Sam Thompson

Hello and welcome to the forum. Whereabouts in the UK are you? As far as I'm aware, with regard to planning, in this country you can do pretty much as you like until someone complains, Keep the noise down and make sure that you don't generate too much extra traffic. Don't light a coal forge when the neighbours have washing on the line! I have no idea if this applies in urban areas, I would imagine that life is less pleasant in such places; I try to avoid them! The domestic building regulations are concerned with fireproofing and ventilation and are really just common sense. Here is one of most relevant; http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/br/BR_PDF_ADJ_2002.pdf It's best not to get local authorities involved if possible as they tend to get over-excited about things like compressed gasses, pollution and waste disposal (they can charge for it). They can also hit you for business rates. By the way, you may not be aware that you need the proper certificates etc. to work as a farrier. This is enthusiastically enforced; you will be caught if you break the rules.

As far as I'm concerned drills come in three sizes:small, medium and large.

The difference between a blacksmith and an engineer is about one-eighth of an inch.

I'd buy that.

There are a lot of these formulae in here: The Blacksmiths Craft

Blimey, you must have been bored!

Wood rots quicker with the bark left on.

I've been forging for nearly forty years with my thumb on top of the handle and my wrist is fine.

I wasn't asking about new anvils. What I meant was that People in the US seem prepared to pay very high prices (compared to UK) for anvils that, in Europe would be considered scrap. Many of the queries on this forum concern the difficulty in finding tools at a reasonable price, I assume that this is due to scarcity. I don't know of anyone other than schools and colleges who uses one of Vaughan's overpriced offerings.

I thought they had been used rather than exploited. A few years ago I was employed fencing off Roman mineshafts. The relics of previous generations here are more solid than smoke marks in caves. You're right about the dog though, he prefers Kafka.

Ive just been walking in a wood immortalised by Milton, explaining to my dog that the ditch he's digging in is part of a late medieval field system. We are lucky in this country that neither our climate nor our wildlife is likely to kill us and the marks made by our ancestors are all around us. Maybe that ties us down. The unexploited landscapes of the 'New World' and the openness of its people are often a refreshing change. PS. I'm not sure the dog understood.

When it goes as well as that you are not forcing the metal into shape, you are persuading it that that is the shape that it always wanted to be.

There's nothing unusual about my house (except that it's octagonal). This is 5 mins down the road: Parts of it are nearly 1000yrs old. This isn't far away: http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.herefordwebpages.co.uk/images/kilpeck.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.herefordwebpages.co.uk/kilpeck.shtml&h=698&w=546&sz=103&tbnid=Fap5LJTcWj6jZM:&tbnh=139&tbnw=109&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dkilpeck%2Bchurch&hl=en&usg=____iqDHEYmsTxetXJxLYYW-Uoiks=&ei=8HBnStb4J5nSjAfz4YinAQ&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=5&ct=image a

I'd take my mate Laine along: YouTube - Laine Snook double overhand axle deadlift 200kg

Before the advent of steel-framing, fireproofing etc it was quite common for smithys to burn down; this was an accepted fact of life and they were often built partly out of wood because this was easily replaceable. The tools, being mostly iron/ were considered not to be damaged by the heat. Another way of damaging the face was to heat treat blades using a heated iron block placed on the anvil; this draws the temper and is not uncommon on old anvils from rural areas.

Well, thanks everyone; that seems to have about covered my question. The reason I asked was: Why does anyone have to use an anvil that most would consider worn out/broken? They do seem expensive in US, in the UK and I've never heard of anyone connected with the trade selling one by the pound. Over here a good usable Mousehole of about 21/2cwt (270lb) should be worth about

Some of them had vanes that rotated in the flue gases and turned the mechanism.

Mild steel is fine for occasional use. Case harden it and keep it cool.

There seems to be a shortage of anvils in the US. I know that many were destroyed in the civil war but that was quite a long time ago and there must have been ample opportunity to make some more. From the photos on this site I have the impression that a large proportion of the anvils in America were imported from GB. Floating lumps of iron across the pond and moving them large distances overland must have been an onerous process Was there no indigenous production? In the UK every farm had one and every village had at least one 'smith. There is a lot of choice and very few are as badly damaged as many of the specimens that people here inquire about.

It's a garden ornament, it's too small and the face and edges are knackered.

There are some dwgs in Seymour Lindsay's book of domestic ironwork. I'll try to scan them if you don't have access to a copy.

The reason that no-one died of tetanus 100 years ago may be that it was then known as lockjaw.

The last time that I had one, about ten years ago, the nurse told me, through her tears of laughter, that after having so many jabs (10-12 in 40 years) I would be permanently immune and not to worry about it. She was laughing because I'd been bitten by a squirrel.

What's the pair 4th from the R on pic 5 for?

If the joints were very rusty , some of the metal of the pin and the surrounding holes will have vanished. It would be a good idea to replace the rivets before trusting them for serious work.