Blacksmith

If you would like to know more about this art, we have 14 (fourteen) wonderful old books on blacksmithing, that just about covers every aspect of the craft. These 14 books are all on one CD, which is available for just $8.00 (including free postage) from our eBay Store called eBooks on CD.


Book descriptions are below:

1. Blacksmith Shop Practice a Machinery Reference Series written in the early 1900s (40 pages in length). "Forges used for the average range of blacksmithing are from 36 to 48 inches in width. With these placed 5 feet from the walls and anvils from 18 to 24 inches out from the line of forges, the distance from wall to anvil will be approximately 11 feet."

2. Practical Blacksmithing: A Collection of Articles Contributed at Different Times By Skilled Workmen to the Column's of the "The Blackmith and Wheelwright" and covering nearly the Whole Range of Blacksmithing From The Simplest Job of Work to Some of The Most Complex. Formings, compiled and edited by M.T. Richardson in 1889 (250 pages). "While a skilful blacksmith of extended experience, with a turn for literature, might be able to write a book arranged more systematically, and possibly treating of more subjects, certain it is that no one up to the present time has ever made the attempt, and it is doubtful if such a work would contain the same variety of practical information that will be found in these pages, formed of contributions from hundreds of able workmen scattered over a wide area."

3. A Handbook of Art Smithing: For The Use of Practical Smiths, Designers of Ironwork, Technical and Art Schools, Architects etc, by Franz Sales Meyer, published in 1896 with over 200 pages. "Addressed especially to art workmen and designers, though not confined exclusively to German examples, the work is written from the German standpoint, which differs in many respects from the English. The actual technical operations are of necessity the same, but the tools differ somewhat. A large part of the book and of the illustrations is devoted to modern German productions and design, and in view of the somewhat severe competition the English smith is experiencing, and must anticipate in the future from his confreres on the Rhine, this section is not without its special interest."

4. Modern Blacksmithing: Rational Horse Shoeing and Wagon Making, by J.G. Holstrom in 1904 (200 pages). "What prompted the author to prepare this book was the oft - repeated question, by blacksmiths and mechanics of all kinds, as well as farmers: "Is there a book treating on this or that?" etc., etc. To all these queries I was compelled to answer in the negative, for it is a fact that from the time of Cain, the first mechanic, there has never been a book written by a practical blacksmith on subjects belonging to his trade. If, therefore, there has ever been such a thing as "filling a long-felt want," this must certainly be a case of that kind."

5. Elementary Forge Practice: A Text Book For Technical and Vocational Schools, by Robert H Harcourt, written in 1917 over a 140 pages. "The purpose in this book is to give the student of forge practice an understanding of fundamental operations employed, it being realized that many applications of these operations can be learned only thru connection with commercial work. To this end a series of exercises has been arranged. It is not intended that a student be required to make all of them, but there are certain ones which must be mastered before he can make some of those that follow. They are arranged with the intention of meeting the demands of all classes of students."

6. Forgecraft, by Charles Philip Crowe written in 1913 (over 180 pages). "The Forge is a place where iron and steel are given thermal and physical treatment. The Craft is dexterity and knowledge in giving the required shape and treatment. Part I. Treats the tools and materials, with instructions for using them to make certain dimensions and shapes. Part II. Treats welding wrought iron and steel, with instructions for preserving the strength of the materials. Part III. Is on the treatment of steel, with instructions for making types of tools that are in common use."

7. Forge-Practice And Heat Treatment of Steel, by John Lord Bacon written in 1919 (over 400 pages)."Modern demands on the finished products of steel have necessitated rapid strides in the art of heat treatment of the metal. As the subjects of forging, hardening, tempering and annealing are so closely correlated it has seemed wise to add to "Forge Practice" a certain amount of material devoted to the other branches of the art. The introduction of heat measuring and hardness testing instruments, together with various other modern appliances, and up to date systems of doing work have made necessary a broader knowledge of heat-treating methods than was formerly the case: for after all the most important factor is the man doing the work."

8. Forge Work, by William L Ilgen in 1912 (200 pages). "Teachers of forge work generally supply their own course of instruction and arrange the exercises for practice. The necessary explanations and information are given orally, and hence often with very unsatisfactory results, as the average student is not able to retain all the essential points of the course. It was the desire to put this instruction in some permanent form for the use of forge students that led the author to undertake this work."

9. Elementary Wrought Iron, by JW Bollinger written in 1930 (140 pages). "This little book is written to point out to industrial-arts men the possibilities of metal work as an industrial-arts subject, It is true that courses have been offered before and that texts have been written before, but these courses and texts were either all forge work, all sheet-metal work, or all machine work. The present book calls for a shop layout which may be termed a general metal shop; one in which a number of metal-working activities are represented."

10. Bolt, Nut And Rivet Forging, By Douglas T. Hamilton in 1914, (40 pages). "The bolt and nut industry in America started in a very small way in Marion, Conn., in 1818. In that year Micah Rugg, a country blacksmith, made bolts by the forging process. The first machine used for this purpose was a device known as a heading block, which was operated by a foot treadle and a connecting lever. The connecting lever held the blank while it was being driven down into the impression in the heading block by a hammer."

11. DINANDERIE: A History And Description Of medieval Art Work In Copper, Brass And Bronze, By J. Tavenor-Perry in 1910, (340 pages). "DINANDERIE was the name used during the Middle Ages to denote the various articles required for ecclesiastical or domestic use made of copper or of its alloys, brass and bronze, with which the name of Dinant on the Meuse was so intimately associated; and as we have no word in modern English which would in the same way embrace all branches of this important art work, we have adopted it as the most convenient for our purpose."

12. Copperwork: A Text Book for Teachers and Students In the Manual Arts, Fully Illustrated By Augustus F. Rose in 1906, (100 pages). "In this book the subject of Copper Work, as it may be introduced into the public schools, is treated to the extent of specifying equipment and suggesting some of the possibilities of a course. Not only will there be found an abundance of illustrative material on this subject, consisting of drawings and photographs of various objects executed by upper grammar and high school pupils, but also a detailed description of the processes necessary for the execution of many of the designs."

13. The Mechanician: A Treatise On The Construction And Manipulation Of Tools, For The Use And Instruction Of Young Engineers and Scientific Amateurs; Comprising The Arts of Blacksmithing and Forging, Second Edition By Cameron Knight in 1879, (490 pages). "The Mechanician is essentially a book of processes, including all operations by which the principal portions of engines are forged, planed, lined, turned, and otherwise treated. The author endeavours to perform two things to explain to uninitiated students how engines are really made, together with the fundamental principles involved in making them, and also to produce a book which shall be useful to practical mechanics for reference in the difficult details of their business."

14. The Metallurgy Of Iron And Steel, Edited by W. C. Roberts-Austen, in 1895, (400 pages). "This book is one of a series of volumes written by Associates of the Royal School of Mines, and edited by Professor Roberts-Austen. It is not a merely elementary text-book on the one hand or an exhaustive treatise on the other; nor does it cover the syllabus of any examining board. It is primarily intended for persons who are connected with the manufacture of iron and steel, and who may, therefore, be assumed to have already some general knowledge of the subjects discussed."

14 Blackmithing Books on CD for $8.00
Postage Included In The Price

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