I’ve been smithing for more than a decade at my business, Five Points Blacksmith Shop in Charleston, Illinois. While forging iron is physically demanding, I’ve learned that controlled movement is much more important than brute strength.
Although many blacksmiths opt to use modern equipment, such as electric welders, it’s beneficial to know traditional joinery. Building a repertoire of basic blacksmithing techniques will allow you to increase your skill as you accumulate knowledge. Once you’re comfortable performing basic tasks, you’ll be able to complete a broad range of aesthetic and functional projects for your home and garden. Here, you’ll learn about mastering a fundamental blacksmithing technique: forge welding.
Burn, Baby, Burn
Also referred to as “fire welding,” forge welding is the process of uniting two or more pieces of metal through heat and hammer. When the proper welding temperature has been achieved, two pieces of steel stock can be fused together with blows. Forge welding isn’t difficult, although your chance of being burned by the materials is somewhat high. By maintaining your focus and staying calm, you’ll learn how it feels to safely connect with iron, not simply manipulate it.
Before setting up a welding fire, you need to remove clinkers, ash, and all other debris from your coal forge. The most common fire used to forge-weld is a chamber-shaped, or “beehive,” fire. This formation will allow you to observe the metal stock as it heats, and its enclosed “oven” will concentrate the heat on the stock inside the chamber.
A beehive
