The Art of Blacksmithing

If you want to know how an 18th-century iron hinge was made, or how an intricate trivet was formed, or how a muzzle-loading rifle barrel was welded, this book has the answers. If you would like to set up a blacksmith shop, this book describes and illustrates the equipment and the techniques developed in more than 6,000 years of working iron by hand. It respects the specialized skills of the smith, and creates nostalgia for the color and excitement of the village smithy. Covers every aspect of the fundamental craft on which the civilization of the Iron Age was built. Bealer drew material from the few available books on ironworking and completed his research by talking and working with iron workers and armor experts in the U.S. and Europe. Over 500 illustrations.