Farm Blacksmithing

First published in 1900, St Paul, reprinted in 2003 as part of the Classic Reprint Series. Unquestionably a book designed to instill confidence and encourage self-sufficiency. The author says: "While it is true that a man may work for a lifetime at a blacksmith's forge and still have more to learn about the trade, it is also true that the essentials of the trade consist of only a few comparatively simple operations". The topics covered include forming, scarf-welding and tempering, the steps used to produce items such as door hooks, chain, rings, clevises, bolts, your own blacksmithing tools, etc. The book is both practical and a confidence builder. Curiously, it also includes chapters on rope splicing and saw sharpening, good skills but remote from blacksmithing.