Click here if you'd like to let us know how we can improve the service. Do I need a post-secondary education to become a blacksmith? Train with our Artisans Guild and learn to blacksmith at the Trackers forge by fire, hammer, and anvil. You could work as an assistant to an experienced blacksmith and learn the craft on the job. As an experienced artist blacksmith you could set up your own gallery. MIG welding requires a spool that is continuously fed and is useful for long pieces of metal. You could also train to become a design engineer. Although blacksmiths are in less demand than in ancient times, mainly because of assembly lines and industrial machinery, blacksmiths still create durable and beautiful metalwork as artists. As there is no formal education system for blacksmithing, you will need to forge your own path on the road to becoming a blacksmith. Blacksmith also perform at civil war reenactments, fairs, and museums. time. Back in the Medieval days, blacksmiths had plenty of work forging anything from farming equipment to arms and armor. You will need to network and make calls, and ask around. The New England School of Metalwork, for example, offers a bladesmithing program that provides training in frame handle construction, welded steel development, forging, grinding and fitting. As an industrial blacksmith, you could move into workshop management. General Blacksmith Program Requirements Students who want to take a blacksmith program require an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or equivalent. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. (As well as provide a stand for it) You will need some place to set the metal down when it is red hot and in need of cooling as well as a quenching trough (or bucket) for the metal you want cooled quickly. With ever-advancing technology, the internet is literally flooded with so much information. The skills a journeyman is expected to know are listed on ABANA's website, and include things such as drawing out, heat treating, and basic metallurgy. How to Become a Locksmith Apprentice. If you’re serious about this professional blacksmith thing, the next step is to become an apprentice. It is possible to become a successful blacksmith without a formal education, but make no mistake, honing the trade takes years of education and study. All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published. Arc Welding might not be a part of classical blacksmithing, but being well-rounded in your metal working skills is important if you want to make it a career. Thank you for your feedback. Then, join an apprenticeship program to be paired with a master blacksmith for one-on-one training. People purchasing a historic replica aren't usually concerned about price, so if you live in or near a shipping hub, you don't need to move. Although you can look at related options like working with a master farrier instead of an actual blacksmith. The job may involve the production of large or small-scale work ranging from architectural ironwork such as public art sculptures, gates and railings, to domestic decorative and functional objects such as furniture, fireplace tools, and mirror frames. This is not mandatory, but it will show your potential Master that you are dedicated to the field. The blacksmith would likely be just down the street in your small town so you would know him or your parents would. A course in general metalwork or art and design may also give you an advantage when looking for a job. an apprenticeship. After some time tasks such as pulling the bellows and turning the great wheels that ran machines would be added to the apprentice's responsibilities. Approximately two-thirds of blacksmiths work in manufacturing, but if you are more artistically-inclined, you can use your skills to creating decorative railings and gates, furniture and sculptures from metal. As a Blacksmithing Apprentice you join our Artisans Guild. wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. ABANA provides the means to join a journeyman program through their website. This will help you decide if it's a suitable career and may be useful if you plan to look for a training position. The best metal to use is steel. Hammers: These are what you'll hit the metal with. Im finishing up college in May and was taking my next year off applying to medical or dental school so I would have the time to start. You are 11 years old and only four months into your 7 years of servitude as an apprentice, making you the lowest of the low. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/c\/cf\/Become-a-Blacksmith-Step-1.jpg\/v4-460px-Become-a-Blacksmith-Step-1.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/c\/cf\/Become-a-Blacksmith-Step-1.jpg\/aid714426-v4-728px-Become-a-Blacksmith-Step-1.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"