Forging a nail header and a few nails at the new forge
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ก.ย. 2024
- We decided to forge a few nails to help finish up our new blacksmith shop doors. First we needed a nail header, which was forged out of an old ATV axle. Then we made a few nails from 1/4" round stock.
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A very simplistic header but makes a beautiful nail
Considering all the work a blacksmith had to do.. imagine how much a simple nail was worth 200 years ago.
Its said they would burn a house down when moving to get the nails back
They used to burn down old buildings to reclaim the nails.
I guess that's why joinery used to be so important. We're used to just using glue, screws, and nails to hold wooden pieces together, but back when nails were such a commodity, being able to join pieces without them was important for more than just aesthetics
That's what apprentices were for. The master would work on involved forgings and the apprentice would make nails and other simple items.
Ahhh people have been making cut nails (the most common type between 1800 and WWI) on machinery in a big way since the early 1800s, the first slitting machine dates back to the late 1500s... so... not as much as you might think.
Today I learned what a nail header is--no wonder people used to pull and reuse nails based on the amount of effort to create one by hand! The new shop looks amazing and so well thought out.
Suggestion: Try to get in the habit of always quickly sweeping the scale off the top of the anvil by keeping a brush next to the anvil and give the top a quick swipe. That scale will cause nasty pits on the anvil. It takes a while but it will become second nature.
Appreciate you sharing your process.
He has to make the brush first, and that would be interesting too
Also for longer crafts where the anvil is hot you can take a grinder to it and smooth it out
@@Thicbladi but then he'll have to make the grinder out of sandstone, treadle & pumice....
Only things that put pits on my anvils are missed hammer blows and getting too enthusiastic with the chisel lol, scale only marks your work.
Your header is very simplistic but it makes a beautiful nail
very cool, it must be a lot of work to make several, especially since iron was used to be. that's why there are so many buildings that barely had nails. it's a lot of work to acquire and purify the metal, and forging also seems to take a long time, but especially mining and refining, it must be difficult to make small nails by forging
If you dropped this man off in Alaska with 5 tool come back in 5 week he would have a house, bed, kitchen table, with matching chairs, stove, tool shop and bathroom that any man would call home.
And three cats :-)
Give him a good enough tool and he could build a city
Lovely deadened sound on that anvil 👍
Im a traditional carpenter in Norway. Have to say im very impressed with your work skills. Very inspiring.
Who'd have thought that a nail could be a work of art. Definitely something to hang your hat on.
Your box bellows is working so great! I love seeing how your work is developing and I think it’s absolutely amazing what you’re creating. Your page has been one of my absolute favorites for several years now and I don’t comment often but I wanted to let you know that I think what you’re doing is fantastic. Some of us are really really paying attention; even though we are sometimes quiet. Keep up the great work. Your format is not only inspiring and educational but also so relaxing which is amazingly beneficial across multiple borders. Thank you.
Nails are a great way to practice. After awhile the hammering rhythm will get so good the metal will stay hot almost till completion of the nail. Another way to practice is to make small nails and shape cold metal until it becomes red hot. It's a good test to know if placement and hammering are becoming efficient.
Getting all modern on us with this new technology. Lol . Mr. Chickadee truly amazing craftworx.
The old timers were really made of different stuff. You amaze me.
Cleaner air for one
I heard another blacksmithing youtuber ( blackbear forge I believe) talked about master smiths would make these nails all in one heat. Just imagine how many nails he had to make to get that proficient. It blows my mind. This was probably why timber framing was so popular back in the day. Nails must have been expensive. Isn’t that also why we still measure our nails in pennies? For example a 1 penny nail was the price for 50 1inch nails, 2 penny was 50 1 1/2inch, etc. keep up the good work Mr C.
i know a guy who worked on a project for a 13th century bridge, he and two other had to make 5000 nails, about 6" long. took them months.
We call those CLOUT nails in England . Bravo .
Popular legend has it that people would burn down their structures before moving so they could collect and take their nails with them. Once native Americans found out about this, they seized on the idea of burning down the structures for them, as a neighborly way of "helping them to move away". ☺
What you practice as a working method requires time and patience in addition to imagination and science, so is no longer in line with our present times, but is great for self-worth, what the modernism to kill in the bud.
Thank you for your fantastic tutorial !!!!
Black bear forge would be proud of you. Great video.
I have never seen that done before. thanks for sharing. it just shows how much effort went into everything in olden times.
Strong nails!
Found a book quite a few years ago.
Modern blacksmithing; rational horse shoeing and wagon making, with rules, tables and receipts. By John Gustof Holmstrom.
Really had a lot of good tips and tricks.
Great video as usual!
Modern means 1900 BTW.
That's an excellent book- but I highly recommend grabbing "American Blacksmithing" instead- it contains both a slightly expanded version of "Modern Blacksmithing" plus another EXCELLENT book called "The 20th Century Toolsmith's and Steelworker's Manual". There's even a 1980 hardback reprint that you can get- don't be put off by the horrible 80s dust jacket. it reflects none of the contents, haha.
Nice video sir. Always a pleasure to watch.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Nice job
Those nails look sweet. Handmade is the best way.
J.D. Leftwich had the misfortune recently to tear the flesh of one of his fingers on a rusty
nail. The wound apparently healed, but last week blood poison symptoms were apparent and the services of Dr. Hamilton were required. At this writing the hand is much improved.
..the demo was a true time worp...like stepping back in time to watch a Smith work...thank you....
Beautiful nails. Now i see why they were so valuable back in the day.
Beautiful craftsmanship there. Awesome videos Forge On. God bless.
yay a reason to not go to sleep yet. just what i needed.
Sleeping is a waste of time. Now it's 3:18am here, in the north of Spain, and I have a lot of reasons to be awake!
I like the simplicity of the header.
I love the ambience of your shop! Peaceful
Eight down, eight thousand to go.
And in the end? A life worth living.
Thank you for sharing.
I need to make a nail header for my own shop, nice work! First I need to finish the socket mandrel for the javelin heads I am going to make......
Cold forging is good for the rot iron.
Rất hay ad , anh rèn sắt khá giỏi.👍👍👍
Awesome!
respect to the guys that did this work all day
Good stuff.
ROFLMAO! 🤣😂🤣😂! Sorry I can not resist...😇. It did result in my subscribing though. When you placed the blank between your legs and and started pounding on on the the tip, I blinked with EVERY hammer blow! Love your channel and I will be back!
That beautiful anvil, and the stone footing is 10/10.
Very cool
Craftsman!!
When Kellysmith made the 30, some thousand nails for the Susan Constant replica at Jamestown, each nail took about 15 hammer hits, including making the head... Goals to work to!
Amazing! There is no limit to what we will see next, maybe a twisted steel wood auger?
That’s a good one.
Those are fine nails; consistency in size. good job.
I would imagine the apprentice blacksmith worked many long hours to make enough nails just for one house.
I used to work with a guy whose grandpa has a ~2000 sqft house in Montana. No nails.
Wow! Maybe you should frame that first nail!
I thought the same thing .. but even if he nails him at the entrance on the jamb of the forge it will always be easy to see
He's going to frame it with a door!
Love to see the new forge up and running. Really enjoyed the video on the bellows.
Fascinating to watch. Comforting to know the old skills would be carried on in the apocalypse.
Amazing. Thanks mr chickadee
You are amazing at what you can learn and then do.
Now you never have to buy nails ever again.
EXCELLENT!
Good 👍
Looking forward to more blacksmith videos! You are awesome!
love the camera work!
Thank you
Great video man
You are very crafty bro if that's even word......JJ....
Welcome to the Iron Age, only 9992 more nails to go.
Great video's love what you are doing, no place like home.
Absolutely awesome
Amazing! Thanks for the great video.
Another excellent video! Semper Fi from an old Army guy!
So good thanks for sharing!
Like the bellows.
Nails were still expensive even after 1940's. Shortages from war effort and all. Construction site, people would abscond with a small barrel of nails if any were around and no one looking; comparable to modern day copper thefts. Be able to make your own!? I'd say.. Priceless.
I so wish I could use coal to have your bi directional belows! SO effective. ANd I love how efficiently you work.
Charcoal works every bit as well - it can reach forge welding temperature.
Coal can be almost prohibitively expensive, and the gases it gives off can be quite nasty - anthracite is the only coal worth using for forging, and anthracite coke which is the best, is ridiculously expensive. Coke can be made at home from coal, but for the ease of making charcoal, it's not really worth it. Plus, coking is a nasty process.
Imagine have to make enough to build a large building! WOW
Awesome Thanks for posting. 🇦🇺
You nailed it!
Much respect. Thank you.
You have a nicely equipped and set up blacksmith shop there. Bellows and forge seem to be Japanese style, anvil looks Austrian. Definitely a little more character than a propane forge and a London pattern anvil.
Sure does make one appreciate being able to buy nails by the pound these days. Imagine having to make enough of those to build a house! No wonder timber framing with integral joint and pegs was the preferred way to build in older times.
Fascinating. It's funny, cuz I was just thinking about making nails a couple days ago.
Great to see the forge in action, anvil sounds great (looks like a Dwarven heirloom From LOTR).....must say I truely admire your nail-less joinery, love rivited iron work though, so twitched a little at the thought of nails (nessesary evil I suppose). One thing I noticed was you didn't appear to dip/quench the nail head after forging them, I was taught to peen the head when red and then quench in water to harden the head for a strong rigid nail with less chance of deforming when used. Cheers thanks for shareing
If your making nails out of wrought iron or mild steel, quenching them does nothing to the nail. Only high carbon steel hardens when quenched.
I watched a bunch of forging nails videos in preparation for forging my first nail (and first blacksmithing project ever!). I love how everyone does it just a little differently and there's no "right" way to do it. I learned from my dad who learned at Old Sturbridge Village, a living history museum in Massachusetts, almost 50 years ago. I'm documenting my journey learning blacksmithing on my channel.
Yes
Great , an other step in building your own things.
That was awesome.
Outstanding ! Simplify !! Peace
This whole site looks like the cure for high blood pressure. Thank you.
Wow
Harbor Freight sells them for a few bucks. Good investment.
Magnifique !!!!! J'adore
Nail making was an industry in Great Britain when we were the colonies. Britain produced iron and had cheap labor compared to the colonies. During many different time periods in our trade relationship with Britain it was actually cheaper to import nails than make them here.
At first glance I read, "forgetting nails". Thought immediately, "awesome!" One less thing to remember!
not bad Jarhead, keep it up and you will master it.
semper fi.
Your anvil sounds perfect.
Great project. A bit more practice and you'll get nails that are more matching. Nich job, Josh.
Sempre Fi.
parabéns mano,fico encantado com o seu trabalho. .. saudações do BRASIL. .
I found out that Im an hour drive from you 😃🇺🇸👍
dang I have watched every video. such a cool channel!
I never thought of all the work that went into the making of something so simple as a nail.
No point in asking for a bicycle then ?!?
thx
I was wondering when you would start making nails. I've always had piece of axle sitting by my forge to heat up my anvil. Flattened on one side of course. Heat that baby up, set in on your anvil and go have a cup of coffee, or feed the horses.
👌
Tools...this is the way
Now I know why all of your joinery uses no fasteners. It would take you a year to make enough nails for anything significant. Amazing as usual.
an idea i have seen people tack wield a finished nail to the nail head tool thing so when there forging the taper they have something to measure it to so all nails are closer to the same