GNJC

Working with a floor mandrel you'll get rings that are true in less than a quarter the time it will take you to get rings that look true when working on the anvil. If you are going to be doing a lot, the time saved will soon pay for the mandrel. And they will be true rings...

A few years ago I fell off a ladder and couldn't forge with my usual arm, no luck at all with using my left, it was awful. I ending up deciding to clean & clear everything up and doing a lot of designing. Like a fool I tried forging again too soon, before I had healed properly and damaged my right arm again. I then took six months off and everything has been alright since.

I am right handed in almost everything, but I bat left-handed (cricket) and play guitar (badly) left-handed too just because it feels more comfortable and natural to do so. I had thought that these tendencies might make it easier for me to switch forging arms, but I was completely wrong.

I think a significant factor is that I have a right leading eye, for shooting, archery, catapults (slingshots) etc. and I believe that this is key in forging too.

Not aiming this at anyone but... very, very few people are truely ambidextrous in the full sense of the word. Being able to get by using the 'other' hand is lucky and useful and, I guess, possible for most people with real perseverance; but I have yet to come across anyone who can do intricate / delicate jobs to a good (i.e. the same) standard with either hand.

Without doubt it's cast iron; I've lifted any number of the things and dropped a couple too, both broke / chipped. I've no idea what the mix used for these is, but since they are only made to provide weight (not for working on) I doubt the one you have will stand much whacking; probably not a problem while forming hot metal over it, but a miss-hit could see damage done.

A reminder to those in the South East area that we will be at The Woburn Abbey Country Fair this weekend (8th & 9th of June).
 

Copper has been advocated, very interesting.

I've got a few old (mid to late Eighteenth Century) pieces of domestic metalware that show evidence of brazing to repair / join wrought iron and, in one instance, steel. So far as I can tell, these all have brass as the 'sticking' medium. I have not yet seen copper used elsewhere either, but maybe this is a local preference - I am in the UK and techniques vary from county to county.

So, and I am assuming that the smiths back then knew their business and didn't waste time / money on work that was going to come back with a complaint attached, the question I want to ask is: what is the advantage of brass over copper or silver for these joins?

Thanks in advance for advice on this, because in the near future I will need to braze a couple of joins and I want to do things effectively as well as authentically.

Assuming the set-up is right for allowing a normal person to see heat colours, there are some medical / physical conditions that may prevent other individuals from not being able to do so. Colour-blindness is commonly known of, but some people don't mistake colours for other ones, they simply can't register a given colour at all. This may be due to an inherent problem or due to later injury and damage from.

Two things come to mind, both very challenging for a humble amateur such as myself...

1) Forge weld a cirlce in 1/2" squage stock so that you can't see the join (by finding a change in thickness). Welding a strong circle is not so hard; but it took me a lot of tries to get sufficient upset metal to remain at the weld-site to be able to blend it well with the rest of the ring.

2) Take a piece of flat stock, say 1/4" x 1" x 16", split it down the middle lengthways from each end for about 7", and then open out the 'arms' a few inches. That's the easy bit. Now forge the centre part down - as you open out the arms - to give a symmetrically even cross without pinching either the centre itself or the base of any of the arms. A small radius rather than a sharp corner is ideal. This is much more difficult than it sounds, even John B has said it isn't easy to do well...

I think the second test is harder, and becomes even more so if you use stock thinner than 1/4"; although the first is not easy using 1/2" x 1/4" stock (I'm still struggling with that.)

The practical use of these things is that they can be combined to make a flywheel / governor for a spit engine (also known as a spit jack or clock jack in the US).

Good luck.

Can't help with getting the stuff, but...

I've been gathering various bits of wrought iron for a while & have been re-forging them. The range of quality is huge; in the UK we had great stuff called 'Triple Best' which is wonderful, it moves like warm butter and sticks like superglue when welded.

We also had stuff that was used in huge quantities for fencing, which is very, very poor quality; it fractures at any heat and is very hard to weld, its full of inclusions too.

My point is, quality in wrought iron is nowhere near as consistent as in modern mild steel, so be careful what you buy and experiment before forging.

A last thing comes to mind - if you are looking for striations, why not forge-weld a laminated steel billet and acid etch it? This could be a more effective route that trying to source possibly unreliable wrought iron at short notice.

Good luck.

Crush the ore to a coarse sand size, lots of charcoal in for a roaring fire then the ore bit by bit with more charcoal; keep it roaring. I think you'll just have to experiment to see what works. Good luck.

No problem with questions. There is a lot of stuff on the net about this and quite a bit here on IFI, check youtube for videos of successful furnaces.

Make sure your ore is smashed small - it gets hotter & there is more surface for necessary reactions to take place over, therefore it's more efficient.

I was introduced to smelting by Mick Maxen and Owen Bush - 'Basher' here on IFI. They've done it many times and may be able to suggest specific remedies to problems. Both busy chaps, but I'm sure they'll find time to help out with some advice

Well, a good show with a large amount of interest in blacksmithing and many people interested in courses with the Guild - let's hope that they follow through and book them. Thanks to Igor and Jon for helping out on the stand.

The next show the Guild will attend in the South East area will be at The Woburn Abbey Country Fair on the 8th & 9th of June (assuming the place is not flooded again as it was last year.)

Thanks for that. I'm in a similar situation to you, most of the time just working by myself. That written, it does make me think my way around various problems and make little 'helpers' just to make singlehanded jobs easier... or possible.

Hello Todd, blacksmithing is pretty much unique among the crafts, since a blacksmith can make nearly all of the tools he will need - certainly all of those needed for everyday jobs.

It's a bit far for me to help you out by sending tools from here in the UK, but at the end of this post is a link to a pdf (Acrobat) book for blacksmiths in the third world. You can download it to your computer or print it out.

If you have a hammer and an anvil, this book will show you how to make all of the other basic tools. I found it very useful when I was starting out and I know that many others have too.

Good luck with all and everything.

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/downloads/pdf/blacksmithing.pdf

Looks better than the Angele model to me. I've used the old type until now, but will now have a go at one in this style.

Two questions: 1) Does the hole goes right through? 2) Assuming is does go right through, did you drill it first and then drift it or punch right through?

The reason I ask is because I have found it very difficult to punch through and along the long axis of heavy stock. I haven't tried doing it with tool steel of that size and I guess it is very hard work, both getting it through and keeping it true.

Can you offer any tips?

I don't know about metal nomenclature in Arizona, but in the rest of the English-speaking world 'bell metal' is a well known term for a specific bronze alloy.

Not sure how much joy you will have in fullering it though RyanMark, there is a big risk of work-hardening and fractures. I think it will be better for your end product if you can get pieces of the dimensions you need. I can't see where you are; but if you are North America, the UK, Australia, or Europe I'll be very surprised if you can't get the metal you want.

You are right that kitchenware is a good fit for smithing, it all started in the forge in the old days. A little research can make forging easier; a good photograph is helpful, a good diagram is a lesson in itself - this is because it can highlight the welds / rivets / joins etc..

A good book to start with is 'Colonial Wrought Iron - the Sorber collection'; this show lots of old American ironwork from farm stuff to cooking gear. Another book, from here in the UK, is 'The Old Devon Farmhouse' by Peter Brears; his diagrams show just how each piece of metalwork was made and - very helpfully - the text gives dimensions for each piece. If you want any other info just PM me and I'll give what help I can.

I should have added another point... although the metal was generally thicker, utensils were still often quite elegant in appearance. This was because, despite having thicker metal, either by very skillful hammering or (more often) judicious use of a file, the edges and corners were made to appear more delicate.

It is an odd thing, but even on pieces I've made - and know are pretty thick - just seeing edges that have been filed to look thinner actually makes me feel that the whole item is lighter and more delicate than I know to be the true case.

Few things better than taking time off from what you should be doing to do what you want to do! Good to see you making old cooking gear too (my favourite occupation).

Something that few books mention / illustrate is the fact that the metal of the spatulas, spoons etc. in the old days (i.e. when these items were hand forged) was considerably thicker than in their modern counterparts. This was for many reasons but, mainly, because the metal wasn't as consistent as modern stuff and the users wouldn't buy tools that would wear down or break easily.

The pictures of your work appear to show that you are getting very thin toward the edges; by my estimate, too thin. Other than that good efforts, look forward to seeing future projects.

This is just a reminder that on May 4th, 5th & 6th the guild will attend the Live Crafts Festival at Mapledurham House, Reading, Berkshire RG4 7TR.

All welcome to have a chat or a go at forging, or to do a demo' or display / sell your wares.

You don't need one if you can make what you want to make without one and for a great many things it is possible to improvise or make / get smaller hardy tools to do the same or similar jobs.

However, I use two blocks fairly regularly: a normal industrial block and a more specialised one I designed myself. Both are helpful for many jobs and essential for some others. As has been written elsewhere before, when you need one you really need one, otherwise it will be an expensive door-stop. Take a look at the swageblock website for a list of uses you may not have thought about.

All that written, if you see one at a bargain price e.g. in good condition and going for well under £100, get it, if only as an investment.

Not sure about the hay-fork tradition in Alaska Frosty, but English ones (and the long-handled pitching forks too) only have two tines, four tines are on mucking forks here - and I do mean forks not cromes.

Gundog, think about where the strain will be put on the fork; my guess is that this will be where the tines come into the neck i.e. the junction between socket and tines. For that reason I would favour a forging of the fork from a single piece of substantial flat stock (tool steel if you want elegance), so enabling tines and socket to be from one piece and - importantly - the neck to be substantial enough to bear the loads it will have too. Dont forget to punch your nail-hole through the socket before you roll it over.

I have seen an alternative to the socket a few times, but only on hay-forks not on pitching forks. This is a long pointed tang coming straight from the neck that goes through a collar / ferrule into the shaft. I have not used this method on such a fork but have used it elsewhere and it is very strong; however... my guess is that the reason it was not used on pitching forks was because they flexed and any movement of the shaft itself would lead such a fitting to loosen, whereas the far more rigid short shaft on a hay-fork would hardly flex at all, so it would be unlikely to loosen.

If you do choose the tanged style, remember two things: 1) To put the ferrule on the shaft before you start fitting the head; 2) To use a longer shaft than necessary so that when you hammer it home you can trim it neatly and avoid future splits at the end. Only a real idiot would make these mistakes, twice... <_<

How big a fork do you want to make? Is this like a hay fork or a meat fork for fireside cooking / toasting?

Good point, I hadn't thought about the cloud lift - particularly daft of me since I've just been exposed to it left, right and centre in Japan... that said, it is interesting to note that the Japanese have (unsurprisingly) altered it to their own taste with a slight, very slight, softening of the angles.

Simple construction & sound techniques, a good design.

Of course I don't know where it will be placed - i.e. what buildings or structures will be near it - but, unless I had a good reason not to, I'd use more curved lines (organic?) for something that will be in close contact with plants.

Not saying won't 'borrow' the idea though...

Why haven't they rolled?