Rob Browne

Jake has told you how to get your fuel really well. If timber is easy to get then charcoal is the way to go for you. As for the forge try scraping out a narrow hole in the ground and lay your pipe under it with the end in the centre. Cover the pipe with a good layer of mud with the end just exposed so air can get out. Hook up your bellows to the other end and start your charcoal fire then forge away. This would be a simple earth forge and is commonly used in many parts of the world. Cheers

Its called a butcher, I think, as opposed to a cut off hardy. Anyway I use one all the time made from an old leaf spring. Cheers

I collect my fines, wet them and make them into small "bricks" which I burn in the fire.

Try hardening it as normal but use oil, its gentler on the metal. Make up a long length of mild to fit in the hole or use the drift you finished the hole with then heat it up to yellow and shove it into the hole. Watch the colours migrate through the hammer and quench when its right. No need for OA at all, a forge can do it all. Cheers

The joys of holidays, time on your hands and shops that just won't cooperate. Keep at it......

Serious lump of wood there. Once your anvil is fixed to it there will be no moving it. Happy hammering :)

If knife making is your target then you really don't need a "real" anvil. A real anvil for you could be a length of 4-5" rod or square bar stood upright in a bucket of concrete so its at the right height for you to work on. Think aof an old fork lift tong from the scrap metal people. The important thing is that the mass of the anvil is under your hammer and that is where the RR anvils lose out. As for hardy tools you can set these up in a stump or frame so they are not on your anvil leaving it free to work on all the time. You will find that most people will make their own hardy tools, that way you get exactly what you want. An old piece of leaf spring makes a great cut off tool.

Any of the "standard" solid fuels will work coal, coke, charcoal or corn. With coal make sure it is a nice deep fire (about 6") so you end up with a ball of coals about the size of a grapefruit and the piecesa are about 1' in size and keep feeding coal in slowly from the sides so you have no raw coal in contact with your steel, it does nasty things to steel when it releases the volatiles. The coke fire is much like a coal one, keep it deep, but it is harder to start and needs a constant supply of air or it will go out. Its good point is that there are no volatiles so it does not make smoke or smell and is easy on the steel. With charcoal, make sure its real charcoal, not the BBQ briquettes they have a lot of additives in them. The charcoal fire does not need so much air and you need to keep your extra fuel away from the fire or it will burn up without an air blast. It still needs to be deep or you will be in the oxidising lkayer all the time. As for corn, it works well and is easy to get but you go through quite a lot. In all cases when the fire is going control the edges with a sprinkle of water occasionally. Above all, have fun and keep safe.

Why worry about a bit of surface rust. The first bit of hot iron hammered on it and it will be shiney again.

Bugger!! It always happens when you are in a hurry.

Love that story :)

I would say, just clean it, lube it and put it back together and you are away. Spend more time forging and less time trying to find where that left over bit really goes. Cheers

Joe, Your work is going ahead in leaps and bounds. Really enjoyed the film, especially how you made it into a bit of a story with the bike ride, etc. Cheers

Is a cool wet Christmas. Too hot and dry here these days. Merry Christmas everyone.

I get around it by working outside or in a tin shed down the back. If the shed burns its not a real loss and its not anywhere near the house.

Looks like there is going to be PLENTY of heat in that little baby!

Great set up. Better than my leanto. BTW thanks for the great shots of the water cooled tyuere :)

A plow disc is what my forge is based on although I took the easy way out and lined it with simple mortar. Easy to find and use. Made the tyuere out of a couple of bits of reobar.

Yep, slap up a leanto on your existing shed that covers your current working area. As time and money allows clad the sides BUT try to put a chimney on the forge at the same time as the leanto to keep your air clean.

Not that I have too much experience with gassers but the ones I have used have the ends open. It is much easier to set up your insulation and coat it and it is much more flexible in configuration for different jobs. I would say that at least one end has to have a hinged door otherwise you will regret it later.

Tim, That is quite a haul you have there :)

How do I heat? Open the door :D

Looks like a big display butchers knife. Would make a great scrub cutter :)

As all the others have said, "Really good work". Was that the first horse head you have tried? If so, its very impressive. Cheers