matt87

Nice! Looks like a ship's antipersonnel swivel gun. Amazing workmanship there. I too wonder if it is shootable. If they were replicating the original, with correct dimensions and wrought iron, I'd say yes, though I'm not sure if 15th century proofing was quite the same as 21st century Danish... ;)

A fuller with a large radius. There is a picture of one on page 306 of the 1976 edition of Bealer.

My guess: square stock fullered on all 4 sides with a cheese fuller, nicked with a butcher all round at set lengths and then twisted.

No problem. Thank my girlfriend; she's the one who found it and showed me a few months ago!

Any good? Technical Info

Don't forget nails. Lots and lots of nails. This is a good starting place A Gallery of Early Blacksmithing

Most likely, charcoal. Hardwood charcoal was preferred and likely more available. Mineral coal was possibly used in some areas but it was considered to be poisonous by many and not widely used. Hearths/forges would have been side draft, with a cermaic tuyere. I don't know the design offhand, you'll have to do some research. Draft would have been provided by bellows, probably great bellows. (These would have of course been pulled by one of the several young apprentices in the shop.) Iron was wrought, from blooms. Steel was made by the blister process (search: blister steel), or possibly picked from higher carbon blooms. Cast iron was a new introduction to England, and had limited applications. Depending upon the size of the smithy, Oliver hammers would probably have been present. No power hammers, not even helve hammers at this time (except perhaps in the biggest of bloomeries). If you wanted something hit hard, you called over one of the apprentices and told him to bring a sledge. Anvils were probably stump type for the most part, like this http://homepages.tig.com.au/~dispater/celtictools.jpg. Larger anvil for the master smith probably, but at this time no horn/bick/beak/pike. The anvil was a tool for pounding on. Bickerns were available for when one was needed. In the 1500s in England, smiths in urban areas had specialities. Are you planning to represent a specialist, a country blacksmith...? ETA: xxxx, Don got in there before me! Some good points there Dom.

Ground forges are great, but I know from personal experience that you have only a few hours to do your work before your back hurts.

Mate, if you've got a welder (and even if you don't you can rivet), I suggest you build and English style back-blast forge. You don't need bricks, and the tuyere can just be a piece of stainless pipe; you don't need the water cooling. It's basically a square box (ideally 1meter/3 foot on a side), 5" or so deep. The tuyere enters from the back about 3" from the top and much of the box is filled with ashes or whatever you have to hand. Sand would probably work. This type of forge is quite flexible as you can change the size and shape of the fire and firepot at will. They're designed for coal/coke (I think you are not allowed to forge over coal in this country any more). I've been working on a modified version for charcoal (deeper box) and built from wood (it's easier for me to work, and cheaper). A good link: Scans - Side Blast Forge Also if you're interested, contact John B; I know he's built at least 2 of these from scratch and I'm sure he's got some suggestions for simplifications/improvements.

Representing what geogrpahical area? Saskatchwan or Southampton (england) will make a power of difference.

Wow that's beautiful!

No problem Pete! :D

I've read (on here) of people using olive pips and dried herbivore dung. Makes sense I guess; nothing special about charcoal etc. (I use charcoal.) Various oils are useable too (with a suitable burner).

5160 Is suggested here. Also an interesting use of it. MKARMORY.COM (scroll to bottom, click on 'anvil story'.)

I'm a student so I don't earn a penny during my normal 'job'... My bills are paid for my my student loan, which for those who don't know is a state-supplied loan which is index-linked as the only interest. It doesn't get paid back until I earn

What fuel are you planning on burning?

Those vises were made by blacksmiths, ergo it's possible to make new parts for them... just depends how much effort you want to put in! There have been some discussions on making/finding new vise screw parts on here recently, have a search. Here are 2 articles to get you going: Restoration of Leg Vises Part 1 By James R. Melchor and Peter M. Ross [07/01;S;107f2] Leg Vise Rebuild

Thanks Ratel10mm!

This article here tells how to wrap a piece of keystock around the male thread, and to forge braze the thread to the screw box. This can be a piece of pipe with suitable modifications to suit your vise. Leg Vise Rebuild

There is a method whereby one rubs cast iron on a mild steel object in the forge, while both are hot. This causes some carbon migration into the mild steel object and thus some case hardening. I believe this is what he is referring to.

Some vehicles have axles designed in two halves, each going to a wheel from the differential. Each of these is a half-shaft.

Ratel10mm, may I ask where you got it from? I've been looking for a reasonably priced cross-pein but I can't find one in this country.

Don't forget what a self-important backdoor, non-elected, legislating body the ATF can be. Shoelace is a machinegun, donchayaknow...

What hand hammers do you use most? Do you prefer ball-pein, cross-pein, straight-pein, diagonal pein? French pattern, German, Swedish, Czech? What weight do you prefer? Do you prefer wood handles or fibreglass?

I'm curious just how thick this angle iron is... a proper hacksaw, a decent blade tensioned properly and a vise will help you cut surprisingly thick iron. Just use proper technique, don't go too fast, and take breaks if neccesary.