closest affiliate (chapter).
Personally, I am happy to answer a new person whenever I can help,
but let me say this again:
The VERY BEST way to get questions about blacksmithing answered is to
get into a group that does what you want to do. There are over 60
"clubs" around the USA and Canada organized primarily to educate folks
about blacksmithing. ABANA, the Artist Blacksmith Association of North
America at
formatting link
has a list of the whereabouts of most of them.These clubs have various meeting schedules and conferences. The
members range from "never lit a fire" to real professionals. Many have
education programs. All of them welcome and look forward to meeting new
members. Many of the members have been upgrading their equipment and
therefore have things to sell, trade, etc..
Many of the groups also have newsletters containing "how-to"
articles. For instance, our group, The Guild of Metalsmiths, has an
index of about 750 how-to articles from our newsletter!
Some other countries have similar organizations.
So, to the folks who are new to blacksmithing: Find your closest
ABANA affiliate, check out their website if they have one, and join the
group. Get to a few meetings and introduce yourself. Tell folks about
your interests and go from there.
Finally, when you post a message with a question in it: Tell us in
general where you live like "west central Wisconsin" (me). Who knows---
you may live a mile from me or some other person who can help.
Pete Stanaitis
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