Everything Mac

That's a brilliant idea Peter! I like that a lot.

Good point. I'd never even thought of that. Much appreciated. :)

Thank you! It's a really nice streamlined rack. It sits quite close in to the wall so it doesn't take up too much room. All the best Andy

Hi guys, figured I'd post some pictures of my rather small workshop seeing as I keep asking questions about how to improve what I've got. I live in a rented property I can't do much with it as much as I'd like to. This is the view from my shed door looking in. The shed measures approximately 6x8 feet. Pretty small by anyones standards. But as you can see I've got it quite well equipped. I've since added a belt grinder to the bench. I think I've got enough tools now to do a good portion of the jobs I'd like to work on, but we'll see. I too, this picture shortly after I reorganised the shed and build a smaller bench, there's much more space than I had, but it's still rather limiting. Here you can see my bench, the small leg vice I use and the smallest of my anvils. This was my first ever real anvil. I purchased it on ebay from a farrier who lived in the highlands of Scotland. Ive had it for over 5 years now. This isn't the anvil you saw in the video I made and posted up a week or so ago. I've had real sentimental attachment to this anvil but it had to go to make space. Luckily I know a young lad who lives near my folks who is going to take a blacksmithing course at college, so he's having the anvil to work on. This is my tool rack. It is made from one side of a large dog cage and as you can see it works really rather well. My hammer and tong collection is really rather small, but I get by okl. I've made four of the six sets of tongs that I have, though I really could do with a few more. My hammers have been acquired from various places from scrap yards to boot fairs. I don't think I paid any more that £5 for any of them so far. Come to think of it, I'm steadily becoming the king of thrift. I've acquired all of my tools including the anvils and my vise on a very tight buget. :) Cheers guys Andy

Hi jim, That's the kind if thing I was thinking of building as I quite like having my vise mobile, especially seeing as my workshop is so small. Though I'm considering bolting it directly to my workbench which saves me having to move it around all the time. Can't do anything for another week at least yet as I'm working offshore for now. Cheers Andy

Hi guys, Is your vise mounted? Do you have it fixed to your bench or is it portable? I'm going through a drastic reorganising of my shop just now and wondering if I should retain my vise as portable or fix it to the bench. Cheers Andy

Impressive work there. Have you fitted the vise yet?

Cheers frosty. Is the anvil simply sat on top of the sand? No brackets or anything keeping it In place? I would have thought it would move to one side as you strike? Andy

Cheers guys, much appreciated. As said the current stand is made of wood. It works well enough but I had no idea how much it wobbled. I was thinking a steel base might be more secure. Need to find the time to make one now! All the best Andy

.... Sadly I'm unable to secure it to the ground. I work out of a small shed in a rented property, I simply can't bolt it to the ground. My current stand is wood, was thinking of building a metal one with a tripod base. Is the force sent down through the legs rather than straight down through a log then? Daft questions I know.. . Cheers

Guys can you suggest a reasonable retail price for this? I've been asked to make one for a friend in Australia but I'm not sure what to charge..... Cheers Andy

I'm sure there was a thread on this but I can't find it. Are there any advantages/ disadvantages of a metal stand over a wooden block? Considering building a metal stand for my anvil. I've always thought a really solid wooden stand would absorb more of the noise or vibration than a metal stand no? Cheers Andy

Hi guys, I've just moved to the wirral, near Liverpool. Are there any other smiths nearby? Cheers Andy

I think they look ok bud. Looks to me like the bit doesn't close flat together? Best put the stock size you want to hold in there and flatten them out so they hold better. Other than that good job! Andy

I've got one too, I use it a lot these days but I think that is simply because its a nice weight. I have larger and smaller hammers, most of which get used for one thing or another but the rounding hammer is one of the three I use most often. It isn't a magic bullet, and doesn't do everything. But it works pretty well. As for a hammer I would recommend, that hard to answer as it can be a bery personal thing and I think a lot comes into play: weight, handle length, handle thickness etc etc. I like relatively long fat handles with a medium weight head. You're best off finding several hammers and doing a lot of smithing with all of them. You will soon find there is one particular hammer you always reach for first. Andy

Cheers guys, really appreciate the feedback. Baring the odd session with a local smith, I'm mostly self taught so its good to hear good points and bad points. Just so y'all know, I'm actually thinking of getting rid of that anvil. It was a bargain purchase recently but I've clearly gotten very used to my small anvil as this one just feels wrong. Though I have a big PW sat back at the folks place doing nothing too, so that might get brought up to the new house. I digress. I'm back offshore for the next couple of weeks, I'll be sure to take the hot cut out of the hardie hole when I get back. I made another pin for the anvil after reading your comments but it still wobbles about which suggests the base is uneven as well as the soft floorboards of the shed. I'm actually considering a metal stand which might be more stable? I wish the floor was concrete but it isn't so I must make do. I'm also going to try to stop putting my thumb on the shaft of the hammer. It's not something I really noticed I was doing quite so much until I saw the footage. Iron woody: the sounding is a habit I picked up a few years back and I've not been able to kick it. It's not something I was taught either oddly enough. This is the finished flipper: I was forging round to square to get the point, then the square to octagon then round. Cheers guys much appreciated. Andy

I'm a big fan of fruit wood handles. They hold up pretty well. I have used plum on a couple of handles on the past, both going strong. Cherry should work pretty well too! Andy

Hi guys, cheers for the comments. The anvil is actually fixed really firmly, I was shocked to see how much it moves in the video. I'm limited by my work area, it's all sat inside a small shed and the base of the anvil must be slightly uneven, the soft floor doesn't help. I'll sort it out. As for the vise it has to be moveable because I simply don't have the space for it to be fixed anywhere. Though I think I'm going to get some heavy box section to weld up a better stand for it. Cheers guys, much appreciated. Andy

Hi guys, this is my first ever blacksmithing video. I wanted to pay around with iMovie and have a bit of fun. Still learning it all. Would really appreciate constructive criticism on my techniques etc etc. Cheers Andy

Should have put the daft welded snail on there too. The combination works well. Cheers guys. :) Andy

Hmm, I was wondering if you were using briquettes. I've used charcoal for a good few years now and I've never had an ash build up, never enough to be a problem anyway. Not sure what to suggest really, other than perhaps trying a different brand? Andy

Made this for my gf's birthday. What do you guys think? Cheers Andy

What kind of charcoal are you using?

Were those designs all in use or are they just designs?

Will it be a long time before the refurb is complete John?