The Blacksmith Artist - Robert Frieber

Yes. I need the dimensions of your fireplace and if you have one with pintles already in place, I need the distance between them.

Yes, have done this before. You can see a picture on one we did on our website(Link to portfolio).

Yes, The design will have some restrictions to protect the wiring from weather. Also, wrought bronze is a better option as it doesn’t not rust and will look a lot like wrought iron.

Simply call or email me and tell me what you are looking for. I will tell you if we are the right choice for your project and guide you forwards. I will ask you for any additional information and make suggestions for possible improvements or cost cutting suggestions that you might wish to consider. Once we have all the information we need, we will provide you with an estimate and a time line for completion. If we are not the right choice for your project, I will make recommendations for the right type of shop to look for that would best suit you.

Just your concept of what you are looking for is all we need to start. Once you tell me that, any pictures and drawings that you may have to show me what you like will be very helpful to get us on the same page. Once we have that, I will be able to guide you through the process of gathering the information I will need to develop and estimate the project for you.

Being able to use a hammer is the only skill you need to learn blacksmithing. However, on nearly all projects, forging and hammering are only a small part of the work. It is helpful to have other skills such as welding, machining, the use of hand tools, math, geometry, algebra, mechanics, and designing to name a few. These skills, if you do not have them in the beginning, you will acquire them as you find the need in your work. So don’t feel overwhelmed. If you only want to make small decorative items, jewlery, or non complex projects, a small simple shop with little m ore than the basic skills will suffice.

Sex is not a determining factor in being a blacksmith. There are and have been through history, many noted woman blacksmiths. The important ingredients for becoming a blacksmith is a love of iron, a creative mind, and lots of patience. Strength is a minimal consideration as many woman are every bit as strong as men. There are many devices available to lift and move heavy pieces of metal and all blacksmith shops employ them regardless of the gender or strength of the smith. In addition, it is important to note that most projects are light enough to be lifted by hand, ie lighting fixtures, furniture, accents, and the like.

Generally, we do the design work but we can work from your drawings and designs as well (can you link this sentence to the about page?). We often make suggestions for changes on customer supplied designs if we think a modification in the design will result in significant savings or an improvement in appearance or functionality. Most of the time, customers come to us with ideas, photographs of existing pieces, or pictures of the setting or architecture that the project will be used in and ask us to make suggestions for the design.

Yes. We can do most of the design work and estimating via the internet. Projects like furniture, lighting fixtures, hardware, panels, and other small easily shippable items can be designed and developed communicating by phone and internet. Most of our local work is done that way. The only time that it may be prohibitive is when customers are looking for large architectural work like spiral stair railing which might need to be fitted on sight.

Wrought iron is a Ferris material that was commonly used for exterior application up until the early 20th century. It is very slow to rust. True wrought iron still needs protection from the elements. Because it is a very grainy and porous material, a coating of bee’s wax and linseed oil will often do quite well. The higher the carbon content of the iron, the more prone it is to rusting. Wrought iron with high content of carbon should be treated like steel which requires rust inhibitive paint coatings if it is to survive outside. Today most blacksmithing is done in steel because true wrought iron is not available. For interior wrought steel, bee’s wax and linseed oil will work quite well. Some clear acrylic and oil base finishes can also be used, but don’t look as nice as bee’s wax and linseed oil.

Pot metal is not weldable however there is a brazing alloy that works quite well. We can do that repair in our shop for you.