Ian

Hi guys, thought you all might like to see this: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-29011898 it's your's truly on the BBC no less, trying not to take the micky out of the journalist too much. Those of you who've met me will know :) IAN

Hi Mick, I'll be tagging along with a couple of folks, be good to say hello to Owen again and see how you guys do a smelt. Last time I did one was out in Oz with MOONY a few years back now. Great fun to watch how it's done. Also looking forward to meeting Brian B from the states (really like his style) and to pulling Uri's leg again if I get a chance, last time was at Ironbridge waaaaay back. It's still a joke in the shop to shout 'Da Hofi vay!' in a booming voice at unsuspecting peeps :) hope I can bag a spot on his power hammer class as well as Brian's tool making class

Hi John, long time :) I'll be tagging along with a couple of folks, just been waiting to confirm that we've all got VIP passes for it. Might be a last hurrah for me for a spell but I can bore you with all the details when I see you all, preferably over some mead. Hope you're well. Looking forward to meeting Brian B. finally, missed him while I was over in the states but love his work. Be good to see Owen again as well, still using that old beater of a swage block he sold me now and then :) all the best for it mate IAN

Cheers for that suggestion John, but I've already got two narrow boats out the front :) They're a lot prettier and more seaworthy than a shipping container. Our bit of the river forms a part of the canal network so there's very little chance of it flooding. hope you're doing well :D

Hi Agnes, if you can give a few more details (such as size, price, hours of access etc) then I'll also ask around the folks I used to teach. My gears still in storage at the minute as I've moved out of my old place in Stepney. I'm too skint to rent so I'm building a new shop out of containers over in Edmonton on a plot I've been offered next to the river lee. Good luck with it all Ian

Maybe I should put my name down for it, could still call myself an amateur :) Long as I don't have to move home it could be 'interesting'

Hi, could be anything from paint to galvanizing (Zinc coating) so be very careful with it. Burning of simple paint releases some nasty stuff but burning off zinc in a confined space can be fatal. If you do want to burn the coating off do it outside and stay upwind of it.

For the three step pulleys try Machine Mart

If you can then I'd say go for Hereford. If this is really what you want from life then it's a pretty small inestment in the long run. What I did was pretty unusual compared to most Smiths when it came to my education but if you walk into a shop with the degree behind you I'd guess you'd stand a much better chance of getting paid work. Otherwise start looking for grant making bodies. Most Smiths are wary of taking apprentices because they simply cant afford them.

I very much doubt they were made of metal, I think they were some sort of plastic illuminated from inside. The iron pour effect was pretty good I thought though :D

Hi, I've got the same book myself and I'd say if you are literally just starting then you could do a lot worse than this one. That said read as many books as you can and if you get a chance to talk to someone who casts for a living then do so. Jewellers are a good place to start for small and delicate stuff, foundrymen for the (much) bigger stuff. There are a few websites dedicated to backyard casting as well, as I'm sure google will inform you. Good luck and play safe.

With one exception all of my anvils are Brooks, I really like them. They're cast steel, ring pretty badly (or well, depending on what you think of a ringing anvil) and are usually as hard as nails to mark or dent. Some folks don't like the thicker heel section but I do, feels less 'springy' under heavy work unlike some of the thinner heeled styles. Looks like it needs a good wire brush though LOL If you can get the price down to around the figure Mr Powers suggests I'd take his arm off, otherwise $300 isn't cheap but is still a good investment for a portable quality anvil.

Having met and spoken with both Uri Hofi and Alfred Habermann, I can tell you that both men were extremely opinionated. Both men are also (or sadly in Freddy's case were) extremely talented too. I took from both what I found to be useful to me, given that I am not them, do not swing like them, forge like them or work as they do/did. I work like me. A wise man said 'there is nothing new under the sun' and there's a lot to be said for that, but as grown ups and with brains capable of decent cognitive action we've no excuses for throwing our teddies from our prams over this sort of stuff. Informed debate should be encouraged, but eppy scoppies waste everyone's time. So what if Uri's 'ergonomic' technique is no more an original idea than hitting anything with a hammer? I've seen that style of swing in half a dozen countries used by guys who've never heard of 'Uri Hofi' or his patented hammers. Uri's in it to make a living boys and girls, so deal with it. I don't hold it against him, good luck to him. I'm just capable of seeing the wood for the trees. Hofi hammers are an amalgam of ideas taken from other hammer styles (such as the Czech style, Ozark style and the hammer the Alfred Habermann's grandfather made, that Alfred himself used, plus others Uri has seen, I'm sure) Fine, if he wants to claim that as his design then whatever he sees fit. They are well made tools and like any hammer if used properly can do the job just fine. Are they better than every other type of hammer? No, I don't think they are, they are simply a good tool. Some folks love them, some hate them, non of which matters. It's what you think of them and what you can do with them that ultimately counts.