GNJC

Well, I've bought my ticket and I'll be bringing my eldest boy too. Looks to be a good thing, well done for helping to organise it John.

Fair enough John, just a thought.

Andy, have you asked John if the Guild will do a deal for you? It's got the kit, I guess it would welcome the cash and having someone around the site too, but that is a guess... John?

Thanks for that Dwarf, a good plan.

Joking apart, I once made a three sided reamer for a friend and I am still ignorant of any way to taper a triangle easily other than grinding it. I have used the 60 degree grooves in a swage block for making triangle section on a couple of progects, but trying to taper by using progressively smaller grooves didn't work well, or at all, just created steps ... any advice on this would be welcome .

Tapering a triangle section is really hard...

Glenn is well known for his sense of humour <_< Agnes... Glenn, I guess that shop space is not going at such a premium other than in the original London - and we don't feel the need to qualify a place's location unless it's a repro'... Agnes, it could be a good idea to post this under the Blacksmiths' Guild section (bottom of the main page), that deals with most of the UK specific matter on the site. As well as letting the Guild's master - John B - know about your workshop, why not give BABA news of it too? Following that, if you let the college at Hereford know, they may have some alumni that are looking for space. In any case, let prospective smiths have an idea where abouts it is - postcode / district - as well as what the cost will be and what facilities are available. Good luck.

Can't say I know what it is, but I'm fairly sure that it is meant to hit and not to be hit. I write that because things that are made to be hit generally have a fair amount of metal there for the purpose, this thing just has its eye and no more. It looks a bit like a tinsmith's hammer or a silver smith's raising hammer for difficult places / shapes, but I need to see it from another angle to be sure.

It's not a complete tool-set, but John B has a very neat set-up for carrying around punches and specialist tools, I don't have a photo' of it, but if he reads this he may post one. From memory it consists of a large number of pieces of thin walled tube of differing diameter and length, welded together in a useful configuration allowing each tool to be easily identified and picked out - a stout handle for carrying it too. I think he made it for demo's but it is a good idea even just as convenient storage. Yet another item on the long list of things to make...

And anyway... how many second, third and fourth etc. generation smiths who took over a family business built their own forges?

Unless you are going to start preaching to others about what is best I wouldn't worry yourself about anybody else's opinion on this matter. If you want to build a forge do it, if you want to buy one buy it. As long as the forge you end up with has the ability to create and hold a fire hot enough to burn steel, it will be fine for any smithing you will do. Don't misunderstand me, there is a huge amount of wisdom available on this site and a superbly collegiate spirit too; but 'ethics' - which is what this question really boils down to - are personal and rarely objective. Best advice above... get lessons from a good teacher and then practice.

A sole trader does not need to apply for planning permission to carry out business activities related to his trade unless it is of a 'restricted' i.e. licenced nature, such as fireworks manufacture. As far as planning permission goes - for non-sole traders - a local community can object to an application but the relevant planning authority need not take notice of that objection in granting permission; although the applicant may well be sensible to do so.

'Colonial Wrought Iron' by Plummer has a lot of interesting tools in it. Iron dibbers were popular, the long ones were used in pairs - one in each hand -while the man walked down the row. Other than that, what about onion rakes, hoes, spuds etc?

If you are working as a 'sole trader' you don't need anyone's permission...

Thanks for all that gents, my concerns are now diminished. I suspected that the control was well-capable of the job it's doing, but wanted to make sure. Fair point Dwarf, many things are rated to work at different temp's, the problem is knowing just what the temperature an old thing like this was specifically built to cope with - the chance of coming across the original spec's is remote. A fan is one option John, I'll ponder some others too. Thanks again all.

Hello Debbie, the best place for this post is probably in the Blacksmiths' Guild section, go to the opening page of IFI and head for the bottom; it is UK based and most British smiths will see a post there. Have you conacted JohnB (John Bellamy) at the Guild? He has a fair knowledge of who is where and what may be available, also people often come to him if there is a forge for sale and the like. Contact him on here via P.M. or throught the Guild's website (see below). Hope to see you at the International Blacksmithing Festival in August. Regards, G. http://www.blacksmithsguild.com/

Hmm…clearly you have good mind Swede, that was my first thought too. However, after having checked the thing inside and out and finding no faults, he suggested I ask other smiths who are used to such kit, since some industrial electrical items were once expected to get hot and that was not a problem. HWooldridge, thanks for that; mine gets hot but nowhere near ‘frying pan hot’, after three hours of use it was still possible to put my hand on the iron casing. But that written, as we know, smiths are generally a bit less heat sensitive than others, so it may still be too hot. John, I have had problems with posting pics before so I have sent a photo’ to your usual e-mail address. As you will see it is a ‘Starter Regulator’; the wheel on the front moves an internal arm that passes across a number of contacts, each having less resistance - left to right as you look - as more speed is required. To be fair I have had it running at a fairly low speed, so there would have been a fair amount of resistance. I have seen the same unit – at least from the outside – at several smithies. There are no holes / vents in the iron casing other than for wiring. Thanks again for any help.

I am re-posting this here because I think it is pretty esoteric to the UK and also that nobody reads the 'bellows' section of the forges forum... I recently fitted an old (I guess late 60s), heavy, cast iron cased William Allday & Co Starter Regulator as a speed control for my fan blower. I had a friend who is an electrician check it over beforehand and he gave it the all-clear; he also went over the wiring connecting it to the blower, all is well there. The blower itself is a later one by the same firm; my maths and my electrician chum both state that the control is well capable of handling the power going through it. But… I was forging a couple of days ago and while waiting for a heat I happened to touch the casing of this regulator, it was pretty hot; of course, there must be resistors in it so I’d expect a temperature. But, how hot is normal, is touchable alright or is there a problem I need to solve? Thanks in advance for help. G.

I recently fitted an old (I guess late 60s), heavy, cast iron cased William Allday & Co Starter Regulator as a speed control for my fan blower. I had a friend who is an electrician check it over beforehand and he gave it the all-clear; he also went over the wiring connecting it to the blower, all is well there. But… I was forging yesterday and while waiting for a heat I happened touch the casing of this regulator, it was pretty hot; of course, there must be resistors in it so I’d expect a temperature. But, how hot is normal, is touchable alright or is there a problem I need to solve? Thanks in advance for help. G.

I started smithing about six years ago and the best beginner's book for me - by a long way - was Peter Parkinson's 'The Artist Blacksmith', it is very clear, very thorough and despite its title not at all 'arty'. He did some DVDs to go with it too. But the posts above are all right, practice whenever you can and learn from someone skillful whenever you can; when you need a rest, study IFI.

Peter Parkinson's book 'The Artist Blacksmith: Design and Techniques' is superb, it will take you from zero to a good understanding of techniques and tools. There is also a DVD that compliments it called 'Artist Blacksmithing'. Parkinson is a very, very good writer / teacher and conveys everything in simple terms. Despite the titles, they are not 'arty', it is just good, solid craft. The nearest blacksmithing course may not be the best one. As Beth has written the Blacksmiths' Guild runs good courses and, unlike some, there are never any short cuts (because the Guild is not doing it for commercial profit). You can start from knowing nothing and come away with a good basic knowledge and skills as well as items made. There is a link to the Guild's website below: http://www.blacksmithsguild.com/index.html

The strongest argument for a treadle hammer is that if you work alone it gives you the benefit of an extra pair of hands; I make lots of things using the treadle hammer that I simply could not do without it. Obviously it is cheaper to build than a power hammer - I didn't build mine - but they are very different tools in what they enable you to do: a treadle hammer can - to a degree - replace a striker, while a power hammer opens up a whole new range of possibilities, you'll get expert opinion from somebody on here. I don't want / need a power hammer because I don't make stuff that requires one, I did need a treadle hammer because a lot of the stuff I make would require a striker, which I rarely have access to. I'm not worried about the space my treadle takes up, maybe 1' x 3', even though my whole work area is just 7' x 15' I fit it in with a forge, bosh, anvil, leg-vice, small table, swage block, floor mandrel, tool / stock shelves + racks and a tyre-bender. My point being that you make room and work around + with things as you have to. I'm an amateur whose hobby just about pays for itself, so I guess that the pro's on here will very likely have different views to me but, overall, the treadle hammer is a tool I would never want to give up unless I had a striker on call whenever needed.

Toby - assuming that is your name - if you don't become a bit more communicative you run the risk of people thinking that you might be a bit of a troll. As you can see from my details, I'm in Hertfordshire, if you are local you are welcome to some help and advice, but everything the other chaps have written is right; you need to respond to responses and you shouldn't expect to do too much too soon.

Good idea Dan, I don't much like the idea of soaking my hammer so I had also worked out a couple of ideas instead: 1) to use mouthfuls / mouths full of water taken during heats and then spat / dribbled out as necessary (I think your method may be more dignified); or 2) to have a soaked sponge - wrapped in a plastic bag but open at the necessary end - on the anvil with a loop of string going over it and down to near the ground, a bit of wood through the loop would allow me to squeeze water out when needed; or the hand holding the work could rest on it and squeeze. In fact, now that my brain has started to work, I think a better method would be to use a flat-sided washing-up-liquid bottle (maybe filled with sponge), this would negate the need for a plug in a can etc. Obviously haven't tried these yet but they seem reasonable.

Hmm, my ignorance seems to know no bounds... this method really had gone unnoticed. I'll do some more research and give it a go; I guess practice will be the best thing, if I can get to the point where I remove even half the scale on a given piece I'll be very happy. Thanks for all the information gents.