November 2023 Volume 5

FOUNDATION NEWS

student is waiting with their workpiece in the forge. If you want two people working at one time (never one person alone, for safety) then you should only need one anvil. Four people? Two anvils. This also means the number of tongs and hammers is scaled to the number of anvils, not the number of students. I would suggest starting with 3 sizes of tongs (1/4”, ½”, and ¾” v-bit or wolfjaw) per anvil, and two hammers (lighter than you think, 3 lb. maximum for hand hammers) per anvil. In order to build up your tool selection, students should practice by making those new tools. It is far cheaper and builds a lot of manufacturing know-how for students to make new sizes of tongs or hammers as necessary. Many forges also have heavy equipment such as power hammers or hydraulic presses. These come with an additional level of safety precautions. Students should understand forging techniques with a hand hammer before moving on to more dangerous equipment. Once they are of appropriate caliber to use dangerous equipment, this equipment can become incredibly useful for making new tools or projects. However, when you have heavy equipment, valuable tools, and ignition sources, you must consider how to ensure that only the correct people have access. Lock out the plugs and gas lines of heavy equipment and ignition sources. Lock up tools such as tongs and hammers. Consider sheet-metal coverings for the anvil surfaces to prevent unnecessary wear-and-tear. Who should have keys to these locks? “Head Smith” students, lab managers, funding sources? Make sure you can answer these questions before opening the shop to use. How do you make sure that people are trained both in safety and in forging procedures to ensure that they’re making good strides in their work? Many students who want to join a forging club have never swung a hammer before. It is important to have mandatory workshops to communicate both safety and blacksmithing techniques. At Mines, I teach a series of five classes followed by a “test.” These five classes cover: 1. Safety and Hammer Technique; 2. Tapering; 3. Bending; 4. Shouldering and Cutting; 5. Punching Holes and Miscellaneous Tooling. The test at the end ensures that

consider how students can gain inspiration (and the club can gain engagement) by interacting with local blacksmithing groups or art clubs around campus by hosting demos or classes. Third, consider how the club can interact with other clubs, such as through the FIERF Annual Forging Competition. Fourth, consider how the club can interact with industry or support further education through other FIERF and FIA opportunities like technical conferences and scholarships. All of these opportunities and interactions will boost attention for your club, inspiration for your students, and a variety of skillsets for all members! Happy Hammering!

FIA recently held a webinar with Mason Weems talking with faculty and students about how to start a forging club at their school. If you are interested in learning more or would like access to the recording of the webinar, contact Amanda Dureiko at amanda@forging.org. Mason Weems PhD Student at Colorado School of Mines Email: mbweems@mines.edu

students are able to put all of these skills together in a final product, for example, a coat hook. This process also allows students to put their teaching skills to practice! Once students have a passing level of skill in these areas, they should be able to use the shop both for their own projects, and for making tooling such as tongs and hammers to improve the shop. This is where a forging club can truly excel but requires some additional effort and rules to provide direction and engagement. Firstly, consider what projects pose safety- or legal-issues such as knifemaking, and how these projects should be limited. Second,

FIA MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER 2023 71