GReat Ferrous, you can cut and drill that makes lots of tools easy to make, or at least prep the raw materials for them.
That my friend is a personal thing, each smith has his or her own opinion. Me, I own at least 20 hammers, how many do I use most of the time?
- A 32oz ball pein(if Im reading the side correctly, its a bit dinged) A 3lb cross pein and a short handled hand sledge, weight i don't remember. I have a friend who uses just one hammer unless he needs a sledge. I must have about 40 pair of tongs, most I have collected, some I have made Most of them, your guess is as good as mine as to their intended use. Lots of other stuff, most of it gets used only occasionally.
You can have as much or as little to start with as you like. There is no exact "Right" answer (Oh I know I'm going to get flamed for this :- D ) for every one. Start where you are with what you have now. I have seen people start with a carpenters hammer and a block of wood for an anvil - horrid to use but they started. A single pair of tongs will get you started, so will a pair of vice grips or pliers, I use maybe 10 pair regularly, but when I started I had just 2 pair and had to make do with that. Flat jaw and bolt tongs I find are the most useful for me. Any lump of steel will get you started, a length of rail, the fork from a forklift, an old tractor part, start with what you can find, then get something better when it comes along. Just start, then make it up as you go along. If you wait till you have everything, or what someone tells you is the bare minimum, you may never get started. Remember you need forge, hammer, something to pound on, and tongs/pliers/vicegrips (if you want to hold something short and hot or you could just work on lengths of bar). You MUST have, that is ***MUST HAVE*** safety glasses. everything else, well you are lucky if you have it, otherwise get it when you need it.
Thats my opinion, it suits me, but not everyone. The big question is
- How much do you want to start and how long do you want to wait???
Have fun, Regards Rusty_iron, Brisbane Oz.