Justin Keller

Thanks everyone for your input so far, I'm getting a good starting point together. Matt: The plan is to be a "country blacksmith", however I would be the only smith in town, so I should have at least some of the tools to be able to repair armour, weapons, etc. I'm guessing most of the work would be more along the lines of making belt knives, hoes, scythes, pots and pans, shoeing horses, etc.

I'm looking for information about blacksmithing in 15th century England, specifically. I'm guessing there wasn't much metalworking was being done in Canada before the Europeans arrived. To add to the list of questions, what kind of fuel would be used in the forge?

Hi everyone, I'm hoping you can point me in the right direction. I'm looking for what a decently equipped 1450's smithy would have in it. Especially: What would the forge look like/be made out of? What kind of bellows? What sort of tools and how many of each? Would he have a vise, or what would be used instead? Anything else, especially a recommendation of any good books on the subject would be highly appreciated. Thanks, Justin

To continue this line of questioning, if I'm going to be making my own handles, what type of wood should I be using? or should I just buy a pre-made one from my local hardware store? What does everyone else out there use?

This followed me home last week, when I borrowed it (he wouldn't sell it to me) from a friend. The side says: "Peter Wright, Patent, Solid Wrought", then 0-3-21 and the other side has "England" stamped on it.

I was thinking about the previous monthly project, the railroad spike one. Just thinking about all the abandoned railroad track in this area, I was wondering if anyone knows about the legality of picking up old iron from near the tracks. Say, if I went for a walk down the tracks and picked up anything that was just laying loose. Any comments/suggestions?

I think the pipe is supposed to help support, there is a threaded hole close to the blower end, I think it's to bolt the pipe to the forge for support. The bolt the blower hangs off of is maybe 3/8, I think I'll try to fit a heavier bolt in there. Just finished welding on the clinker breaker, just have to manufacture an ash dump and I'm set.

The biggest problem for me seems to be the fact that there isn't a very large gap between the two, and it's hard to find something so small to connect them. Also, do you think there's enough space for ash, or should I weld some pipe on the bottom before attaching my ash dump?

Just a quick question.. I've bolted part of my forge together with regular grade 5 bolts, but I was told I should use grade 8 instead. Would this make any difference? As far as I understand, the increase in grades only increases the yield and tensile strength of the bolt, not heat resistance. Am I correct? Should I be worried about the bolt heads melting and my forge falling apart? Think I should clay it to make the fire area a bit smaller? I'll be burning coal, although I would like to try charcoal at some point. (If I recall that requires more area for a fire.) The only things left on my list are a clinker breaker/grate and the ash dump then my forge is ready to go! (finally)

This should be a simple one for everyone to answer... I bought a small forge, but the tuyeer is not connected to the blower. What should I use to connect the two?

Hi everyone, I'm a brand new smith, just starting to get my shop together. I'm mostly interested in toolmaking and knives at this point, especially since I can't afford all the tools I need/want. (Who can?)