Sam Thompson

That one appears to have two full faces and is rather less elegant than mine. Another thing that can be important when choosing hammers is the shape... Before spending a lot of money, make sure that you 'get on' with square faces; personally, I hate them.

There's a very good army 3lb forging hammer that sometimes turns up on tool stalls at fairs etc. It's got a flat face and a full face and the body is comparatively long and thin. I've been using one for 30 years.

Joking aside, why does anyone care what other people do with their own anvils? It's only a lump of metal.

Without a healthy curiosity and a taste for danger we'd still be living in caves and eating beetles.

What's so wrong with dangerous?

I've seen those (like Oak Hill's) in this country and been told that they are 'American army surplus left over after the war'. I don't know which war, people around here hang onto stuff!

Now that the communication problem is sorted out; why not post some photos of what you do?

You could also talk to the Blacksmith dept at Hereford College.

Zarc, you may be able to understand what you have written but I certainly can't. For example, what does 'seethed' mean? Thomas, Frosty and Steve have all taken the time to give you hints as to how to apply for work; your reply/apology contains as many errors as your original post. Poor English is relatively easy to cure, poor manners less so.

Thanks for your interest. I haven't got a camera (or a computer for that matter, I use one at my p/t job) but it's an ordinary W/I anvil of the 'common or garden' variety.

Thanks everyone, that's answered my question. Re lysdexik:Borders do change if one is not careful, but the Welsh are welcome to Monmouth! 500 years ago Ludlow was the capital of Wales and we've got the castle to prove it: Ludlow Castle in Shropshire

It's only a bl**dy anvil, stop agonising about it and use it!

At the end of The First World War the German fleet was imprisoned at Scapa Flow in The Orkney Islands. Some time later (for reasons unconnected with blacksmithing) they were scuttled. Last night in the pub I was talking to a commercial diver and both of us had a vague memory of the steel from these vessels being used for surgical steel (Something to do with radioactivity?), does anyone know anything about this?

Yes, it's definitely an anvil. About

I've always used old cold chisels for making tools, any thing from hot setts to matrix and eye punches. If they break they break; you can always make another.

Use mild steel.

The missing bits of metal are hiding in all of the spaces that aren't occupied by missing chalk.

If the forge isn't hot enough, it's possible that the extra heating time is allowing scale to build up on the work.

You should unfocus and peer out of the corner of your eyes to when looking into the fire.

Have you tried knocking the flux off before shutting the parts together? The weld won't hold if there's any impurities in the joint. This is also why some people make the jointing surfaces convex, the flux etc is forced out sideways with the first few blows. I find it more difficult to weld using coal as it seems harder to see the metal as it heats; with coke it's possible to look between the grains and watch for a sort of 'shimmery' texture on the surface of the steel. Watching for sparks is a bit hit and miss as you don't know whether both parts have reached the right temp.

Presumably, at some point in the manufacturing process the leaded steel must have been very hot. Could one assume that the lead is incorporated in such a way that the composition remains stable at high temperatures?

I used old hoovers to blow quite a big (side draught) forge for years. You can control the blast with a clamp on a bit of flexible pipe, this will give you an idea of the sort of air delivery you need for your forge.

The Blacksmith's Craft is available here: The Blacksmith's Craft (end time 25-Apr-09 21:54:31 BST) and here: The Blacksmiths Craft Rural Industries Bureau 1955 (end time 02-Apr-09 21:04:13 BST)

I prefer a saddle; when it's hot you can slide it out of the way (or right off the end) without burning your hands.

I've heard that putting copper into a fire will prevent any subsequent welds (in iron/steel) from taking, is that so?