Bob JS

what do you mean by wet? Was the clay wet like you would use for making pots etc? Or did you ram it in like you could casting sand? Firing it wet could result explosions of clay and steam. Put it in a warm room, hang a light bulb over it, etc. Slow gentle heat is best to avoid cracking, but after all any cracks are going to fill up with ash and fines anyway. I built a small wood fire on a grill suspended above the clay to drive the last bit of moisture out. Hope this is enough to get you thinking, it's based on my experiences with clay, including diy forge building. To get a definite answer for the more experienced smiths they will want to know what type of clay, how it was applied and what sort of depth etc. Have fun with it, and show us some photos. Bob

16 hammers - mainly ball peins including a nice George Barnsley cobblers' hammer, an interesting hand forged cross pien (at last!!) a couple of lumps for possible reworking and a chipped claw hammer destined to become an adze, and a handfull of chisels/punches followed me home this weekend. Total Cost:

very nice, I turned down an similar sized anvil (before I knew much at all about them) the guy then sold it for nearly twice as much as I would have had to pay. Do you mind if I ask how much you paid for it. I get the impression the collectors go crazy over these little anvil, its nice to see one set up to be used not displayed. Interesting with Stourbridge written on it.

The holdown chain is attached to the timber block between the anvil and cast stand. Yes, I normally hang the sledge off the horn, or the cutting table depending on what part I am using. With a full turn of chain wrapped around the horn it just goes clunk. Thanks

Sorry Billy, I missed your question earlier. Just simple wire brush and WD40. I also gave it a coat of carnauba paste wax before mounting as an experiment, but in most of the pics its just oil and natural black finish.

Thanks guys, Deviations: Lorelei instructs to split the steel and then use convenience bending to draw out the tines. This seemed like a lot of faff compared to a technique she demonstartes later in the book to make a similar finial. So I mixed the two together and drew the bar down to a point and then split it. I think the first way might make the chisel cut easier, with paralel lines to follow - but Im glad I went with the second method because it preserves the chamfer formed by the chisel, which I find visually appealing. I also used slightly different sized stock, thinner, and a bit shorter. The chain seemed to work fine, even on this thin bar it felt secure, but I was only chiseling downwards, and have nothing to compare it to. I used doubled up push bike chain. I didn't like the look of the stirrup used by other people, I thought it might limit where you have to stand to operate, and be tricky to get you foot into in a hurry. Inspired by an oliver hammer on Youtube, I fixed the chain to a length of timber, about 3ft long, to act as a pedal. I found I could move this around and stand in the middle, at either end and even the far side of the anvil and didn't have to fumble around with my foot, just put one foot on the timber. The main downside seems to be having to pick up the chain to get the work under - just have to remember that it gets hot. and the copper plate... Thanks again, Bob here are some pictures of the chain pedal (Im sure I cant be the first to do this) and no I don't normally wear slippers around the anvil :)

I decided it was time to adjust the balance between thinking, and actually doing. Having spent yesterday sharpening chisels, rigging up a chain hold down and making a copper saddle plate - I chose to follow the instructions for making Lorelei Sims' Gate Pull. I had to deviate a little to suit the scrap mild steel bar I have. Sims uses a guillotine to fuller but in the abscence of this or any fullers, I used a round edge on my anvil and practiced my aim with a staight pein. I am very pleased with how this turned out, and thought I'd share a few pics with you guys. Thanks, Bob Ps. please excuse that rope around the anvil, I was working out how much chain I would need to strap it down.

Thanks Mike, I expect that the sort of lump/club hammers I would find around here would have been bought at diy stores by builders to use with bolsters etc, used to generally smash stuff up by people who buy a new one instead of replacing a handle etc. I was hoping I could turn an old 2-3lb hammer into a cross pein to use for smithing. I have a good selection of ball peins and smaller cross peins, but nothing like the sort of hammer I am seeing a lot of on blackmsithing sites and Im begging to feel I could use one. The biggest cross pein I have found locally is my little french pattern. I would prefer to find second hand, or make my own over purchasing a new one. I would like to have a try at forging and then heat treating a hammer head - modifying rather than from scratch. Going to have to do some thinking. thanks again. ps, just to clarify, the 'lump' hammers I am talking about may be what you would call hand sledges, they have a face at both ends.

Aha! Amazing the difference a space between 're' can make. Just returned from a good 2hr read, had to make a sandwich half way through. For anyone else interested, re worked hammer, re made, and modified hammer are good searches - and simply typing in the sort of hammer you want to make brings up a lot of self made hammers. Cheers Glenn,

I did try a couple of searches, but searching blacksmith sites with hammer as a keyword... I was wondering about re working old lump hammers - which are plentiful at my local boot sales. A cross pein to start with. My first main question is: Lump hammers have a softer face, is this due to the type of steel used, or just the heat treating? Thanks, Bob

How big? I wonder if they are household fire tongs?

I wish my council did something like that. I doubt it would be allowed in the UK for health and safety reasons - groan. I wonder if you could use the edge of the pulleys for decorative fullering?? Ive got a few too, so I will report back if I try it - if your pulleys have dished faces, could they be used for making bowls etc too?

In the picture they are set as outside dia calipers, move one arm so it crosses the other so the little 'prongs' stick outwards and you have inside dia calipers (just to expand on T.D's answer) Also quite handy to use as a makeshift angle gauge - assuming they have straight edges like mine.

Nice detachable rack idea simple and elegant, I really like the traditional wedge fastening too.

Nice one Ian, I envy your luck I went hammer hunting today I still dont own a cross pein. Had my eye on a cheapo 3lb, I quite fancy trying a re-forge but despite two attempts to bring the the price down the guy still insisted it was a great hammer and worth more - I politely explained that hammer faces arnt supposed to mushroom. Did pick up a reasonable 2lb straight pein - and one of those 3 legged cobblers irons, must be usefull for something.

Do they look like this?? Page 96 Dixon Chasing Tools : Metal Techniques for Craftsmen by Oppi Untracht fits your description. I found them while looking for info on chisels, and thought they looked familier.

What I experienced was a small vent of yellowish smoke, that left a yellow dusty deposit on the steel outside of the fire. First instinct said sulphur. As soon as I saw this I shut off the air and walked away - I have read lots of scary things about metal fume fever. Fortunately my 'forge' is outside. I wonder if it could have been 1 of three things: Contaminated fuel (charcoal) - either a bit of coal sneaked in, or organic material in the charcoal? - It happened when I had put a few lumps of charcoal on that had been sitting at the bottom of the garden pond for a year - long story, but wondered if the algae etc could have a sulphur content? Sulphur content in the steel??? Or a bit of galv jumped in - I now check all the wood I use to start a fire for wire staples. Check Wood For Galv Staples, Pins or Nails! - (for those just brousing ) I just bagged the whole contents of the forge, and disposed of it. I have since built a new forge and switched to coke with no problems.

I encourage you to repeat the same cut and bend test on something that you know is mild steel, and other non wrought metal for comparison. If you want to see a fibre structure you probably will - maybe even convincing yourself that you have found such a high quality peice of wrought that the fibres are very densly packed. - Until you start to wonder why it isnt behaving like wrought. I speak from personal experience - I now know what milds steel and annealed carbon steel look like when tested. You could also search for info on spark testing, also If you are grinding a surface to spark test you may be able to see black strands in the polished surface. Have fun with it.

Is Zinc the only thing that will leave dusty yellow deposits?

I was browsing youtube and came across a vid showing one way of making long bodkin heads and remebered reading this thread. (there may be better vids out there) Unfortunately the finishing of the socket is kind of glossed over and it doesn't look quite a refined as the one you pictured, so probably doesn't help answer you main question that much, but you might find the vid interesting anyway. YouTube - Arrowhead, Forging a medieval long bodkin - English Heritage Bob

Im just a beginner, but I have found one advantage of my small anvil is that I can move it around to suit different work. For example I did some chain links this weekend. After doing all the forging, I moved my anvil so that I could bring the work out of the fire and onto the anvil in one swift movement to forge weld. Im right handed, horn to the left. Just feels 'right' that way.

are you interested in all types of bits or just bits for drilling metal?

Just throught i'd share my latests welds. Based on all your advice I built a big hot fire then took slice off the top and layed the work on the hot coke, then raked a thin layer over the top so that I could still see a few bits of steel peeking through. With a deep fire it didnt need much air at all to stay hot enough. I found that alongside the benefits of being able to more easily monitor the colour of the steel, this method forced me to take a longer, soaking heat. I selected a couple of old railway bolts that I thought were wrought, based on the wood bark rust effect - which when chipped off revealed a nice black layer. I now think they must be a carbon steel - which would explain why it took me hours to draw them out over the horn. (would these be any good for making punches etc? or do you think I would need more carbon content?) I think I need to get a cross pein, some fullers or dress an edge on my anvil for this??- but it provided a couple of hours practice of hammer control. I also really noticed the difference in energy return between the horn and the face when I started rounding. I did the ring first which Im am very pleased with, you can just see the line of the scarf on the inside of the ring, I gave the outside a quick file to check the weld was good, then gave it bash with a lump when cold. The oval link didn't go quite as smoothly, and I was getting tired so its a bit more 'rustic'. It is welded but I didn't blend in the scarfs as well. Being oval it wasnt as easy to work on the horn, and the first ring did get in the way a bit so I had difficulty getting all the movements in during the temperature range. Thanks again for all your help. Btw, Can you 'over flux' on a weld? by this i mean, would extra flux effect the weld, or woudl it just make more mess in the forge? Bob

nice find, perfect for getting those occasional bits of wire brush out of your fingers.

Thats an impressive piece of kit. Any chance of a video demonstration to show us what it can do? Thanks for sharing it with us.