Level I

Photo by John McLellan

Photo by Mark Aspery

National Curriculum Level I

The National Curriculum is limited in its scope, and deals only with developing a blacksmith's skills in the forge environment. The lessons are exercises and usually criterion based rather than project based unless required for the Grille Projects.

The National Curriculum has been divided into 3 levels, with some levels have multiple subjects, each requiring considerable time requirements by the student/instructor.

Individual items have been grouped, where possible, with similar subject materials. Levels can be taught out-of-sequence.

It is anticipated that the student will have some access to equipment such as: Drill press, Machinist vice Welder, Oxy/Fuel system.

Level I

This certificate will be awarded to those who have completed the Level I, basic training or the equivalent. They will have presented to their instructor the Farm Gate Latch (see drawing) and have
passed a safety test. By doing so they have demonstrated an understanding of the basic skills of a blacksmith, including:

1.0.1 - SAFETY

1.0.1.1. - Review PPEs, Eye protection, Hearing protection, Natural fiber clothing, Footwear. Everything is hot unless proven otherwise. How to check for heat in a bar.
1.0.1.2. - Glove related injuries (GRIs). No gloves when working on drill press, grinder/belt sander or other machinery with moving parts.
1.0.1.3. - No loose hammer heads or mushroomed struck ends of hand tools.
1.0.1.4. - Student should be able to start, tend and close-down a forge safely (regardless of fuel used).
1.0.1.5. - Understand local safety protocols according to the host organization or venue setting such as the CBA safety guidelines.

1.0.2 - NOMENCLATURE OF THE ANVIL, FOGE AND VISE

1.0.2.1 Develop a common vocabulary within the forge and anvil environment

1.0.3 - HAMMERS AND TYPES OF HAMMER BLOWS

Develop a basic understanding of the typical hammers used in a forge, their uses, and the type of blows used (full faced, half faced, fullering and shearing)

1.0.4 - TAPERS (square, octagon, round, chisel tip and diamond)

1.0.4.1 Student should understand how and where to hold material on the anvil to draw down tapers. The use of tongs should be introduced. Use of the slack tub should be introduced.
1.0.4.2 The square, octagon, round rule (SOR) should be understood
1.0.4.3 Tapers are to be a fixed length, straight sided with the ends centered along the center-line of the parent bar.
1.0.4.4 Student to demonstrate the knowledge of SOR and how progressing through the stages effects the length of the taper

1.0.5 - FORGE A STAPLE [Gate latch]

1.0.5.1 From a 7-inch length of 5/16-inch round bar. 11/8-inch ID.
1.0.5.2 Two versions: chisel tip tapers and square tapers.

1.0.6 - FORGE A 'S' HOOK (fig 8).

1.0.6.1 from 8-inch length of 5/16-inch round bar -
1.0.6.2 1-inch ID eyes.
1.0.6.3 Dress ends of the bar to suit

1.0.7 - FORGE LEAVES - necking-in and spreading

1.0.7.1 Student should understand how to 'neck-in' away from the end of a bar and spread material using a hand hammer.
1.0.7.2 The effects of using the cross peen, ball peen and the flat face of the hammer for spreading should be understood by the student

1.0.8 - HAND-HELD ROUND PUNCH

1.0.8.1 ¼-inch diameter working end.
1.0.8.2 Student to understand the parameters associated with forging a hardenable steel. Forging too hot and Blue Brittle

1.0.9 - HOT-CUT CHISEL.

1.0.9.1 At least 1-inch wide at the working end (chisel or top tool)
1.0.9.2 Optional: Butcher (chisel or top tool)

1.0.10 - HAMMER-EYE DRIFT [Leafing hammer level II]

1.0.10.1 Student to understand the properties of a parallel sided drift - taper to both working & struck end, with no corners of the taper proud of the main body of the drift.
1.0.10.2 From ¾-inch diameter bar
1.0.10.3 Finish at 1/2-inch by 7/8-inch oval.
1.0.10.4 Hammer eye drift will dictate the size of the slot punch/slitting chisel. Main body, and taper to the working end should be free of hammer marks.
1.0.10.5 Edges of the main body to be half-round.
1.0.10.6 Taper to the struck end to be sufficiently long as to pass through 1-inch square bar (Monkey tool).

1.0.11 - SLOT PUNCH [Leafing hammer level II]

1.0.11.1 7/8 x 1/8 (or equivalent).
1.0.11.2 Student to forge a slot punch or slitting chisel (instructor's discretion) for use with the oval sectioned drift.
1.0.11.3 Student should understand how slot punches/slitting chisels are related in size to the intended drifted outcome.
1.0.11.4 Student will understand the relationship between the size of the initial slot/slit chisel, the intended drift and outcome (forged, such as drawn cheeks on a hammer head, or otherwise).
1.0.11.5 Working end to be perpendicular to any indexing placed in the struck end of the tool (if applicable).

1.0.12 - HEAT TREATMENT OF CARBON STEEL & ALLOYS.

1.0.12.1 At the end of this section a student should possess a rudimentary knowledge of:-Annealing,-Normalizing-Hardening (Austenite to Martensite)- Tempering.
1.0.12.2 Using a basic carbon steel phase diagram.
1.0.12.3 Student to heat treat and test hand tools

1.0.13 - MONKEY TOOL [Gate latch, level II and Level III]

1.0.13.1 From 1-inch square stock (precursor to making a hammer - level 2).
1.0.13.2 For 5/16-inch tenon.
1.0.13.3 Tool to have vent/visual hole punched and drifted using tools from 1.0.10 & 1.0.11
1.0.13.4 Punching and drifting the eye is a pre-curser to making a leafing hammer.
1.0.13.5 The hole shall be centered in the bar and perpendicular to the center-line of the parent bar

1.0.14 - HAND-HELD FULLER AND SIMPLE BOTTOM FULLER. [Tenons]

1.0.14.1 Forge a hand-held fuller (3/8-inch) and a 'Z' shaped bottom fuller from 3/8- inch round bar (to rest on the anvil).
1.0.14.2 Tools are needed to isolate the material to create tenons

1.0.15 - ROUND TENON.

1.0.15.1 5/16-inch diameter, on sq, rnd and flat stock.
1.0.15.2 Student to be able to cut/fuller, forge and monkey a tenon without forming cracks or cold shuts on the tenon or shoulder.
1.0.15.3 A fillet at the tenon root is expected on the finished tenon.

1.0.16 - ROUND DRIFT

1.0.16.1 From ½-inch round bar
1.0.16.2 Main body to be upset
1.0.16.3 Taper to struck end
1.0.16.4 Taper to working end
1.0.16.5 Working end should reflect the size and shape of the hole to be re-sized.
1.0.16.6 Student to understand the size and shape of the working end of the drift as relates to the size and shape of the hole that is to be re-sized/shaped.

1.0.17 - FORGE WELDING

1.0.17.1 Flux spoon with a turned eye termination.
1.0.17.2 Students should practice and demonstrate some competency of the basic 'faggot' weld in preparation for the latch project hook.
1.0.17.3 Turned eye to be centered on the handle. Student to understand the neutral axis of a bend and basic stock determination required for a bend.

1.0.18 - Forge welding #2 Chain [3-links]

1.0.18.1 3-links of chain. Each link to be made from a 6-inch length of 3/8-inch diameter rod.
1.0.18.2 Student will practice and demonstrate competency of the chain weld, including the chain-step-scarf.
1.0.18.3 Weld to be as thick or thicker than the parent stock.
1.0.18.4 Students can choose to leave an apex at the weld or blend the apex into the weld area

1.0.19 - GATE LATCH PROJECT

RESOURCES.
1.0.1 - CBA safety guidelines - available HERE.

1.0.5 & 1.0.6 - The Blacksmith's Craft - British publication. Available as a PDF download on the web (Formerly published under: CoSIRA, Rural Development Commission, The Countryside Agency and others) Global search. Pages 32-34.

Mark Aspery's - Mastering the Fundamentals books, Vols-I, II & III Jack Andrews - The New Edge of the Anvil

ABANA - Controlled Hand Forging - available HERE.

1.0.12 - Tempil - Basic Guide to Ferrous Metallurgy - available HERE.

YouTube playlists Mark Aspery has created for NC levels I-III

https://www.youtube.com/user/MarkAspery/playlists

NC coaching content released by CBA from their digital classes.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeR1Ds_T1R-iVGDrRkM50Aw/videos

Download this Page as a PDF to print out

Click here

Guidelines for Assessing Students Work

To assure a certain level of quality and consistency these guidelines should be used to evaluate a student's work before instructors sign off on any skill.

Forging
Drawing down, upsetting or spreading the material, thereby changing the cross section of the bar

Tapers: Free of hammer marks, straight sided, centered on the bar and following the Square, octagon round method of forging.

Spreading: Free of holes and tears. Be of a uniform thickness where appropriate.

Shoulders: Change of stock cross-section
-Set transition (Definition; shoulder looking like it was made using a set hammer or edge of the anvil) One distinct shoulder (no chatter from miss aligned starts), free of cracks.

-Necking in (Definition; gradual transition from one cross-section to another) Smooth and free of hammer marks. Centered on the bar where appropriate

Upsets: Free of cracks, free of lipping and cupping, centered on the bar where appropriate

Forming
Bending or twisting

Square corners
Upset post-bend: Free of cracks at the inside corner. Full stock width and thickness at the corner.
Full stock size on both sides of the corner. The outside of the corner is to be sharp.

Pre-bend upset: Inside of corner to show a large curved fillet. The outside of the corner is to be sharp.

Square corners using a set-transition: (Definition, where the stock on one side of the corner has been reduced in cross section prior to making the corner.) The outside corner is not drawn over with the bend.

Scrolls: No cracks at the scroll end (such as behind snub ended scrolls). Free of kinks or straight sections. Smooth decrease in radius from the outside to the inside of the scroll.

Scroll jig: Should show a method of grasping the scroll end in preparation for turning the scroll. This can be in the form of a tab of material protruding from the jig or a jig of a helix construction.

Cutting
Splitting or punching

Punched hole: Centered in the bar (where appropriate). Sides of the hole should be of a uniform thickness and shape and not thinned to a point of weakness.

Punched and drifted hole: Centered in bar where appropriate. Straight in its orientation to the bar. Free of cracks. Show no evidence of the initial punched or chiseled hole.

Splitting: Uniform sides, free from rag, protected root (half round to prevent cracking). Where a split is opened out (as in a fork) the student is encouraged to neck-in (fuller) at a distance
equal to the thickness of the sides of the split, behind the split, to prevent cracking.

Pass throughs: Holes should be of a sufficient size and shape to allow the pass-through bar to move easily without being sloppy. Evidence of the initial slit or slot is deemed to be an incorrect match of tooling.

Joining

Forge weld: The ideal forge weld is one that is completely blended in to the bar with no evidence of a joint, tolerance is given to the student if there is some evidence of the weld seam post welding.

Cracks caused by overheating or taking an excessive number of heats are not acceptable. Cracks at either toe (of the scarf) are not acceptable. A reduced cross section of the bar compared to the surrounding stock is not acceptable.

Riveting: Rivets should show a sufficiently large mass at the head to prevent them from being pulled from the work. The rivet head should be centered about the main body of the rivet. It is desirable that rivets be made by the student rather than store bought.

Specific points:

General work: The projects and exercises set out below should be returned free of cracks, burns and gross hammer-marks in the bar. The items can be finished with a file, but not ground (except the faces of the leafing and repousse' hammers). Work ground with an abrasive will not be accepted.

Hammer marks in the bar: Using a hand hammer at the anvil will produce a hammer texture on the bar. Excessive texture is defined as one leaving an uneven finish or where one
edge (side) of the hammer has left a visible mark in the bar (such as found when not matching the angle of a taper when drawing down a bar and the heel of the hammer is leaving steps in the bar). A smooth hammer texture is expected in the work, but marks from erratic hammering or from the edge of the hammer are not.

Over-forged or over-heated: This description is given to any work that has been overly hammered or heated too many times or burned in the fire. The piece will be too thin for its intended use and may have cracks present in the bar. Students should be asked to repeat the project using fewer blows or heats.

Finish: Projects may be finished in a wax, oil or clear coat finish

Water leaves: Free of holes and cracks/tears. Crimps match (opposite each other). The end of the leaf must show a 'return' to the main leaf. Leaves should show a 'U' shaped channel to allow the placement of a scroll where needed. Edges should be thinned sufficiently to give the leaf a delicate image visually without being over-forged or containing tears.

Acanthus leaves: Free of holes or cracks and tears. Match curve of scroll

Leafing Hammer: The eye must to be drawn (cheeks).

Tenons: Free of cracks and cold shuts and has a fillet at the root of the tenon at the shoulder, to prevent the formation of stress risers

Tongs: Must grab the intended stock firmly. Jaws of a suitable thickness for the job/size in hand, jaws to finish in the boss and not out-in-front of the boss, reins taper (already defined above) from the boss in both directions and match in length and cross section along their length. Boss or hinge plates to be of equal size and shape.

It is not necessary that the reins/jaws open past 90 degrees so longs as they open sufficiently to allow the work to be grasped easily. The jaws should be of equal length and thickness where
appropriate.

Reins should be of a size and shape to allow some spring, but not bend, when holding the work during forging.

Struck tools: The sides of the eye should be of a sufficient thickness to resist the blows of the smith or striker.