hotset

when people ask me what i do or whats your job i often hesitate trying to summon up the best description then i give in and say blacksmith, swiftly followed by not the horse shoeing type, this seems to suffice but the thought of some big noise trying to analyse the skills i have built out of blood sweat and tears makes me quite angry i think there is the true qualification of selfless aplication leading to accumilated skills and experience, i also think that some massive qualification factor might put people off ! this little rant is just a kneejerk reaction to a percieved threat to my life ie oh dont use him theres a bloke down the road with a piece of paper. i will probably be retired by the time all this comes round but i still think its an erosion unless the qualification is purely to establish the smiths ability to restore existing ironwork whereby the skill level is pre set by the maker and the state of the material . lets be very carefull about reinforcing the elitism that plagues this art .

evening all . i thought it about time i introduced myself having been visiting the site for some time now ,anyway i run a small forge in owslebury near winchester just over the hill from marwell zoo hence the name marwell forge i do all sorts of work from fixing agricultural machines to designing artworks i am skilled in many metalworking practices forge foundry welding machining the forge is an old one, part of the marwell estate as was very small 18foot square plus a small bellows house on the back the hearth and troughs take up 6x4 , so i do a fair bit of work outside . i am 49 years old and have worked with metal since i could walk . oneday i will workout how to put pictures on this site and you can all see the ozone being eaten at my forge . more to follow.

hi i have just cast a centre boss for a table i made i used a graphite cruicible but steel should be fine cover the surface witha bit of charcoal dust to stop to much zinc burning off get a bit of a puddle goin and feed it with bits of brass you could chuk a bit of extra zinc in bit of old carbureta or simmilar helps it get fluid . i bought some oil sand from john winter foundry supplies ages ago just scrape the blackend sand away when you seperate the mould as mat says lost wax great make the hilt out of wax wth a couple of rizers attached you might get away with normal plaster of paris coat wax with abit of washingup liquid to stop bubles sticking set the model in a tub box why bang it on bench to get bubbles out or if you could rig up sumat with hoover or similar let it set then let it dry then BAKE THE XXXXXXXX OUT OF IT TWICE well just make sure there is no dampness at all left in it or you will have a horrible accident in this proscess the wax will have burned out then just scrape the dross of the metal wich should be just slightly fuming ie the zinc is just getting burnt off when youve got the surface quite clean [you wont get it real clean as its drossing as the atmosphere has contact ] pour it in the mould smoothly and keep your head away . i bet theres loads of casting on u tube . i have a great book by terry aspin ,the backyard foundry, one of the workshop practice series no 25 isbn 1-85486-146-8. good luck

i would love an apprentice but it would have to be an old style type where the family paid you to take on the child who then took up residence under the fire or in the roof and worked day break till dark "as i do now" for at least ten years ;>)

those swageblocks are just amazing im green with envy i just have a standard industrial 12" x 4 and some burnt bits of oak witch are ok but make your eyes sting abit , yea those are brill .

hi all i have used graphite mixed in with boiled linseed oil thined with turps to good effect it probably takes alot longer to dry and be polishable than the modern mixes mentioned in earlier posts but smells good and seems to last well .

hello all i read through this post with interest and wondered what welding tool i would have if i were only allowed one , that would be oxy/accetlyne for all round adaptability you can solder soft/hard braze bronze weld light the fire quick weld cast iron pre heat stuff cut gouge all manner of material , second would be a big welding transformer i could add a rectifier, high frequency generator , remote wire feed those are the base welding tools and of course the fire . in the uk the insurance people freak out at accetlyne but you might have better over there . whatever you chose or are able to get it will be fine you have just got to put the hours in to develop the skills. and keep the rods dry dry dry !!! good luck .

you could just flapwheel one place to give you a finishing spot for work you want unblemished and carry on using it for another hundred years or so all the scars are like a fingerprint an imprint of history to flat that would in my humble opinion be criminal all the lumps and bumps peakes and valleys are of great use to a metal shaper !

i like my anvils run in a bit before i use them , i recon youve got a happy 50 or 60 years on that one to get it nice and comfy (:-)

there is a smith in england called hector cole who would be great for you to talk to he does a lot of roman etc iron work Hector Cole Home www.hectorcoleironwork.com/