The Complete Modern Blacksmith

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

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 ta

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.

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.

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.