Amaya Blackstone (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
special_rabbit) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomhigh2022-07-14 04:01 am
special_rabbit) wrote in fandomhigh2022-07-14 04:01 am
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Blacksmith Basics: Armor Edition; Thursday, Second Period [07/14].
Was there some sort of large giant hammer apparatus in the Crumbler's corner of the shop that morning when the class came in?
Yes. Yes there was.
And you could definitely worry about it.
"Morning, everyone!" Amaya greeted them all with a grin once they were all (mostly, probably) present and accounted for. "Welcome back! Now, today, we're going to be doing more work on flattening our materials so we have a good base to work with before we move onto the next step. The flattening is sort of the big one, and probably the trickiest for newer smiths because if you're not already well-practiced, it can take some doing to get the piece to the right even distribution, thickness, weight, and size that you'll be needing. Now, obviously, last week, we worked a little with the traditional hammering method, which is particularly good for those of you who are working on smaller pieces or are more experienced. But to get that kind of precision on larger pieces, or pieces that you need to get out more quickly because you haven't got the time to really refine a hunk of metal with your own two hand, you've got to go a bit....bigger. And that's where the trip hammer," she gestured toward the aforementioned giant hammer in the corner, "come in.
"Now," she started, "in a bigger blacksmithing operation, you'd find plenty of these guys hard at work, usually powered by water or mules, just like you would a grindstone in a mill. Thankfully, I've got the Crumbler for that. And even without the Crumbler, this one gets a bit loud, so I've got some ear protection for everyone this week, too. Basically, what you have here is your automatic hammer, to flatten the metal for you, essentially, which is handy for, as I said, bigger pieces, or for a more uniform distribution of blows. I'm going to explain first, then show you, because once it gets going, you won't be able to hear much. But, basically, get the Crumbler going, the Crumbler's going to power the hammer, which will rise and fall at a steady rate onto the steel. You, then, are mostly just in charge of moving the steel along so that it can flatten it out evenly all along the metal. Depending on how flat or thick you want it, you might want to run it through a few times."
She nodded to the box of ear protection for everyone to get prepared before she switched on the Crumbler, which started rumbling to life and, after a moment, got itself going enough to start pumping the hammer. Amaya was quick and ready with a piece of metal she had been heating in the forge, so that she could further demonstrate by holding it between the makeshift anvil and the hammer until it was good and flat, she killed the grinding of the Crumbler, and held the piece up to show it off while gesturing for them all to remove the headphones.
"I don't care how strong you are," she concluded, "odds are, that," hitching a thumb over her shoulder, "is still going to be more precise and more effective than any hand hammer. I'll admit, sometimes it feels a bit like cheating, so I don't personally use her very often, but I'm not one to ignore efficiency and productivity when I see it.
"So there we are with today," she concluded. "Take some time to consider which flattening method is going to work best for your specific piece and your own personal preferences, and then we'll get to work. And in the downtime in between your turn at an anvil or the trip hammer, you can work on refining your designs, asking questions, or just observe the others. Any questions before we get started? Because if you've got them after, I sure hope you've got some good volume on those lungs."
Yes. Yes there was.
And you could definitely worry about it.
"Morning, everyone!" Amaya greeted them all with a grin once they were all (mostly, probably) present and accounted for. "Welcome back! Now, today, we're going to be doing more work on flattening our materials so we have a good base to work with before we move onto the next step. The flattening is sort of the big one, and probably the trickiest for newer smiths because if you're not already well-practiced, it can take some doing to get the piece to the right even distribution, thickness, weight, and size that you'll be needing. Now, obviously, last week, we worked a little with the traditional hammering method, which is particularly good for those of you who are working on smaller pieces or are more experienced. But to get that kind of precision on larger pieces, or pieces that you need to get out more quickly because you haven't got the time to really refine a hunk of metal with your own two hand, you've got to go a bit....bigger. And that's where the trip hammer," she gestured toward the aforementioned giant hammer in the corner, "come in.
"Now," she started, "in a bigger blacksmithing operation, you'd find plenty of these guys hard at work, usually powered by water or mules, just like you would a grindstone in a mill. Thankfully, I've got the Crumbler for that. And even without the Crumbler, this one gets a bit loud, so I've got some ear protection for everyone this week, too. Basically, what you have here is your automatic hammer, to flatten the metal for you, essentially, which is handy for, as I said, bigger pieces, or for a more uniform distribution of blows. I'm going to explain first, then show you, because once it gets going, you won't be able to hear much. But, basically, get the Crumbler going, the Crumbler's going to power the hammer, which will rise and fall at a steady rate onto the steel. You, then, are mostly just in charge of moving the steel along so that it can flatten it out evenly all along the metal. Depending on how flat or thick you want it, you might want to run it through a few times."
She nodded to the box of ear protection for everyone to get prepared before she switched on the Crumbler, which started rumbling to life and, after a moment, got itself going enough to start pumping the hammer. Amaya was quick and ready with a piece of metal she had been heating in the forge, so that she could further demonstrate by holding it between the makeshift anvil and the hammer until it was good and flat, she killed the grinding of the Crumbler, and held the piece up to show it off while gesturing for them all to remove the headphones.
"I don't care how strong you are," she concluded, "odds are, that," hitching a thumb over her shoulder, "is still going to be more precise and more effective than any hand hammer. I'll admit, sometimes it feels a bit like cheating, so I don't personally use her very often, but I'm not one to ignore efficiency and productivity when I see it.
"So there we are with today," she concluded. "Take some time to consider which flattening method is going to work best for your specific piece and your own personal preferences, and then we'll get to work. And in the downtime in between your turn at an anvil or the trip hammer, you can work on refining your designs, asking questions, or just observe the others. Any questions before we get started? Because if you've got them after, I sure hope you've got some good volume on those lungs."