Blacksmith's Manual Illustrated: A Practical Treatise on Modern Methods of Producion for Blacksmith, Apprentices Blacksmiths, Engineers and Others

Author: J.W. Lillico
Publisher: The Technical Press Ltd., London. 1970, 5th impression
213 pages, index, heavily illustrated with line drawings.

This book was strongly recommended by the featured demonstrator at the 3rd Annual Bill Gichner Memorial Hammer-In, Jan 2007, Andy Dohner. I have also heard this book recommended frequently by others, especially people who use power hammers. The author was a foreman of the smithy at the Scotswood, Newcastle-on-Tyne, Works of Sir W. G. Armstrong Whitworth & Co. The book is out of print. I was lucky enough to find a used copy in good condition through an AMAZON.COM affiliate for only $24.50 plus S&H. So you will have to hunt the used book websites to find a copy. Also, I believe that there are photocopied versions out in the marketplace.

Lillico covers a lot of ground from the basics on up. He starts with a section on forges and hearths, mostly with side draft air supply (as that was what British industry favored at the time, and I think they still do). Next he covers tooling: making hammers tongs, etc. There are a lot of good illustrations of tooling and the steps to make them. Also, he covers a lot of the tooling generally used under a power hammer and how to make them. Finally he gets into the process for making industrial style forgings, things like: stays, levers, bell crank levers, etc; parts for industry and locomotives.

Now for a lot of us, we will not be doing much “industrial forging”, but by studying his approach of how to get from bar stock to the final shape needed, you will be training yourself in getting from start to finish for the items that you do make. He gave me some approaches to forging that I had not considered previously. When I need to make an odd shaped piece, I now look at the task from a very different perspective thanks to this book.

-- AlbinDrzewianowski - 28 Jan 2009