blackleafforge

is there a student discount? 

Is there a program available so i can find out what master classes and events are happening at what day/time? 

thanks

I was introduced to a local smith through a friend, he is downsizing and selling off a lot of stuff and i thought some of you might be interested. 

Blacksmithing Equipment and tools for sale

Meddings ½” bench drill 1ph £150

Wheelwright’s ring roller for wagon wheel bonds £100

30 cwt hand chain hoist £30

ARO ½ ton air hoist model 7756D £600

1 ton electric hoist Elephant F. Junior 1 ph. £475

30” Edwards sheet metal roller £300

2 double-bick anvils, approx. 4 cwt £400 each

1 London pattern anvil, approx. 3 cwt £300

Great Captain 15” power hacksaw with spare blades £300

Southbend 9” lathe with 3-jaw chuck, 4-jaw chuck,

   tailstock chuck, change wheels £150

5 leg vices various sizes £35 - £75

Blacksmith’s forge c/w hood, fan, speed regulator and flue £750

Flamefast gas chip forge

metal table with 9 metal drawers £ Offers

2 bench croppers £40 each

3 centrifugal fans, 500 cfm, 3ph. ACI  VBW6 £150 each

box of aprons, safety specs and goggles £ offers

Double railway sleeper bench £30

1” x ¼” snap-head rivets – 9.8 kg (approx.980 rivets)   £100

1¼”  x ¼” snap-head rivets  - 2.6 kg (approx. 240 rivets)  £35

1½” x 3/16” snap-head rivets – 5.8 kg (approx. 950 rivets) £120 

1 bag of 2” x 1/8” steel disks, approx. 90 £15

1 bag of 4” x 1/8” steel disks, approx. 60 £20

1 bag of 4” x 1/8” steel disks, approx. 120 £40

1 bag of 5” x 1/8” steel disks, approx. 50 £25

1 bag of 5” x 1/8” steel disks, approx. 60 £30

1 bag of 2.3/8” x 1.1/8 “, ¼” thick washers, approx. 40 £6

15kg 1.2mm copper-free steel welding wire £15

2 old forge fans £10 each

Selection of tinmans tools p.o.a.

Selection of polishing mops, cement, abrasive powder £ offers

Hand hammers, set hammers, swages, sledge hammers, tongs. etc.,

 i.e. all the usual types of hand tools. £ offers

Boxes full of all manner of bits and pieces incl. nuts and bolts.

Steel shelving 

All above prices o.n.o.

Contact Mike Malleson

 HYPERLINK "mailto:mike@malleson.co.uk" mike@malleson.co.uk

Tel : 01822 860304

Near Tavistock, Devon.

I have already agreed to buy a pillar drill, anvil and some other stuff from him, so if anyone else wants to get something heavy from him we could perhaps go halves on hiring some lifting equipment.

Yep the more rural isolated route is looking like the best bet, the issue is now the price of detached isolated houses with outbuildings or room to build them. I think i may have to go get a "proper" job for a few months so i can get a good mortgage :)   

Thanks for the idea GNJC, i completely understand John and would not want to impose at all. I was looking at a few industrial sites and was surprised at the rental cost, it works out far better in the long term to buy somewhere. I will keep looking I'm sure something suitable will come up :) 

Well the search continues. I have been out today searching devon for properties with enough isolation and work space to make a good forge. Some potential but nothing that fits the bill yet. Do any of you guys know of somewhere within 1 hr commute of Exeter? alternatively does anyone have some workspace they would be happy to rent out?

Many thanks 

Andy

Someone sent me this link, i thought some of you might find it interesting. 


Rare chance as city swordsmith seeks apprentices. The search is on for apprentices willing to take a stab at becoming master swordsmiths.

edinburghnews.scotsman.com

I made my wife a ring and roses.  She accepts anything shiny also.  She really did like a very simple snake I made once.  Anything you spend time to make her is romantic because it means your thinking of her.

very true, although i do like the idea of a metal rose, i have seen them done in the past but for some reason forgot all about them until now. 

I want to give my other half something i have made but can't come up with a good idea. Have any of you ever come across a design that could said to be "romantic"?  A heart shape seems the obvious answer but I'm trying to think of usable objects that could incorporate the design rather than something purely decretive. 

thanks

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

A local community can object to planning permission and stop you operating if you are not already established in the location. You can't just set up shop or the local planning department will shut you down especially in a protected area such as Dartmoor where the forge is located. 

What planning permission is required?

 

If there is a 300 year old forge hearth in there, and the parish records show it was occupied by blacksmiths, it is merely reverting back to original purpose, what is the current planning allowing, and if not a forge, then why was not planning enforcement implemented to have it removed?

 

I know locals would like to see it reinstated, have you had dialogue with the contact I gave you ? I am sure he would help

 

Don't give up now, and keep us informed.

It was originally a forge but the usage was changed about 30 yrs ago to retail, so apparently that means that because its not currently being used as a smithy and no formal application exists stating its use as a smithy it doesn't matter. Crazy i know........

I did follow that contact you gave me at the time, thanks John. From what i can gauge talking to the locals there would be no resistance to it, but i can not be sure. Its an emotive issue having a potentially loud workshop open up in a very small town, although i have committed to working between 9-5 and will not be using a power hammer, there is still potential for someone to decide against it and stop me. 

The problem is that if i forge ahead i may end up with a 70,000 workshop i can't work in, and then have to rent somewhere else anyway, and i just don't have the cash for that, I'm scraping the barrel as it is. 

Thanks tom, I'm hoping that when i get an offer on my house i can call up the vendors and try and bargain with them, if the property is still on the market.

Anyway on a lighter note John i just sent my £20 off to the guild secretary, and i will be permanently in Devon from the summer so i hope to meet you and the rest of the guild some time. 

After months of organisation, chasing planning officers, and eventually putting my house on the market i am in a position to make an offer. I was very disappointed and perhaps slightly naive when the seller would not take it off the market if they accepted my offer. 
The problem is that it does not have planning permission, so i planned on applying ( aprox 400£ ), but if i couldn’t get it then i would have spent literally everything i have on a property i can’t work in. 
So I asked if they would take it off the market while it get the permission so i don’t run the risk of them selling it while I’m struggling to get the planning permission and already sinking money in to it but they refused.
 
Anyone have any suggestions? the vendor will not take it off the market as they don’t care who they sell it to - i think its a slightly short sighted view as they own a gift shop next to the forge and I’m sure my smithy would only help to attract more people and would be very in keeping with the character of a little rural village. I also have the feeling that based on the vendors behaviour they would put the price up once i had the planning permission and they had me over a barrel. 
 
Im just gutted by the thought of them selling this beautiful old forge to another gift shop owner so they can further prostitute this village and rip out the 300 year old hearth.  
 
Mabe I’m just a bit idealistic and ignorant when it comes to buying property.

And the same to you, hope everyone gets that new power hammer they wanted from santa 

I like the idea of a quieter side channel fan as my forge will be in a residential area.

The Axminster runs at 70 dB, how quiet are the side channel blowers and the old Alacosta fans?

​Can they all be fitted with variable speed controls, or do you just control airflow with a simple sliding valve?

How much are the side channel blowers?

Iron dwarf, do you sell fans separately or just as components in finished forges? Do you have a website?

The older fans look a lot easier to service and maintain, is this the case?

Im sorry for asking so many questions :) I really appreciate the feedback and specialist information i get from this site, if i meet any of you at a fair or the blacksmith festival i will buy you a drink. 

Im in the process of getting the parts together to build my own forge having only used other peoples up till now. From the research i have done the best types of blowers for hard long term use seem to be the metal cased Alacosa type (uk).

Glendale and Vaughns have expensive versions for sale:

http://anvils.co.uk/products/view/434?cat=10

http://www.glendaleforge.co.uk/Glendale_Forge/Spares.html

Am i correct in thinking this is the best set up for a single profession blacksmith? They seem to strongly resemble older version such as one I'm watching on eBay:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/forge-blower-/121237665018?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item1c3a53f4fa

Is there a modern quieter more efficient version? I have heard talk of industrial side channel blowers? or is the older type still the way to go?

thanks

Thanks i will give him a pm. He was already helping me out with pointing me towards new premises, I didn't realise who he was, i think i actually met him at finch foundry but hadn't joined all the dots up and figured out i was talking to him online as well :)  He seems to be a very helpful and knowledgeable smith to know!

Has anyone had any luck in gaining funding in the uk for starting up / expanding blacksmithing business?
 
I am living in Devon and have been doing some research but am getting confused and bogged down by the seemingly diverse and complex funding available for everything from small business to arts funding. I wandered if anyone had actually succeeded in attracting any of this funding for blacksmithing?
 
thanks

"There is also an opportunity for someone to purchase the Forge in the centre of Widdecombe in the Moor for £75,000"

​Wow this looks amazing!, I'm a few months from finishing my blacksmithing course at Hereford and was looking for a small forge in rural Devon pref dartmoor so this could be perfect. Thanks for the info i will defo give them a call!

I notice that the forge shares a wall with what looks like a residential house, is there any legislation that would stop you re opening the forge so close to a house? 

ahh, my bad thanks 

After finalising a logo i wanted to create a touch mark to mark my work with, the commercially available services seem very expensive and i would rather invest the time and money in to learning new skills and make it myself.

I wondered what material would be the best? i have a bit of high carbon EN9 that i have used for punches, will intricate designs distort quickly if the punch is too soft? are delicate areas in danger of cracking if its to hard? what do you guys use?

I am also about to buy a dremel multi tool to cut out the logo on the punch head. I have seen examples created by striking a punch in to a relief of the logo but i wanted something more intricate than can be created with existing shaped punches.  the descriptions i have found doesn't say how they removed material from the punch, I was going to get a tungsten carbide pointed cutter as i thought the supplied engraving tool would not be able to remove enough material. Has anyone else tried this before, or have any advice?

many thanks

What does everyone else have as a work vehicle? Im looking to buy something as my kit will no longer fit in my VW polo....

A car derived van is cheap and economical but i was worried about overloading it and getting bogged down when in fields / work sites etc. A bigger truck, something like a toyota hilux, would be more expensive, less economical as i drive a lot but could carry a heavier load, pull a trailer and get everywhere. 

thanks

I'm in the uk by the way

Hi, I'm Andy, i have just left my job to pursue a dream of blacksmithing. I am now just in to my first year at Herefordshire college doing a full time blacksmithing course. I was wondering if there anyone else smiting in or near Plymouth? i was hoping to find a group that has regular forge ins or similar gatherings, so i can learn from more experienced smiths, and meet other smiths. 

thanks

Hi, I'm looking in to building a forge ( in the uk ) and i wondered if anyone knew about current regulations regarding the planning class they fall in to, proximity requirements to residential areas, building requirements that type of thing. In the short term i was going to try and rent somewhere, are there any regulations that dictate where i can set up a forge? And on the off chance, is there anyone in or near Plymouth with space they would be willing to rent out or share?