Money isn't the issue, it's just smithing is so damn slow now because of the update, if I just knew what item to make and where to get the resources, this skill would be a lot more pleasant -.-

There is no 'fast' way for 100 smithing is there...

It's determined by value now, so just smith the thing that is the most valuable but cost effective for your current level.

That's... pretty hard, do I smith ebony armour now till 100 or something?

Depends.

What level are you currently at? What materials can you buy regularly, how many can you buy and how much do they cost?

I think the most cost effective item in the Ebony class is the Ebony Bow. It's less valuable than Ebony Armor, but it costs almost half the materials to make. The difference in value isn't that extreme.

In the beginning iron daggers are fine. But as you level up in smithing, improving an expensive item at workbench adds more and more value while only using one ingot, especially if you have smithing enchanted items. Making jewelry is also very helpful. Don't just make gold rings, use the gems in the jewelry crafting also. As you level up, improving an item becomes more important.

Here are some of the things I did:

With Steel smithing, I made lots of steel helmets and improved them.
With Dwarven smithing, I made lots of dwarven bows and improved them with the scrap metal I found in dwemmer ruins.
I had a lot of leather with hunting, so I made made lots of leather hats and improved them.
I would collect armor pieces from dead bandits and bring them home and improved them. More expensive the better. Anything that adds a lot of value is good. so more expensive the armor the better. Armor pieces are rather heavy and a pain to bring it home a lot of times. Helmets are also nice because they are next most expensive item.
I made orcish armor and improved them whenever I could. Making and improving more expensive high end armors are always helpful.

What about mining/buying iron ore, transmuting it to silver then gold and making jewelry?

Too slow >_>

Tbh, I have an idea, I'll unpatch the game, train smithing to 100 then patch it again -trollface-

Couldn't you just use enchantments/potions to make a ridiculously valuable item?

Making an item does not factor enchantments, potions or even skill levels.

They only apply during upgrading.

Why are you so eager to powerlevel Smithing? Take my advice - a lesson I've learned, it's one of the most game-breaking things ever. Let your Smithing level up slowly and naturally, you'll find yourself more satisfied, believe me.

If you're still looking for an answer, then the answer is- mine, mine, mine! And mine some more! You'll be surprised how easy it is to get resources. Hunt for hide -> leather -> leather strips, dive into some Dwemer ruins and come out with a handful of metal.
Just remember to make the most expensive pieces you can.

improve everything you pickup then sell it it helps alot. MuzzaFuzza

One small point, Dwarven Weapons are better than Orcish Weapons.
Mod added armors that can be smithed can be used to cheat a little when trying to level smithing.
EDIT changed wording. Elven Weapons and Armors are also good to make at a Smithing Level of 30

Learn Transmute, carry a pickaxe with you wherever you go. mine/buy/steal all the iron ore you come across, save all the gems you find. Jewelry is a great way to increase smithing because the xp is tied to item value. Don't just transmute to gold because some items need silver. Other than that, just play the game and quit worrying about power leveling.

Transmuting silver svcks. Why does the spell put Silver as a higher priority than Iron? It's so annoying to use the spell, drop the silver, use the spell, drop the silver, over and over again.

QFT

I've got over 500 hours in Skyrim under my belt, and I've concluded the same as above. You'll get much more enjoyment from TRAINING the skill and not POWERLEVELING it. Go explore a dwemer ruin and loot it all, look up the mines for malachite/moonstone/ebony/etc, and just make your [censored].

Hmm, so spamming iron daggers doesnt work anymore? i do that and enchant them with a petty soul and a banish spell. loads of gold but I have to travel around to every vendor to sell them all

If that's too slow for you, then there's really no way for you to level it unless you stumble upon a giant gold mine.

Hmm, so spamming iron daggers doesnt work anymore? i do that and enchant them with a petty soul and a banish spell. loads of gold but I have to travel around to every vendor to sell them all

Iron Dagger of Banish is still one of the more cost-efficient ways to make gold. It's just not viable for getting Smithing levels; I'd probably go with Dwarf, since dwemer ruins and their mechanical guardians often have the needed "ores" as well as higher-level soul gems that might even be filled.

If you are on a PC, then getting a mod that overhauls Smithing made prior to the 1.5 patch can level smithing very,very quickly when used with the current 1.5 game.

If you don't mind using exploits, you can also use Fortify Restoration potions for better smithing gear/potions, then improve some gear. I leveled smithing from 80 to 87 that way by improving one Steel Armor (it ended up with over 1000 AR and a value of over 15k).

In my opinion, it was a really bad idea from Bethesda to change Smithing in the way they did. Now it's not as easy to powerlevel anymore, but it requires even more grinding than it did before to level it up. I mean, let's face it, you won't max it out naturally before you retire your character. Especially if you don't plan on taking any of the higher perks in the tree.

If that's your playstyle, yes. You are right. Personally, and this is not meant as a criticism, I think that way of playing takes all the fun out of the game.