimp and save enough for my tiny smithy over a few months.
Whether you want to fabricate furniture with a few handmade details, or tack weld a few jigs together to make your smithing easier and more versatile.