Curly

Did think about that, but having it sitting there means its less easy to spend than cash in the wallet and like you say it wont loose any value! Was also thinking it would make a good anvil to take to shows for display work when I get to that stage. Plus it looks like I might have made a bit of a deal on this bigger one anyway :D will report back tomorrow evening!

Thanks everyone! Information given very much appreciated! Reckon it probably is a wright anvil of some sort. Will see what happens, still buying on a budget but as you say Andy it looks like a decent size for what I need so hopefully can work something out.

Hi All, Looking for some further information on this anvil... next size up from my baby anvil and with a nicer face (although still a little dinged by the looks of it) Has 1 2 . 12 or maybe 1 . 2 . 12 stamped on the side. I gather thats the weight but couldn't remember how that is worked out? Attached some photos for you to have a look at. Have asked the seller for some further information as it looks like a makers mark is stamped on the side. Thanks, Tim

Currently cant get my gas forge up to welding temp :( but cant say I have and it is indeed something I would like to try! and thanks Frosty, sounds like a voice of reason to me!

Client asked for a chain and hook to allow for adjusting the height. Normally I sell trammel hooks to go with my tripods but they wanted a chain. Anyhow, got the message loud and clear and confirmed what I thought esp as its for a client and not an x wife!! Thanks all! Will go out and get some stainless.

How safe would this be? Being used over an open fire supporting a pot hanging from a tripod for example. I know fumes from burning off zinc are extremely bad but at what temp does this start to happen? Have some chain at moment so was wondering whether or not I need to go and find something else.

Thanks John, you are correct. It is indeed a half crown. Chinobi, it is certainly something you cannot rush! In fact I remember after 5mins of tapping having to use a micrometer to see if there had been much upset. But it gets there in the end.

One of our local churches has some hinges on the front doors a bit like these that I always admire whenever I pass it. Always think that if I could make something like this then I would at least be getting somewhere.

How about producing some nice scrolls of different types without the use of a jig and setting them all with collars? Maybe make a nice gate or something along that sort of lines. Or take a walk about and find something forged and see if you can reproduce it?

Hi Jordan, welcome to the site, huge amount of information on here to give you ideas and to get you started! I would also second what John said about checking out the Blacksmiths Guild and their courses. Kingston Maurward college also offer some blacksmith courses both full time I believe as well as evening classes. Im just up the road from you just north of Dorchester with my new workshop in Maiden Newton. Still very much a novice at this smithing lark but once I am more settled in and up and running your more than welcome to pop up and teach me a thing or two! :P Its not a very glamorous forge mainly consisting of a gas forge, the odd tool and an anvil. There are also indeed several other smiths in the area that I am sure you will come across over time. How are you doing with equipment? Lots of stuff appearing on ebay recently that can get you started. All the best, Tim

Thanks everyone! Will check out the Blacksmith Supply store. Jim, seen them a few times and thought how handy they looked but never knew they were called a smithin magician so thanks for that rockstar! Seems a lot easier than when you are working alone and trying to balance several tools and the workpiece at once! Francis, so they live on Hatteras at the moment (soon to move to Florida), heading over here to the UK so thought I try and take advantage of the exchange rate!

Hey all, My mother in-law who is American is heading over the pond for a visit end of June and I was thinking this could be a good opportunity for her to bring me over some supplies! Hopefully it should be cheaper over in the states than it is here. I am mainly after a decent square faced hammer and possibly one of those blacksmiths 'hands?' with the different fullers that you can swap over, if that makes any sense at all?! Not sure what that tool is actually called but seen a couple and they look rather useful! So can any American folk recommend some good online stores for smithing supplies with reasonable shipping costs to NC? Found a few good looking ones via google but its always good to hear personal recommendations. Thanks, Tim

Thanks for the feedback Alan, have found it quite tricky getting good photographs. Will try some more lighting and get some images with better detail. Also have a friend who is really into his photography so will see what he can do with some of the images. Tim

Well the website is now live Any feedback welcome! I havent tested it on any tablet devices yet, it should work but if you are browsing this on an iPad for example and all the images are all over the place then let me know! Images of the products arent great but hopefully will get some better ones up soon. Also Frosty, you were correct. Set up shop this week in the antique shop (Not fully sure its the right move yet, fair amount of old forged ironwork going for cheap that you would never be able to make for the same price now which make my items look expensive) however I had one old lady ask me to forge a new bracket for a lamp she has and another seller asking me whether or not I work in brass as he has a pool table that needs fixing! contact admin about self promotion of your URL

Nope just kept on tapping! Frosty, maybe I should try using a spoon next time! Its funny, you think one would want to encourage creativity like that and not try and ban making them.

Indeed, lots of tapping and rotating! If you tap too hard it will start to bend and it seems near impossible to get it back straight.

Well little hint - all i used was a hammer, small anvil, drill bit and drill, round file and some emery cloth to polish. All used in that order!

Just came across these photos of a ring I made last year so thought I would post it up here. Made from a 1950 British halfpenny. I am sure all of you clever folks on here know how they are made (I am sure some have even been posted up here before) but it took me a few days to work it out and make it!

Thanks John, certainly learnt a few things over the last couple of days. . Also, thanks to a nice surprise from the wife it looks like I'll be attending your flower making course at the end of June. So very much looking forward to that! Tim

Yeah just beat you to that! So it was using a hacksaw rather than a chisel. Here is a more detailed pic of the twist taken from the same image posted above. If I do it again I think I would do this twist a 1/4 of a turn less. You can see that too much twist causes each layer to buckle a bit and close up. With the others you can see light between each layer which gives it a nice effect.

Thanks all! Will have to give the tenon method a try. Will give me an excuse to make up some tools. The twist is called "saw it somewhere on google and thought it was worth a try". Not sure its actual name, its basically a cube twist but rather than stopping half way on the face going nearly all the way then doing a matching cut on the other side. So the small twist has 10 cuts on each side, medium twist 20 and the large 30. Giving a total of 120 cuts all done by hand! Just over a days work to do the whole thing. Will call it a candelabra from now on, much nicer sounding than a mundane candle holder! :P

Well finally got my temporary forge up and running and put these together over the last couple of days. My first attempt at candle holders and creating the cups, so pretty pleased how they turned out. Both are mounted in portland stone. On the latter candle holder the cups are mounted by drilling and tapping and using some M4 bolts. This was easy enough but was wondering what other options there would be (other than welding) for attaching these in a more traditional manner?

I hear the fisher anvils are known for being good quality and quiet so look forward to putting it back to work soon! Well finished the anvil stand just now, nothing too complex but should do the job. Plan to add a tool rack to the side of it soon. Also got around to mounting this little stake anvil for smaller work in a stump I got for free.

Must be around 80-90lbs. Just putting together a stand now so will post pics once completed.

Thanks Frosty, I believe I have enough smithing experience to get me going but have to say by no means a vast amount in comparison to others on here. I have actually just taken out a small unit at a local antique place which has many different traders selling different things and think ironwork would sell well there. So I plan on selling the standard bottle openers, fire pokers type stuff and develop my skills as I go and of course getting as much information from experienced smiths as i can! Ive always been pretty good at problem solving and using my hands, so feel reasonably confident I can pick most things up one way or another. This fork was my first attempt at smithing not too long ago, although I do have John B from here to thank for his great teaching. Will hopefully get the website up in the next week or so.