Smoggy

If you take the time to add a general location to your profile so we know where abouts in the uk you are, we may be better placed to help you with fuel supplies. As ID has mentioned above a Smith in the Shetlands was considering using peat, and I would have thought that it must surely have been used at times simply due to it being the only fuel available in some of the more remote areas. That doesn't mean it's any good. If you have access to a supply, give it a try and let us know if it works or not.

Then you'll be familiar with Glendon Farm, if so you can visit the forge of the Iron Dwarf, I'm surprised he's not been along to say hi yet......he must be busy making something....

Welcome out from the shadows monkeh. I'll leave the anvil ID to those that know. Northhants, definately fellow members around your area, got two of them at a forge in Kettering, good contact for tooling and they do lessons on weekends. I'm sure one of them will be along in due course.

I make mine from Willow, as I have an abundance, a thick branch for the head and Ash from a pallet for the handle, made in the carpentry style, I've also made the simple round mallet from branches as used by a Bodger. But you can just use any old bit of wood, put no work into it, if it dies after half a days work, grab another piece and carry on.

I thought the blower may be a problem, it's one of the of the reasons I forge with charcoal and use a box bellows at home. I also have my makeshift anvil mounted in wooden stumps so it's very quiet. When asked my neighbours responded that they heard nothing, seems I make less noise than normal gardening activities or the kids at play. So it is possible to be reasonably quiet and try to work only social hours. I even manage to make my own charcoal without any of the neighbours noticing!

That's nasty, but it could so easily have been worse hope it heals speedily. Thanks for posting as warning to others. And yes Frosty I was originally duped into thinking the first pic was the back of Joe's neck too! I think from the description Joe was crouched down, which means he was effecively forging the metal at face height, had he been stool up, it would likely of glanced of his apron if he had not been sprite enough to side step it, Difficult to be quick on your feet when you're bent over contorted!

Plenty of uses for plumbing fittings, not the least of which is domestic plumbing! Cups for candlesticks, ferrules for chisels or screwdriver handles, they can also be used to make decorative lamps (electrical). I've even seen them incorporated into door handles. A clear laquer coating saves on constant polishing.

First thing I'd do is add a grating over the tuyree, you'll be losing all your smaller embers down past that clinker breaker. I would then use fire bricks to form what ever size and shape of fire I required, this helps conserve fuel and makes for easier fire management. But do make sure they are fire bricks/refactory bricks.

Frosty isn't being hostile, he's offering sound advice based on past experience and the information you are supplying. It's all too often that bigginers come along and want to start forge work and begin with forging a sword when they have little or no understanding of equipment, techniques and materials. That is not the fault of the begginer, it's just that they have not yet learned enough to understand their own limitations. I'm retired, I've had several carreers including mechanical and civil engineering and given the machinery and materials I could likely build a petrol or diesel engine, I could certainly build a low pressure steam engine, but I would not attempt to make a sword. Yes there are some styles of knives I could forge a reasonable blade, but I'd not even consider a sword. You've given the impression you are hard put for equipment and workspace. There are folks here that could take a walk out into the woods or fields in most places around the world and build a forge, find an anvil and hammer and go to forging given they could source a bit of scrap. There is a chap currently, at least he was lately, wandering around European cities carrying forge, hammer and anvil on his back and forging on the streets of cities. Chinese smiths worked itinerantly for centuries travelling the countryside and setting up shop in the village to make or repair items and then move on to the next village. The minimum of equipment is not only all that is needed but also a preference if you are travelling or have no perminent set up. Plenty of people can only find time to forge in their backyard on the weekend after the working week is over, and during the week the wife and kids want that yard back for their use so it all gets packed away till next time. Yes, it's great to have a perminent set up with all the tools, but we can't all have that, so what if your anvil don't have a horn, nor does mine, it's not needed, your grinder is only 180w.....thats 180w more than my file! What Frosty is advising is you learn more of the craft (all aspecs) before you dive headlong into serious bladesmithing. Sound advice for any novice, unless you can demonstrate that Frosty is wrong and I'm sure he would be delighted to be proven so if you could supply photo's of the work you have already completed so an reasonable assesment of your skill set can be assertained. You'll only get replies on these boards from folks that are genuinely interested in seeing you do well and progress, but to help you they may have to be a little blunt at times, no hostility is ever intended. In the meantime, keep perusing the threads, there's a wealth of informtion about things you'e never even thought about yet!

Hola. I'm not conversant with the laws in Spain but would expect them to be generally alighned with European Union dictat, so likely similar to those in the UK. I would expect a restriction on the sale of knives to any minor and likewise the sale of them to anyone by a minor. I suggest you check out your local laws as that may be problem for you. As for the forging part, all I can say is you are in the right place for helpfull advice.

Or 'stop tap key' I know them as in the UK, the spade end for cleaning out any silt that may have accumulated in the stop tap box.

All you needed was a hole in the ground and that pipe you used for the flue would suffice for a tuyree. That are many ways to mke a hand powered bellows, I use a Japanese style box bellows. For fuel, pine is fine, you can either burn down seasoned wood (including pine cones) or you can make your own charcoal. It's all been fully explained here on IFI many times over. In fact you could probably make use of that tank as a charcoal retort. Cut the flue off, make the door sealable, fill it with wood and turn it flue hole down and sit it on a wood fire on your hole in the ground forge.

I've had success working thin sheet materials cold over a bag of sand and taking it a little at a time. The sand supports the parts you don't want to deform but gives where you are hitting it. Same principal as filling a copper pipe with sand to bend it without colapsing. As Thomas stated wood/rawhide/HDPE or even a lead hammer. You may find a batten type tool (don't know the correct name) usefull too as used by plumbers of old for lead work.

I help organise a overland travel show each year, part of the task is getting the trade, clubs and display pitch participants pitched up on the day or so prior to the weekend show. They come from all over the world and the numberplates usually gives me a clue to who is from where, thankfully most speak very good English. Once the task is completed I'm free all day Saturday and Sunday to help the Iron Dwarf on his stand and demo's. That's when we get the public visiting and we do get a few from foreign parts that happen to be visiting Stratford upon Avon for other interests and take the show in while there. Yes the Japanese do like to document everything on film (or digitaly these days ) and although I can manage a few word of Spanish, French and other European languages, my only claim to any fluency in a second language is British Sign Language......and yes I've had long technical conversations with BSL users at shows! However I'm not too good at working out where a BSL user may be from by their dialect, no that's not comical quip, there are regional variations in signing.

Half the glass panels in my front door are Bull's eye glass from the centre of spun glass panels. getting hard to find over this side of the pond these days....

They also still make sheet glass by the blown method in Birmingham UK, where they were originally taught the method by Italian artisans.

Attwwod's owned Lodge Forge in Stourbridge which is likely where this anvil was made, it closed in 1926. They also owned a couple of slitting mills etc in the same vacinity. There is a wealth of info on the web once you know what to search for, so hope that helps you make a start. If you take a surf oer to to Anvli Fire, you'll find pictures of it's twin that if I recall correctly resides in Australia.....

Thanks for posting Ibor. Nice work, I like the fact that you are making reproductions of ancient knifes and other artifacts.

Take it easy and get yourself sorted, don't worry about, us we'll be here when you're ready.

....and adjust spelling and pronunciation. Now what was this thread about.....oh yes, the birth of legends. Exceptionally nice blade and sheath, craking intro.

I should think most here have used it......since it's otherwise known as borax.

For me it was initially to support my machining hobby, being able to resize or preshape a blank before machining saves both time, materials and electricity. There is also the ability to heat treat components after manufacture permitting the use of wider range of materials.

Although I've not seen one like this before I have come across many formed wire screw drivers with either a flat or a raindrop shaped handle. They were not DIY items but came as part (or the entire) tool kit for the likes of sewing machines. One manufacturer that would have made many such items was the toy maker Mecanno!

Generally your first example Joel as outlined in the replies above, but yes it could also apply to a one off item made for a specific task. Examples could be the odd tools mechanics make from old spanner to facilitate removing a nut without needing to take the whole engine out of the car. Or tools for other specific tasks which are not otherwise availble but may make a frustraiting fiddly task easy. If those tools where made for the user then they would be bespoke in both senses. Equaly a bench made to fit in a alcove of specific dimesion is also a bespoke design even if it is a standard style.

Or you can keep the hex head and decorate it, 'floral' being the obvious easy choice, if done with a bit of cunning it can still be turned by spanner or screwdriver. I think I posted elsewhere that a screw head leaf or other motif could be forged, it will still screw in and becomes part of the decoration. All depends on what you require, the setting and your imagination/skill.