Men At Work Collection:Ultimate Blacksmithing Guide,Blacksmithing For Beginners and Woodworking For Beginners: Master the art of transforming metal & wood. Learn to use the proper techniques and see your beautiful creation come to life in front of your eyes!

Men At Work Collection:Ultimate Blacksmithing Guide,Blacksmithing For Beginners and Woodworking For Beginners

Master the art of transforming metal & wood. Learn to use the proper techniques and see your beautiful creation come to life in front of your eyes!

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Blacksmithing

Ultimate Blacksmithing Beginners Guide

Easy and Useful DIY Step-by-Step Blacksmithing Projects for the New Enthusiastic Blacksmith, along with Mastering Great Designs and Techniques

By Les Steel

Introduction

I want to thank you and congratulate you for downloading the book, Blacksmithing: Ultimate Blacksmithing Beginners Guide.

This book contains proven steps and strategies on becoming a modern-day acolyte of the forge. You will learn about the history of blacksmithing, and you will be able to better understand why this honorable and noble profession persists into the present day. You may even recognize some of the famous people who have helped to shape the idea of what a blacksmith is, and why the work of a blacksmith has been celebrated throughout history.

In this book, you’ll learn about the basics and essential techniques associated with the various objects that can be crafted by a blacksmith. You’ll learn about the materials that have been used since ancient times to create beautifully-crafted objects, and you’ll learn about modern-day materials that have proved themselves worthy of use by today’s blacksmith.

More importantly, you will learn about becoming a blacksmith yourself. You will learn about the tools and essential techniques of the blacksmith’s work. You will learn about creating useful tools and agricultural implements, cooking utensils, decorative items, and even weapons.

I hope that when you’re done reading this book, you’ll be more than interested in strapping on your own protective gear and heading to work with a forge and an anvil -- perhaps with a trusty sledgehammer on hand!

Thanks again for downloading this book, I hope you enjoy it!

© Copyright 2020 by Les Steel - All rights reserved.

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Chapter 1

Blacksmithing and History

Metalworking in ancient history

To gain a better understanding of the work of the blacksmith, we must first learn about tools and how they are made, and we must also learn about how humans discovered the many processes of metalworking.

When we talk about tools, we are talking about the items that we use in order to reach a goal or complete a task. The use of tools is not limited to human beings. Many animals use simple tools in order to catch food, to groom themselves or others, or as toys.

Prehistoric humans constructed the earliest tools from twigs, branches, and different types of rock. One of the most well-known types of prehistoric stone tool is the hand axe, with which ancient humans could cut food and other items into smaller pieces. Hand axes were used to dig for tubers to eat, or water to drink; and they were also used for chopping wood. Examples have been found in Africa, and later on throughout Europe.

The transition from tools made out of stone to tools made out of metal marks the beginning of the Bronze Age. At the time, it was known that gold could be found in nuggets of nearly pure metal, and could be easily worked with tools made out of stone, bone, or even wood.

Ancient humans thought that it must be possible to find other metals in similarly pure form, but the technology of the time was limited to the finding of rocks in which deposits of metals such as copper and tin were embedded. These rocks are known as ores.

To release the copper or tin from ore, ancient humans discovered the process of smelting about 8,000 years ago. The process allowed ancient humans to create tools and decorative items out of metals such as copper -- and also to mix metals together, forming what we now know today as alloys. The first alloy to see widespread use was bronze, composed of copper and tin; from it, weapons, jewelry, decorative items, and religious objects were made.

Bronze, gold, and copper were the important metals in the years of the Bronze Age. There was some knowledge of iron -- except that these ancient civilizations knew iron as something that fell from the skies. Before the dawn of the Iron Age, workable amounts of relatively pure iron could only be found within stony iron meteorites.

It was only after human beings were able to apply more refined and more productive smelting processes to iron ore that more iron became available for use in creating weapons, tools, and other useful objects. This marked the transition into the Iron Age.

Most civilizations relied on what is now known as wrought iron, an alloy in which a tiny amount of carbon is mixed into the iron. This form of iron is tough and corrosion-resistant, but is relatively easy to shape and work with, and in addition is easily welded.

It was also possible to produce steel during the Iron Age. The carbon content of steel is higher compared to wrought iron; this resulted in objects and weapons that were much stronger compared to items created with bronze. However, the processes of production at the time created only relatively small amounts of steel.

From being a rare and expensive material in the prehistoric eras, iron and its various forms became almost commonplace materials as the years passed. Iron became the primary material out of which coins, kitchen implements, farming tools, and weapons of war were made.

Metalworking in the Middle Ages

During the Middle Ages, the cultures and civilizations of Europe continued to rely on the same techniques of refining metal that had been discovered centuries ago. The places where the different forms of iron and steel were made were referred to as bloomeries. These bloomeries used charcoal as the main fuel for the furnaces in which iron ore was smelted and refined.

While using water wheels to power various instruments and machinery related to agriculture was already well-known, it wasn’t until the Middle Ages that the idea of using water wheels to power the instruments and machinery related to metalworking became widespread. Soon, this new application of hydropower enabled bloomeries to produce greater quantities of iron.

At this time, a demand arose for cast iron: iron alloyed with carbon and various other metals such as nickel, copper, or silicon. The process that is used to make a modern-day cast-iron pan is very similar to the process that was used in order to make medieval implements such as cauldrons and cannonballs.

Solid pieces of cast iron are melted into fluid. The fluid is then poured into molds and allowed to cool and solidify. The made items are pried out of the molds, and a fresh batch of cast iron is melted down, so that the process can start all over again.

But metalworking wasn’t and has never been limited to creating pots, pans, or weapons. Particularly during the Middle Ages, metalworking was elevated to the status of a decorative art. Artisan metalworkers produced jewelry, reliquaries, and other fine objects from the various forms of metal that were available to them.

Metalworking to the eve of the Industrial Revolution

As the Renaissance dawned, metal, and the people who could work it, remained highly in demand. Metal was a prime part of the cultural, scientific, and artistic flowerings of the period, and the men and women who worked with metal retained the high regard that they already possessed in earlier ages.

Though it had been somewhat overshadowed by the prevalent use of iron, metalworkers still had ready access to bronze. In Italy and elsewhere, this particular metal became the medium of choice for master artists and sculptors.

Metal was also a prime concern for artists in other parts of Europe, such as in Germany, where artists rose to fame by creating fine engravings. While the inscribed metal plates were already works of art in their own right, the reputation of the artists was enhanced by the fact that it was possible to use those inscribed metal plates to print reproductions of the images onto paper.

The images on the metal plates could be covered with a thin layer of ink, and a sheet of paper would be pressed onto the inked plate, then carefully peeled away -- transferring the image on the metal onto the paper.

The same principle holds for metal-based movable type printing, which became critical to the spread of the ideas of the Renaissance. While Gutenberg rightly achieved everlasting fame for his invention of the printing press in Europe, the basic ideas of carving or engraving reversed characters into blocks that could be assembled and inked had already become widespread in places like China and Korea, even in the Middle Ages.

These blocks were formerly made out of fragile materials such as wood; they became far more useful -- and far more long-lasting -- when they began to be made out of bronze and copper.

The roots of the Industrial Revolution and its emphasis on machine-manufacturing can already be seen in the Renaissance. Blacksmiths used to make nails by hand in their forges. A slitting mill, in contrast, was typically water-powered, thus making it possible to automate large parts of the process of turning iron bars into thinner iron rods. Human workers then cut these rods to the required lengths for nails, and reshape them so that they had a head on one end and a point on the other.

In contrast, the scientific instruments of the time were still hand-built. For example, though the primary components of refracting telescopes were their delicate glass lenses, the barrels into which these lenses were set were often made out of metal. The mirrors of reflecting telescopes were themselves made out of metals at first, before scientists hit upon the idea of coating glass in metals such as silver and aluminum.

We should not forget the weapons of war that spread throughout the world during the years of colonization and conquest. Soldiers still trained to fight with various kinds of swords and polearms, but they also learned how to operate firearms such as the arquebus and the musket.

Chapter 2

Blacksmithing and Culture

In the previous chapter, you saw how metals, the various methods and processes of metalworking, and the men and women who shape metal have played important roles throughout history. You also saw that because of their essential skills and expertise, blacksmiths and metalworkers alike have been accorded with special social status; in fact, they have often been the very foundations on which entire militaries, empires, and artistic cultures are built.

It’s no wonder that blacksmiths and metalworkers retain a prominent place in the cultures and religious beliefs of societies and civilizations all over the world -- a reverence that persists even in modern times.

Gods of the forge, and gods who craft weapons for their fellow gods and chosen heroes, are a nearly universal constant in ancient religions. Hindu mythology gives us Tvastar, also known as Vishvakarma, who is revered not only as the blacksmith to the devas, but also as the first-born creator, who shaped the universe itself.

If we turn to the various sagas and legends that make up Norse mythology and religious beliefs, we’d hardly be able to turn a page without hearing of fantastical jewels and weapons such as the spear Gungnir or, indeed, the hammer known as Mjölnir. Both of these items are said to be the work of the dwarf brothers Brokkr and Eitri. In fact, Brokkr’s very name in Old Norse means one who works with metal fragments. His name in and of itself means blacksmith!

The Finnish epic poem, the Kalevala, features Ilmarinen as the archetype of the blacksmith. Among many other creations, the forging of the dome of the sky itself is attributed to him, as is the creation of a legendary item known as the Sampo. This item, which is variously described as a compass, a mill, or a die for making coins, is said to bring fabulous luck to the one who owns it. However, the Sampo was stolen and said to be smashed or lost at sea.

We cannot neglect to mention the deity known as Hephaestus to the Greeks and as Vulcan to the Romans. The myths paint him as an ugly, misshapen figure -- but if it hadn’t been for him, the Greek and Roman heroes wouldn’t have the famed magical items that made it possible for them to succeed in their great quests.

Hephaestus is credited as the creator of such fantastic objects as the winged helmet and sandals of the messenger god Hermes, the shield known as the Aegis which was carried by Zeus and then by his daughter Athena, and the fabulous girdle of the goddess of love Aphrodite.

In some stories, he is also credited as the co-creator of the woman Pandora, who opened the infamous container that contained all the evils of the world -- as well as hope. He and Athena are referred to as the divine teachers, who passed on to mortals their knowledge of art and craftsmanship.

In Japan, the start of the long and time-consuming process of creating a fine sword was often marked by an invocation to the powerful Shinto spirit known as Inari Ōkami, or simply as O-inari. While many of the other gods associated with fire, blacksmithing, and forging were male, O-inari assumed many forms, including that of an old man, an androgynous bodhisattva, and a celestial young woman.

More than just a god of the forge, the horned deity known as Ikenga is regarded as the god of achievement, effort, and victory by the Igbo people of Nigeria. The votive image of this god is a powerful symbol to the Igbo; it is also the most commonly-found artifact of this culture.

Images of Ikenga are often owned by men of integrity and high reputation, though it is also possible for women to possess these images. Among the Igbo, Ikenga is believed to bring wealth and fortune to its owners, as well as to bestow divine protection upon them.

The spirit known variously as Ogun, Ogoun, or simply as Gu, is a powerful guardian who is said to watch over warriors and craftsmen alike. A member of the pantheon of West African Vodun, worship of Ogun has been carried over into other systems of religious beliefs, such as Santería. It is said that his main task is to make sure that the realm of human beings is a favorable place to exist in, and that he continues to labor tirelessly in the pursuit of this goal.

Perhaps as a consequence of the appearance of gods who watched over the forge and gods who protected