Customer Reviews

The Complete Modern Blacksmith

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Alternative tiles for this book might be, "Blacksmithing for Survival" or, "Gorilla Blacksmithing' or, "Blacksmithing on a Budget"

It could also be called, 'Practical Blacksmithing', if about three others hadn't got to the title first.

I never met the author, A. Weygers, except through this book. From what I can see he had these characteristics; He was artistic, but didn't suffer from an artistic temperment. He understood technical things but wasn't a nerd. He could deal with machines but also liked people.

He also shared one characteristic with me: he scrounged around in the junk heap to find parts to build things.

His writing is clear and concise. He isn't snobby or given to obscure terminology. The illustrations in the book, done with pencil by Weygers, are very good and informative.

You may be interested to know that Weygers patented a flying saucer. Or, actually, he called it a 'discopter'. It is patent 2,377,835.

This book is actually three small books bound as one. There is some repeating in the book because of this. But not much. There is something to learn on every page. The main theme of the book is how to make tools. He shows how to make blacksmithing tools, metal working tools, woodcarving chisels, stone carving tools, gardening tools and other things.

He has an interesting discussion about how to drill square holes. I have never seen this information in any other book.

He also gets into some artistic items. But he doesn't insist that you become an artist.

The most important tool that he shows you how to use is your brain. He shows how to improvise tools by using junk that you find for free or cheap. Ironically, some of the 'junk' that he shows in this book has now become collectable, but you get the idea. Start with nothing, find something, make something with it, use that to make something more, and keep building.

He shows the basic metal forging techniques such as bending, twisting, upsetting, welding, punching, hardening and tempering.
He also shows some power tools and the trip hammer. Even how to make dies for the trip hammer.

He shows how to sharpen a cutting tool, and explains the science behind it. I thought that I could get a tool pretty sharp, until I tried out this man's methods. Then I found out that I hadn't known what sharp was. I have several books that describe how to sharpen, and I have tried their methods. They worked fine, but not as well as this man's.

There isn't any 'trash' in this book, such as pages of pictures of tools copied from some tool catalog. Or lengthy digressions into the author's personal philosophies. There is only about a half dozen pages with photographes on them. Nearly every page has illustrations dome by Weygers to teach the methods explained in the text. There are a few photos of Weyger's work in stone and wood. This book is down and out, cover to cover, practical.

He has drawings of the tempering colors done in pencil, which I think is amusing, if not useless. He also talks about making 'carbon tipped' tools. I am certain he meant 'carbide' as in 'tungsten carbide'. I can forgive him a couple of errors. You won't find many books as excellent as this. Or an author with as much passion to teach as Weygers.

This is one of my favorite of all books. If you build just one tool in this book, it will have paid for itself. This could be your first, last and always blacksmithing resource.

If you can find some of the earlier publications, when this book was published as three separate books, you will find that the illustrations were much better reproduced than they are by this publisher, and the printing and paper seem to me to be higher quality.

THE COMPLETE MODERN BLACKSMITH is an excellent book! This book covers everything from tools to techniques, forge design to making your own custom anvil. I have personally read and re-read this book, and would reccomend it to anyone interested in blacksmithing or other types of metalwork, and wood/stone carvers who would like to make their own tools. This book is most assuredly a valuable resource.

Whether you have been blacksmithing for years or are just starting out, this book is a must read and/or have. Mr. Weygers technique for passing on this skill and art through a printed text is one of the best. I like his emphasis on scrounging and recycling raw material, and making as much of your own tooling as possible, even an anvil.

Mr. Weygers was a superb sculptor, printmaker, philosopher, and raconteur - as well as a consummate teacher. I had the good fortune to take a couple of courses from him. He considered the books to be elaborate notes for the courses he taught. I am delighted they are back in print at last, for they are a treasure of wit and inspiration. I only quibble that his illustrations suffered slightly in the transition from the out-of-print originals.

I think Alex Weygers is an amazing man, artist and engineer. This book has a LOT of good information on basic smithing but has a few small technical errors. The only drawback is that some of the items upon which he goes into great detail are things that most people would prefer to just buy, rather than make. However, the TECHNIQUES used to make some of these items (like a waste water pump) can be applied to other things. He is a world-class scrounger and tries to identify good sources of junk metal. However, the world has changed since he wrote this book and the composition of some of the junk auto parts he recommends has changed considerably. It is a book worth owning if you are interested in smithing.

This book is well written for the layman working with metal for many purposes. Covers forging, tempering, grinding, reusing old, broken, worn out, or discarded tools and material. Definately has a scrounger in mind when discussing materials. Illustrations are well done and instructions are thorough but not over-simplified.

Kevin Hagan

This was the first smithing book I purchased. I found a lot of useful information in there, and I still find I refer to it at times. Though many of the procedures described in it do not go into a lot of depth, and in some cases color photographs may improve the text, this book inspired me to learn more about the trade.

I bought this book for less than half what I could find it for in Oz. The book is written well, and assumes some knowledge in the reader's part and focuses on technique and function, rather than basic skills... however that being said there is enough to get someone started who has rudimentary skills or aptitude. There is some repetition since the book is the combination of three seperate books, but that is not a problem when reading the material.
There is excellent material on recycling, and reuse of raw and salvaged materials, and the notes concerning the manufacture of tools, with small notes concerning how their use influences their manufacture is knowledge worth having. In all, a worthwhile read/ purchase for anyone interested in the art/skill of working with steel.

Maybe I am Biased because ""the modern blacksmith" was the first book I read on blacksmithing almost 20 years ago. But I really liked it and I think there are things in this book that you can't learn anywhere else. I have or have read ALL of the popular books on blacksmithing and this is still one of my favorites, certainly my favorite beginner-intermediate one. It really stands out from the crowd of generic beginner books.

To set the record straight, this takes "the modern blacksmith" and adds a couple few small books to it, content about making scissors (not as easy as you would think), woodworking tools, amateur machining, and little giant power hammers. This book is profusely illustrated, great for the visual learner. I found the illustrations to be clear to follow and aesthetically pleasing. Especially when you consider that the author/illustrator was practically blind, it is kind of amazing.

If your into salvaging things from the scrap yard, this is for you, I think the world could use a little more Red Greening up anyways.

This was the first smithing book I purchased. I found a lot of useful information in there, and I still find I refer to it at times. Though many of the procedures described in it do not go into a lot of depth, and in some cases color photographs may improve the text, this book inspired me to learn more about the trade.