This vintage book contains a complete guide to blacksmithing and steel working, with information on all aspects ranging from the correct use of tools and shop equipment to repairing cogs and making a gun. Highly accessible and profusely illustrated, this timeless handbook will be of utility to novice metalworkers and would make for a worthy addition to collections of allied literature. Contents include: "The Smith", "There are Smiths and Smiths", "Intemperance", "Incompetency", "Religion", "A Modern Guild", "Taxation Will Never Raise the Standard of a Mechanic", "Literature", "The Shop", "The Anvil", "Coal Box", "Tool Tables", "The Hammer", "The Sledge", "How to Make a Hammer", et cetera. Many vintage books such as this are increasingly scarce and expensive. We are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern edition complete with a specially commissioned new introduction on metal work.

Contains over 500 articles Ranging over foodways and folksongs, quiltmaking and computer lore, Pecos Bill, Butch Cassidy, and Elvis sightings, more than 500 articles spotlight folk literature, music, and crafts; sports and holidays; tall tales and legendary figures; genres and forms; scholarly approaches and theories; regions and ethnic groups; performers and collectors; writers and scholars; religious beliefs and practices. The alphabetically arranged entries vary from concise definitions to detailed surveys, each accompanied by a brief, up-to-date bibliography. Special features *More than 2000 contributors *Over 500 articles spotlight folk literature, music, crafts, and more *Alphabetically arranged *Entries accompanied by up-to-date bibliographies *Edited by America's best-known folklore authority

Master blacksmith Joe DeLaRonde demonstrates the basic skills and techniques needed to make the tools and accoutrements required for life on the homestead or ranch. Detailed and easy-to-understand instructions, illustrations, and photographs will help the beginning blacksmith set up the forge, get the fire hot enough for welding, and craft the tools needed for blacksmithing.

"A stunning piece of scholarship, rich in both theory and evidence, that takes the reader to a new plateau of understanding" (Charles Joyner, University of South Carolina) of the African-American folklife.

Filled with absorbing information, The Blacksmith: Ironworker and Farrier pays fine tribute to the skill and ingenuity of this versatile nineteenth-century American craftsman. The roles of the blacksmith as hardware maker, farrier, and village handyman are vividly portrayed in the lively text and exceptional illustrations. Methods for fullering, upsetting, and welding wrought iron are clearly explained, as well as the construction of latches, ice tongs, chains, and a wealth of iron fittings. Aldren Watson's chapters include "Wrought Iron: Its Properties and Manufacture," "The Blacksmith Shop and Forge Fire," "Working at the Forge," "Hardware and Harness," "Shoeing a Horse," "Wagons, Buggies, and Sleds," and "The Blacksmith in His World." For those who would like a forge and bellows of their own, there are suggestions for laying out a blacksmith shop and constructing a leather bellows and forge. Watson's book is an important record and a valuable source for anyone interested in this part of American industry.