34 minutes

A Course in Basic and Intermediate Blacksmithing

This is the companion video to "the blacksmithing bible", A Blacksmithing Primer. The author of the indispensable reference book appears in these videos, teaching the standard techniques that all blacksmiths must know to master the craft. This is a must-have for every blacksmith's video library! You will learn how to organize your shop, build your first fire, hold and use your hammer, choose your stock, make tools for any job, forge weld, make scrolls, hinges, how to make animal and human heads and much, much more. Randy's simple, straightforward and humorous approach to learning to be a good blacksmith is as much a part of these videos as it is his book. Shot and edited in the same clear, user-friendly style you have come to expect from Love of Art Productions, you will enjoy watching Randy demonstrate all the techniques close-up, just for you.

This is a three tape/ DVD set, with almost 6 hrs of learning. You won't find a better resource for the beginning and intermediate blacksmith.

Randy McDaniel

3 VHS tapes. Running time: 6 hours

Item #: VHS4

Colonial Williamsburg
30 min

One of three videos from the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.  Blacksmiths Peter Ross and Ken Schwarz demonstrate some of the fundamental techniques used to shape iron.  They apply these techniques to the manufacture of a fireplace andiron, patterned after an 18th century original.  The
demonstrators expertly illustrate basic blacksmithing techniques and explain them in the context of their use in 18th century America.  A particular treat is observing Mr. Ross direct the smiths' double striking technique, which is used extensively in this video.   The demonstrators also illustrate how the analysis of extant pieces of period ironwork reveals the source technique of their manufacture, and how the modern smith can use these clues to accurately reproduce a period artifact.

Item #: VHS23

Continuing in the vein of its companion video, Leaves and Flowers, this tape demonstrates some insect and bird motifs that can be used and adapted for whimsical decorative work and garden-themed pieces. Epps is shown creating critters such as a scorpion, a garden snail and a dragonfly, as well as a hummingbird and two types of swans. These projects range from the extremely simple to the complex , and offer a quick way to add lots of ornamental appeal to a decorative project. Some of these items are used by the artist at demos as quick crowd-pleasers as well, taking only two or three heats to complete. A brief "chalkboard" segment enhances the viewer's learning opportunity by outlining the steps in creating each item, and enhanced video and sound make Epps' instructions clear and easy to follow. A must-have for the hobbyist or professional!

Bill Epps

Running time: 37 minutes

Item #: VHS8

Used in the jewelry industry for hundreds of years, where it is known as a screw press, the fly press is becoming an increasingly popular tool for the blacksmith. This machine allows the smith to accomplish many operations on cold steel that could formerly only be done "hot". Obviously, this is a great advantage in increasing speed and precision in your work. In "The Fly press", you will learn to evaluate used fly presses, what to look for in a new press, how to make tooling, and much more. John also demonstrates many common blacksmith operations on the fly press such as making tenons, veining, straightening stock, bending precise circles and hot stamping. All of these techniques are shown to you in the exceptional way that Love of Art Productions has come to be known for-clearly, up close, and easily understood. John Crouchet says, "if you're working cold you may be making money!" What a novel idea!

John Crouchet

Running time: 42 minutes.

Item #: VHS5

This early, rather primitive half hour video serves to introduce fold-forming as a system.  Demonstrates some eight folds.  Made in 1986, it covers the basic folds of the system and includes a condensed set of notes on developments since then.

Item #: VHS20

Item #: VHS21

Item #: VHS22

Host Alan Rogers, a professional blacksmith, introduces you to working  blacksmiths around the worlds art and industry, shows how metalwork is part of our lives and points out remarkable examples of the blacksmith's craft.  The program visits workshops filled with glowing metal, flying sparks, and ringing hammers. You will learn how to get started in the craft as well as the basics of working metal.  For the do-it-yourselfer, there will be a progression of home projects to learn actual blacksmithing skills. See our 3 volumes of Forge and Anvil project videos: VHS20, VHS21 and VHS22.

Item #: VHS19

This tape is the first in a series featuring Mesquite, Texas blacksmith, Bill Epps. A nice introductory collage of images, underscored by folk music and a quote form Longfellow's "The Blacksmith", gives the viewer a clue that these videos are going to be different from most of what's out there on the how-to market. In this video the viewer learns the steps in creating several novelty animal heads out of square stock and a novelty horse out of a horseshoe (Epps began his career as a farrier). The artist also discusses ideas on applications for the items shown.

A "chalkboard' segment introduces each item, breaking down the process of creating the heads and showing how the shape of the steel should change in each step. Epps includes tips on technique, including a discussion of the molecular structure of steel and why a smith makes his steel "square, then round", and how to use a cross-peen hammer correctly. Forge-welding can be clearly seen in the making of one of the pieces, and Epps gives tips to the beginning blacksmith on how to get a good forge weld.

Bill Epps

Running time: 32 minutes

Item #: VHS6

Colonial Williamsburg
32 min

James Anderson was a blacksmith and entrepreneur whose shop grew into a small industrial complex just off of the Duke of Gloucester Street in Williamsburg. For Colonial Williamsburg the problem in interpreting this important business was that nothing remained of the shop but some traces of
a foundation. Detective work by historians, archaeologists, and architectural historians provided the plans, and Colonial Williamsburg's housewrights did the rest. They built a new eighteenth-century building using the same tools, materials, and skills as their colonial counterparts, and transformed the construction into a hands-on adventure in history for visitors.

Item #: VHS16

Colonial Williamsburg
37 min

The second in a series of three videos.  This is a realistic dramatization of life in Colonial Virginia. In this story a young boy learns about the role of the blacksmith in an agricultural frontier community.  The master blacksmith, John Allgood, and his journeyman assistant and his apprentice, teach the boy about the vital link between the blacksmith's work and the life of the colony.  Throughout the unfolding of the story, the viewer will glean useful hints on techniques such as twisting, drawing out and forge welding.  The video serves more as a history lesson than a modern smithing instructional, and as such reinforces the inspiring history of a craft that was utterly necessary to the progress of civilization and the building of a
nation.

Item #: VHS17

Third in a series, this video features Bill Epps, a Mesquite, Texas blacksmith, demonstrating some of the techniques for making flower and leaf motifs for decorative projects. There are 5 leaves and 5 flowers demonstrated, including several ways of cutting veins into a leaf, folding and shaping the leaf form, and specific blossoms such as a rose, a morning glory, a dogwood blossom and a calla lily. Epps shows how to achieve surface texturing on leaves and petals to give a more naturalistic finish to the product, and discusses the merits of giving just the inference of a specific species, rather than trying for exact replication. The use of the guillotine tool, or top/bottom fuller, is shown. Applications for the individual items shown are discussed, and the viewer is encouraged to find his or her own ways of using these beautiful decorative details. Skilled photography and editing, and a working knowledge of the subject matter are evident in this video, as in all the others by Love of Art Productions. The professional or hobbyist blacksmith will want to add these techniques to his or her repertoire.

Bill Epps

Running time: 52 minutes

Item #: VHS9

Philip Simmons Foundation

1995 Emmy and Broadcasters documentary on the life and ironwork contributions in South Carolina by Philip Simmons - (22 min.)

This video is the second in a series released by Love of Art Productions. Making Tongs shows the blacksmith making three different styles of tong joints with three different tong heads. First we see the Twisted Joint/Scrolling Head tong, then the Traditional Joint/ Wolf-jaw tong and finally the "Champion" Joint /Bolt Head tong. Epps also shows a variety of other specialty tongs he has made, and discusses the importance of a blacksmith being able to make his own tools. Tips such as how to quench moving parts will help the student blacksmith avoid frustrating mistakes in his own shop. The viewer sees the artist using a power hammer in this video to draw out tool handles, as well. As in the first video, Forged Animal Heads, the directors use careful editing, good voice-over enhancement and a "chalkboard" segment before every piece demonstrated, to help the viewer duplicate Epps' techniques. Good production value and Epps' casual country wit make this a video that every smith will want to have in his or her how-to library.

Bill Epps

Running time: 32 minutes

Item #: VHS7