Anyone take any of The Crucible's blacksmithing/blade smithing programs?

[Entoptic]

Word? What kind of folks? What classes did you take?


yeah i though about forging in the back yard, i have the means and access to some equipment. Ideally what i wanted to do is to quickly forge weld enough stock for a few knives and then leave. I could get billets on ebay, but i'd rather have my own Q.C. on the materials.

I took the blacksmith class and the welding class. It is good stuff for a noob like myself. I had no prior experience and no interweb experience at all. I didn't have a space to DIY and after the classes I learned a lot of stuff that I am sure I would have screwed up without taking the class first. Look at it like this, you have a real life blacksmith with all the tools you need and you can ask all the questions you like. That alone imo is worth the cost.

I had a falling out with them when I was supposed to be paid for a job the night the event I worked ended. I signed a contract with them that clearly stated the date/time in which I was supposed to be paid. I was given the work around by several people and then decided a week later to just show up and demand my money. I basically said that they better dig into their pockets and pay me today or face small claims court. They were rude but I got paid after being told I am no longer allowed at any of their events by their event coordinator who was shortly after let go.

In terms of a school they are great but business wise just remember you are dealing with burningman folks.

 

[Sharky]

???

In some damn other life I fancied myself a blacksmith or something. Has any one here or know of anyone that's taken any of the classes at The Crucible?

I recently started getting into bladesmithing using stock removal methods and doing my own heat treating. It would be nice to get a bit more "formal" training and learn to forge weld. Of course access to the power hammer ould be sweet too.

http://www.thecrucible.org/classes/adult-classes-by-department/blacksmithing

My boss did it and had fun. probably learn some good techniques.
My take, get an anvil, a torch and wail away...your mileage may vary with the second method.

 

[Cycle61]

mount one on the bumper of the monster truck nick....

nak

haha.... nick... nak

Heck, I could make a bumper out of a piece of RR track.

 

[auntiebling]

i'm surprised you haven't... come to think of it my truck needs a rear bumper

 

[Cycle61]

Well, at 80-130 pounds per yard, that's a damn heavy bumper. Would your little truck carry it?

 

[auntiebling]

ohyeah. might settle the ride a bit too

 

[louemc]

Actually...I'd opt for truck leaf springs (maybe three leafs) bracketed to place it sideways across the back of a pickup (or whatever) ..before I'd have a piece of railroad rail, there.

 

[auntiebling]

holy crap, lou, that's awesome. bumpercars here i come....

 

[louemc]

holy crap, lou, that's awesome. bumpercars here i come....

Your welcome AuntieBling ..See I'm a Metal worker, Tool&Die maker (heat treat freak) and trouble shooter in huge factories, engineering what they need....So I'm Demented in how I think with no restrictions

 

[Traq]

Actually...I'd opt for truck leaf springs (maybe three leafs) bracketed to place it sideways across the back of a pickup (or whatever) ..before I'd have a piece of railroad rail, there.

arty

 

[louemc]

arty

That be Sweet So right

 

[Charles R]

Stuff like this is an odd reason why first world countries will, ironically, do better than third-world countries when everything settles down after the X apocalypse (where X is some catastrophe). People in wealthy countries have the leisure time to engage in arcane hobbies like blacksmithing or coopering or chandlery, whereas people in poorer countries are stuck doing subsistence farming or other stuff.

Nah, the people in third world levels do this stuff everyday, just to simply be able to live. Remember that all this "arcane" stuff, is nothing more than what daily life was just 100 years ago in our own country. Even subsistence farming needs tool repair, animal harnesses, pots to cook in, etc.

For us first worlders, after X apocalypse, most of the survivors will be desperately trying to find that "one in 10,000" (optimistic) hobbyist, while wandering around in shock from the lack of Grande Latte's and missed episodes of the real housewives of alabama.

The third worlders would hardly notice any change in life at all.

 

[Dr. Evil]

Hah! I've got a head start! I drink TALL lattes! Muahahahaha!

 

[ScorpioVI]

I got it in my head once that I wanted to make my own knives, so I went to my buddy's shop to watch him make knives. Fuck me that's a lot of work, I mean hard physical labor. You definitely don't want to grapple with blacksmiths. I'm talking about knife makers who forge their own steel, not the CNC/grinder type of knife makers, not that there's anything wrong with that.

I still want to make my own knives, but I'd need to move first. I'd need a bigger space and no neighbors to complain about the noise.

Edit: I am getting pretty damn good at making kydex sheaths though.

 

[Nemo Brinker]

The coupla Crucible classes I've taken have been good fun; just check the prerequisites and make sure you want to invest the time and $ first.

If you do, let me know: we can have beer after your classes.

 

[Asphaultnaut]

I got it in my head once that I wanted to make my own knives, so I went to my buddy's shop to watch him make knives. Fuck me that's a lot of work, I mean hard physical labor. You definitely don't want to grapple with blacksmiths. I'm talking about knife makers who forge their own steel, not the CNC/grinder type of knife makers, not that there's anything wrong with that.

I still want to make my own knives, but I'd need to move first. I'd need a bigger space and no neighbors to complain about the noise.

Edit: I am getting pretty damn good at making kydex sheaths though.

you any good at making holsters?

 

[ScorpioVI]

you any good at making holsters?

Only made one holster so far for a Glock 23 and it was a pain. A lot of fine tuning and reheating to get the fit just right. Not worth my time since there's a lot of kydex holsters already in the market.

 

[Asphaultnaut]

Only made one holster so far for a Glock 23 and it was a pain. A lot of fine tuning and reheating to get the fit just right. Not worth my time since there's a lot of kydex holsters already in the market.

I have a weird old .22 target pistol I inherited from my father. If I gotta have it custom made, it'd be nice to get it done local