Initial Costs of Setting Up A Blacksmith Shop

(Updated: May 10, 2021)

 

As you're going along, picking up tongs at flea markets, anvils on eBay, and books on Amazon you're probably keeping a close eye on your budget.

Blacksmithing as a hobby and a business isn't cheap. Yes, the raw materials are inexpensive. The mild steel you can pick up at the local scrapyard or steel supplier costs a fraction of a dollar per foot.

The real doozies when it comes to setting up shop are the anvil and the forge. In my previous posts about Makeshift Anvils and Forges, I talk about less expensive alternatives to buying new. I encourage you to give them a read and decide for yourself if using a little ingenuity is worth your time.

What I'd like to get into here is what I see as the bare minimum you can spend for a functional DIY setup. This information is based on the best deals I can find today doing searches on eBay, Amazon, and blacksmithing supply sites like Blacksmiths Depot and Blacksmith Supply.

Here is what you will need to get started:

• Hammer - $30-$40 depending on where you go. You could buy a carpenter's hammer for less, but you're not pounding nails.
• Tongs - $30-$45 per pair. Starting with a single pair of German Wolf Jaw tongs will get you up and running. I'm partial to Tom Tongs if you can find them.
• Anvil - As low as free to thousands of dollars. I started out with a piece of railroad track. You can almost always find them for sale on eBay. As I'm writing this, eBay has 44 search results for the terms 'railroad track anvil' with prices as low as $15 for a serviceable section.
• Forge - NC Tool Co. sells a model similar to mine new for $458. Search results for 'gas forges' come up with Buy It Now prices from around $200 on up. Depending on when you read this, you'll have to do some investigating yourself. Not all forges are created equal. Make sure you know what you're getting.
• Steel - You can find this at a local steel supplier for less than 50 cents a foot depending on the dimensions. Or take a wander through a scrapyard. If you're looking for tool-grade steel (the hard, high-carbon stuff they make knives, hammers, and implements out of), car springs can be heated up, straightened out, and cut to serve your purposes. 
• A place to work - It doesn't have to cost much at all if you're creative and live a good distance from your neighbors. I wrote about a quick and easy set up you can do in your backyard in an afternoon with some stone, gravel, and a section of hickory. Check it out at Creating Your Space. If you live in the city, look into local arts centers that might provide shop space for a fee or see if you can rent industrial space. 

A Simple Breakdown In Dollars

$30 - Hammer on Amazon
$35 - Tongs
$20 - Piece of Track for an Anvil on eBay
$200 - Forge. Mine was only slightly more. You can find deals on eBay. See the 'gas forges' link.
$10 - For a variety of dimensions and enough steel to keep you going for a while. I've made hundreds of hooks out of a few dollars of flat bar.
$20 - Supplies to convert part of your backyard into shop space. This is where you will have to get creative.

$315 Total. That doesn't take into account your time spent getting everything together, but with the Internet it's a lot easier to find a decent deal.

If you have some suggestions for other inexpensive ways to set up shop, please leave them in the comments. I'm always interested in your feedback.

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