Theblacksmith'sABCs--learnmetalworkingastaughtbytheoldmasters

TheforgingofmetalgavebirthtotheIronAge,andPracticalBlacksmithingistheclassicprimeronthecraftthatshapedmoderncivilization.Featuringmorethan1,000illustrations,thisfoundationaltextdescribeseveryaspectofworkingwithironandsteel,andisessentialforboththedo-it-yourselfbackyardblacksmithandtheprofessionalmetalworker.

Originallypublishedinfourvolumesintheearly20thcentury,thishefty,single-volume,neweditionofPracticalBlacksmithingisdifferentfromsimilarbooksinthatitincludescontributionsbyworkingtradesmen.Inadditiontoitsclearandconciseinstructionalmaterial,thebook'seditorcollectedtheactualwordsofold-timeblacksmithsofferingtheirbestmethods,uniquehow-to's,originaltechniques,andarcaneknowledge.

Industrializationandmassproductionmayhaveledtothedisappearanceoftheblacksmithfromeverydaylife,buttheartofmetalworkneverdied.Itsmolderedlikehotcoalsinaforge,andtodaythosecoalsareredhotascraftsmantakingupblacksmithingasahobbyorartformseektolearnthefoundationalaspectsofthetrade.

Provingthatwhatmaybeoldcanactuallybenewanduseful,PracticalBlacksmithingdescribesalltheimportantsmithingprocesses:welding,brazing,soldering,cutting,bending,setting,tempering,fulleringandswaging,forging,anddrilling.Italsoincludestheearlyhistoryofblacksmithinganddescribestoolsusedsinceancienttimes.Inadditiontothousandsofotherusefulfacts,themodernblacksmithwillbeintroducedtooldtoolsandlearnhowtomakethem,andcanevenlearnhowtobuildaretroblacksmithshopwithdetaileddo-it-yourselfplans