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I Forge Iron

jake.hornbrook

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  1. Here's one website that makes a point of dispelling the "naked savage" idea of the iron-age Celtic warriors, who routinely would wear chainmail armor: http://www.academia.edu/3891226/Celtic_Chainmail Everything I've read shows that they had the technology for butted mail but may not have figured out riveting yet. Known examples of butted mail among the Celts goes back to at least 300BC (per the article at least). I wish I could do riveted mail, but it takes a lot of resources and tools that I don't have. Riveted mail means having to flatten out the ends of the rings or stamp them out of sheet metal as flat rings, punch a hole in both ends, thread a wire through it, and rivet the wire down or somehow connect it back to itself. It would be much stronger, but I'm working out of a living room with no real shop to speak of, so you can see how riveting might be a little beyond my means right now. Back to the main topic, I would love as many resources as I can get, I'm not a technique-purist in the sense that if I want to make a viking-age item it has to be with viking-age technology, for example, I plan on finding what works best for me and adapting it to make whatever it is that I need, and starting with a good (but cheap) anvil was where I was going to start.
  2. I'm a bit of a dabbler historically, I already have the rig to make pre-dark ages butted chainmail (doesn't require any heat or tools other than cable cutters, pliers, and an electric drill), so historically I'm mostly looking to do anything up to middle-ages. As far as equipment I'm looking for whatever gives me the most flexibility to work and hone my skills while keeping my limited budget in mind. I did look around on the formus a bit and I haven't found a recent one for someone asking about an anvil in my area, so I was asking to see if anyone knew of any local resources.
  3. I am a beginner to the iron-working arts and I am looking to put together my own smithy for a wide variety of projects, everything from period recreations to modern items, tools, small farm implement repair (lots of farms in the area for work), etc.. One of the most necessary items that I can't seem to find is a good anvil. Here's some more information: I live in Western MI (north of Muskegon/Grand Rapids) Son of a retired Ferrier (many tools and his anvil were sold before my interest was sparked [sorry for the bad pun]) I am looking to get something in the 100-200# range, preferably something towards the lighter side for a starter anvil since I will most likely be carrying it should I need to move it anywhere and at first I'll only be working smaller projects anyway I have checked many online resources and can't seem to pin down a good price range, I've read on these forums that $2-6/lb is standard for new anvils and that's why I'm looking for a good used one if it is available, as money is a bit of an issue for now Any other information and good sources for tools, raw materials, etc. would be appreciated, but my major focus right now is getting a budget for a beginner shop together and the cost of the anvil seems like a major factor Thank you, Jacob Hornbrook
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