Here at Manchester, the way students wind down and relax is very important, whether your hobby is football or art we all have something we truly enjoy. Ever since 8th grade, my favorite way to wind down is blacksmithing. Like many students, I started my hobby as a way to distract myself from school and for around $150 you can as well!

Blacksmithing is the art of making tools and decorative pieces from iron such as knives, fire pokers, shields, claps, tongs, corkscrews, and more. It can be very rewarding to forge something distinct and useful from material and your own hands and tools. 

To start Blacksmithing you are going to need some basic equipment: a hammer, anvil, and forge are the most basic set up. This configuration is going to be primarily for beginners, so if you happen to enjoy blacksmithing after trying it out, you might want to upgrade some of these items later on!

Step one to building your blacksmithing arsenal is finding the right hammer. While a normal carpentry hammer will work in a pinch, it would be better to use the right hammer for the job; most blacksmiths use a cross-peen hammer or a ball-peen hammer. Blacksmiths prefer the cross/ball-peen on a hammer because it is very good at moving material when they are hammering on a project. You can pick up one or both of these hammers at most hardware stores.

One of the most important tools in blacksmithing is the anvil, and it’s possibly the hardest item in this guide to find for cheap. You could buy a new cast iron anvil from Amazon or Harbor Freight for around $100, but for a starter this isn’t necessary. On ebay and other sites like it you can find railroad tracks for around the same price or less, and if you’re lucky and you know where to look, you could even get some railroad spikes for free.

Perhaps the hardest part about blacksmithing is making the forge. Prebuilt forges can cost a fortune, assuming you can find one at all, but when you break down a forge, it’s quite simple. In its most basic form, a forge is forced air blowing on hot coal, so to make a forge, all you’re going to need is a cast iron pan, some plumbing pipe, and a hair dryer. When looking for what to buy, keep in mind that you need a pan that can hold a few handfuls of charcoal and pipe that can be fitted to the end of a hairdryer. Warning: do NOT buy galvanized iron pipe because when heated it releases harmful fumes.

Start by using the pipe to draw a circle in the middle of the pan. In that circle, drill a few holes to let air through. Bolt your pipe to the underside of the pan and connect your hair dryer to the other end. All that’s left to do is to fix the pan to a base and you’re done! To use your forge, all you need to do is light some coal in the pan and turn on the hair dryer.

When blacksmithing, there are a few things to keep in mind: this hobby can be dangerous. When it comes to swinging hammers at crazy hot metal, you need to be careful and wear safety equipment. That being said, if you are interested in trying blacksmithing, I highly recommend they give it a go with this cheap and easy set up!