Gobae

Yes, I've noticed similar issues on occasion with my Irish forge. Although a hot spot about the size of a fist is perfectly suitable for working a lot of items I demo anyway. Even though my tuyere is made from clay, and there is historical evidence that these were seen as expendable, I generally don't extend it far into the fire because this hastens its deterioration. (I don't have ready access to a potter to fire them for me so I try to keep them as long as possible). What I've discovered is that the tuyere angle also plays a strong role in fire size and distribution as does charcoal size. When I take the time to angle the downward into the slope of the bowl I've dug, I can increase the hot spot another 50%-75% in size. Also, keeping the outlet of tuyere clear of charcoal about 1" away also helps. One type of clay tuyere that I've been curious to try actually looks like a faucet. It heads straight out into the fire bowl and turns 90deg down. In this image it's being prepped to smelt copper/bronze (thus the crucible under it).

What issues have you found with the park forges? And what did Jymm recommend?

Unfortunately, it's fairly typical of many blacksmith group websites to be notoriously out of date. When I was webmaster and newsletter editor for CDBA (Capital District Blacksmiths Assn [of NY]) I had to scour websites, newsletters and even make phone calls to the other groups in our area to get a clear picture of all the nearby events that our members might be interested in as well. Heck, Berkshire Blacksmiths (our neighbor due East) doesn't even HAVE a website so unless you run into a member you'd never know they existed. So I absolutely agree with Frosty; contact them.

Yes, the guy who owns the 16th Century Dutch gets that sucker into his pickup with a engine hoist and come-along.

Nice! What era/location are you re-enacting? It looks remarkably similar to this one. 16th Century Dutch.

Excellent post! We were coming to much the same conclusions as you and it's good to know others have independently gotten to the same place too. Smithing in a pit is a well known work stance in some areas of Asia, Middle East and Africa. While I certainly would be loath to use cultures so distant as "evidence" for the Celts (or Norse), it does point to the fact that it is effective. Do you have any pics of the pit work you've done? I couldn't agree more on the "unpublished research" topic! Of course we have things a little easier when it comes to published work on the Insular Celts; that's mostly in English. But Continental Celtic research articles are as likely to be in French or German as English. In the end we will probably build 2 forges. One box forge at "traditional" working height for public demonstrations where digging pits is frowned upon. The other forge will be an on-the-ground/stand-in-the-pit style at our roundhouse site. Much of the equipment can be reused and transferred back and forth as needed so it shouldn't be too bad.

Yes, and somewhere I have a reproduction print from a woodcut that shows just such an alternating lever contraption being used in the Middle Ages. But actually it's not so much working the bellows that's an issue (because you can sit on the ground for that) it's kneeling at the anvil. Some fellow Norse re-enactors actually use a stool, but I've never gotten used to sitting while hammering.

Works perfectly well and forge welding is no problem. With a bellows slave (and therefore both bellows in use) there's very little difference from any other side blown charcoal forge. If I don't have a bellows slave I can still get up to working temp no problem, it just takes longer. If we're going to be running the demo for more than a day I often clay the inside of the "bowl" that was dug into the ground; sometimes even building up the sides too. Depending on the soil I've found that this is sometimes necessary to keep the walls from crumbling into the bottom and thus filling up the hole by the end of the day. Other soils, however, vitrify and hold their shape fine. The biggest issue I have with this setup is that it's killer on my knees.

This is a 400AD Irish setup. Large version Here's a link to the research and creation Ancient Celtic Clans - 5th Century Forge

As a last ditch effort to save a once vibrant group, I wish to announce that (possibly) the last meeting of Capital District Blacksmiths' Association will be taking place November 9th, 2008. Location and directions can be found at: Capital District Balcksmiths Meeting Dates Those with the time, energy, and enthusiasm to lead are urged to attend! Many thanks, (former CDBA Secretary & Webmaster)

We're "Oak & Acorn Ancient Metalcrafts". Oak is reference to the honor and reverence the Druids had for Oaks, since we're Druids. Acorns refer to our two daughters who are getting interested in metal working. Ancient because blacksmiths/metalworkers have been around for thousands of years and we carry on that tradition. Metalcrafts is used instead of "blacksmithing" because (my wife in particular) does works with precious metals in addition to blacksmithing.

Thanks for the ideas guys. I've got some extended and uninterrupted forge time coming up, I'll give them a try.

The configuration that I can imagine they don't make is wrought iron. So that means you either scrounge for it or smelt it yourself. Besides it completes the: 'raw material -> final use' lineage so you can literally say "I made this (item) from DIRT!". And that feels GREAT! Metalworking Symposium 2004 Keep in mind learning to smelt isn't "re-inventing the wheel" so much as learning how to building one.

During the bronze age blades with midribs were common and of course were cast that way. That same style carried over into iron during the early Iron Age, but they had to have been forged that way, not cast. I've seen a couple of theoretical forging techniques that will give a midrib in archaeological reports. But, they seem very clunky, difficult and obviously thought up by someone with no/little blacksmithing experience. I've come up with some ideas of my own, but before I re-invent the wheel I figured I ask: Has anyone here had regular practice making blades with a midrib? What techniques do you find work the best? Thanks!

I have always had excellent success wearing contacts while forging. On the topic of accidental grit, I find that I fair much better with contacts IN than out. I believe the reason for this is that since the contact is "stuck" to the eye it provides a measure of grit protection for the eyeball; I've rarely had an irritant get UNDER the contact. The only irritation from grit happens on the unprotected eyelid.

While it may be true we're not a necessity in this day and age blacksmithing is fundamental to understanding history. History of metallurgy, as well as the history of how our ancestors lived just like so many other ancient skills. They don't need to have a "dead-on handle" but they should have more of a clue about what we do and how the world works than they do. Because quite often "perception is reality". We see over and over (in other areas as well as in blacksmithing) that how people view things can be crucially important to the success or failure of an endeavor.

Because it shows the ignorance and misinformation rampant in the general population. It's not the so much that any one person is ignorant of what we do, but the extent to which it is pervasive in our society. Add to that the fact that some people will argue with us about what it is that we do, just so they can hang on to their illusions; sometimes it makes you concerned for the survival of our species. No one can be knowledgeable in all areas, but we should all be willing to learn when corrected. Of course some of us have taken the time to learn about that too. Since it is such a common misconception I specifically bought "Shoeing Right - Advice to a Horse Owner from a Working Farrier" so I could understand what they do, and pass along a comparison/contrast to the public.

We do demonstrations at two of our local county fairs so the vast number of people we encounter each year with those misconceptions is immense. We decided to tackle the problem by hanging a banner on all 4 sides of the smithy that read "Blacksmiths DON'T shoe horses. Surprised? Stop in and learn more." At the other venue we hung "No Horseshoes" signs like the "No 'U' Turn" signs but with a horseshoe under the "No" symbol. Additionally, when we describe the difference between a blacksmith and a farrier we use the analogy of "mistaking your family doctor for a dentist. Both are doctors but one is a specialist." If the person seems interested we then list off some of the other "specialist smiths" (nailers, cutlers, etc). Finally, when the inevitable question "so then, what DO you make?" comes up we often say "Blacksmiths were the 'Home Depot' of the iron age. Every metal piece of hardware was made by the smith". Has it worked? Well, the signs did seem to have an effect. Either people stopped themselves from telling their kids "oh they make horseshoes" OR they would ask "Why?". The latter was fantastic, since part of our reason for doing the demo was to educate the public.

I see the original post is nearly 2 YEARS old at this point. Does anyone know what the CURRENT status of the ban is? Did it pass, get hung up in their parlement/legislature, get voted down? It may also be interesting to note that Ireland proposed a similar ban on "Oriental" swords. Unfortunately, it was worded so broad as to be a sword ban too.

Nope, no special insurance here. Our homeowner's policy doesn't disqualify it (even with a broad reading). So, after hearing horror stories of people who HAVE mentioned it their insurance co (mostly because the agent has NO clue about the real risks), we decided not to even bring it up.

- Stealing water from the slack tub (then washing with it), or dipping body parts into it while the smith isn't looking has curative effects. But the water must be "stolen" for the water to cure.

You're right on the nose Thomas. Iron blades of that style typically show up during the transition from the Late Bronze Age into Early Iron Age because the Continental metalsmiths were often reproducing bronze styles in iron. However, that doesn't seem to have occurred in Ireland. Other than some socketed axes, the Irish seem to have quickly ditched bronze styles and chose not to attempt to recreate them in iron, unlike the Continental Celts. If there were are any surviving swords of that shape found in Ireland they were almost certainly an imported item and not a native item. (Just like the single anthropomorphic sword found in Ireland).

If you're not already aware, there are two FANTASTIC books related to Celtic swords and Irish blacksmithing. "The Celtic Sword" by Radomier Pliener and "Early Irish Ironworking" by BG Scott. Are you with a re-enactment group?

Hmmm, ok. But something is niggling at the back of my mind about torque, total number of windings in the motor, and manufacturers marking HP on their products based on an 'unloaded' measurement. I'm pretty sure that the 2hp motors we used to open the gates on the Erie Canal (where I was lockmaster) would have more torque than a 2hp vacuum motor in my shop vac. Am I imagining this or can I really just slap any 2hp motor on my 50# LG? Edited to add: Doesn't a flywheel also help to add torque?

Isn't torque going to be as or more important than hp rating?