Historical Ironwork

I saw this type of building bars interesting h How this is type of making gates and fence is called ? When you upset and punch holes in bunch of rods and pass other trought it, it look simple. Same thing done with Mostar bridge. It was specialy made durning Ottoman era this kind of matalworking https://c8.alamy.com/comp/2FN0EAG/old-ottoman-tombs-in-green-tomb-yesil-turbe-behind-metal-fences-during-overcast-tombstone-of-an-ottoman-empire-governments-in-bursait-shaped-2FN0EAG.jpg

Antique Iron, Survey of American and English forms 15th -19th centuries Herbert, Peter and Nancy Schiffer. About 16 pressing iron trivets and another 16 pot trivets. Iron and Brass Implements of the English House, J. Seymour Lindsay, Check the index as Trivets has 8 sub entries each one including several pages... Irons in the Fire, Rachael Feild, page 72 has 3 examples including the one I've made a dozen or 2 of... Note she calls them Brandreths "to hold pots, baking irons, frying pans and griddle pans just off the direct heat of the fire" Entries for trivets in the index Early American Wrought Iron , Albert H. Sonn plates 302, 304, 308, 309 In the Kitche…

Hey all i found some cool historic viking black smithing info, very interesting. Nice idea of how smiths worked in the dark ages. Imagine having to sit ant your stone anvil, I can feel my back hurting just by reading. If you are into viking culture check out the rest of the site! Just thought i would shre. Enjoy http://www.hurstwic.org/history/articles/manufacturing/text/bog_iron.htm

Trying to place a date or maker of these andirons. They are made from steel and brass. looking at the bent formed steel under the legs there appears to be marks from a grinder. My first thought was they were made during the arts and craft period. But could they be mid century? Could not locate a makers mark anywhere. Sorry for the three dots on the third photo they are water spots on the camera lens. Any input would be appreciated.

First up, my apologies if this is the wrong subforum to post this in. I am an archaeologist in Ontario, Canada. I was recently excavating an early site in Hamilton. Many of the features we excavated included the artifacts pictured here. One feature included thousands of them. The forms are all rod-like, but of greatly varying thicknesses. Length varies as well. Some are coupled together, as pictured. The texture is as an aggregated of sand or varying grades. When we first encountered them we wondered if we had come across a fulgurite, but these are too uniform and far too common. The site included a large feature which included corroding metals th…

no need for input here.

I figured this forum would be a good place to pick your brains. I have done some research elsewhere online, but it amounts to "they made horseshoes." This question is mostly just some research for fun, but I also would like to focus on this time period when I forge. I also realize that the 19th century is a wide range of time. I also realize that the responsibilities of a blacksmith in an east coast city would be different than out west. I just wonder if blacksmiths out west were still making things nails in the 18th century. Any thoughts are appreciated, and any sources are doubly appreciated! Will

If you are interested in historic metal working (not just iron working) and have an hour and 9 minutes to devote to a rabbit hole here is a link to a talk by Dr. Owen Humphreys of the Museum of London on "Metals, Making, and Magic, The Smith in Roman Britain." Some of the talk is technical and speaks of tools and techniques and some is sort of social history. One interesting factoid is that when a Roman fort in Scotland was dismantled the nails were removed from the buildings and buried in a pit (IMO possibly for recovery later) when the pit was excavated by archaeologists the nails amounted to 7 tons! "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Dear sirs: I’m hoping not to waste your time, but I would like to know whether you think it would be possible for a blacksmith to make an iron pipe that is about 1 inch outside diameter (any inside diameter bigger than 1/4") and 5 feet long, using no modern tools? The reason I ask is that glassblowers from the time of Christ are said to have used iron blowpipes.

Old vintage wagon wheels... I get a lot of them...what are they made of? And are they good metal to use and what for?

An Article from Pop Mech website The story of steel begins long before bridges, I-beams, and skyscrapers. It begins in the stars. Billions of years before humans walked the Earth—before the Earth even existed—blazi…

I've ironed 8 wagon wheels as a blacksmith. 4 were rebuilt/restored and 4 were done with a carpenter/wheelwright. All ended up as chandeliers. All were 4' wheels. Here's some very large ones. The main difference between doing these and mine were the amount of people needed and the fork lift! I had no roller, so turned them with bending forks and scrolling wrenches. No tire dogs, but I could handle them by hand and my scrolling wrenches worked well as tire dogs. I forge welded the hub bands and tire to dimension and slightly less than the actual circumference. I heated up all to shrink them on vertically in my forge. I add all this to give you confidence that wh…

I may have a chance to get (i'm just guessing) 150 feet of beautiful fencing off a mansion that was built on waterfront property in 1914. I don't have pictures but can provide some. Its real nice, not the most elaborate design but its nice. Anyways its painted so, i'm not sure if its wrought iron but its real nice. I'm still new to the blacksmithing trade. Without pics, is the fencing off an old mansion worth saving?

I have been silent for awhile, but now a topic that may be of interest. An antique shop in Riverwoods, IL that represented a piece of iron work that was by Samuel Yellin. Fireplace tools. Marked Samuel Yellin. However when I offered them for sale, some knowledgeable people felt that they were not authentic. After a few months of research, I have come to accept that view. The opinion was based on the maker's mark as not authentic, a conversation with the granddaughter and manager of a Yellin website, and some marks on the iron suggesting machine finish. What experience have other members had with counterfeit iron? The dealer is ignoring me after claiming I didn't know …

I just saw this on BBC news: http://www.bbc.com/travel/gallery/20170919-is-this-britains-most-influential-bridge A couple of nice pictures including a steam hammer, anvil and a circular bellows as well as the iconic bridge. I've visited the area before. One interesting thing they don't mention is that the bridge is made with mortise, tenon and wedge joints based on wood beam systems as they didn't have the ironwork methods worked out yet.

Just ran across this short film clip showing a smith and two strikers. Its run time is only 34 seconds long, but it's interesting in a few ways. First, it is the first known example of actors (in this case, Edison employees) performing roles in a staged scene. Second, it was the first commercially exhibited film. (Third, it is our earliest filmed evidence of the close relationship between blacksmiths and beer.)

I am planning a trip to Europe to coincide with the Ypres 2016 event. Has anybody any suggestions places of interest for wrought ironwork? I'm thinking a stroll through Prague will yield many sights. Any suggestions will help. between France and the Baltics all the way down to Milan. Thanks in advance!

I recently had occasion to visit West Point, including Constitution Island across the Hudson River. There they have some reproduction links of the Great Chain that was stretched across the Hudson River to prevent British ships from passing. It was floated on log rafts across the river. Each link is about 2' long. A short climb through the woods at the island brought us to Redoubt #7, which has a commanding view across the Hudson towards West Point (third picture). Along the way, we passed an old stone wall, on which was resting a rather large abandoned piece of wrought iron. The last pic (not mine) are the only existing links of the original chain. They reside at Tro…

Took the family to visit grandma & grandpa (my parents) in Florida for March break. We took a little side trip to BOK Tower Gardens and it really is a fantastic place! Thought I would post some pictures of the ironwork created by Samuel Yellin. The gates and brass door are his work, but I'm not entirely sure if he was responsible for the bronze snake on the sundial. If you ever get a chance to visit, it's well worth it... just make sure to give yourself a full day to enjoy it all! There are a few more pics on the next post too. Here's a direct link to the Bok Tower site for more info.... BOK Tower Gardens