GNJC

Hello all, This will be of interest to those in or passing through the UK. The DIY chainstore 'Homebase' is stocking a hammer they call a 'flooring' hammer. It is a square section cross pein hammer and weighs 800g (one & three quarter pounds in old money), the price is

I think what you need depends upon what you want to do. I mainly make historical domestic fireplace cooking things & gardening / farming tools so, for me, the essentials are: Hammers, Forge, Anvil, Chisels, Punches, Vice, Hardy, Tongs, Swage Block, Mandrel, Anvil Tools, Scrolling Tools; in that order. If you aren't a pro' and want to increase your number of tools and learn new skills at the same time... make them! I have posted a link to the e-book 'Basic Blacksmithing' under the book review section of this website, it is a VERY useful text. I made my first tongs last week, following the instructions in the book, superb!

Thanks for that Apprentice Man, I guessed a blue temper but am glad for a second opinion. Glenn, I have some old leaf-springs but have no idea what make of vehicle they came from, let alone the exact type of steel. I think that getting the temper right for the shear will be a case of trial and error.

I want to make my own bench-mounted shear for cutting sheet & small sized rods. Its pretty simple to fabricate, but... I would welcome any suggestions about the correct temper for the two cutting edges. Please don't tell me the temperatures in degrees! Colours to look for or comparisons to other tools' tempers (e.g. punches, hammers, springs, hammers etc.) are the kind of guides I'd like. The steel I'll be using is old vehicle leaf-spring. Many thanks in anticipation of useful advice given.

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Hello WagonMaster, you can download the book for free from these addresses: http://ftpforge.chez-alice.fr/Blacksmithing.pdf see below Hope the information helps.

Here is a webpage that I have found useful . It allows you to download some hard-to-find British craft books (many for ironwork) free of charge. Craft publications I hope some of you find this useful too, please pass on the link.