JustAnotherViking

Like I always tell the wife, when I said I'll do it, I'll do it. You don't need to remind me every six months. 

Would the traditional floor not have been end grain rather than with the grain like ply?

I am purely assuming the end grain is harder wearing and less combustible than a ply, please correct me if I am wrong, my knowledge of wood is almost non existent

You can dissolve borax in water and spray it onto the wood for additional protection. 

Hammering hot metal directly ontop of wood is pretty common practice and it just chars. 

Wood floor is fine, just practice some common sense. After shutting down the forge, go back out to check on things half an hour later and look/smell for any signs of smouldering. 

Sounds about right! I'm sure the opposite would apply to a fair few situations too. 

I've a small metal pipe bolted into the concrete for the foot, and the vice is bolted on the underside of the bench. 

It was a temporary position for the vice last December until I got a better mount made, but I'm fresh out of round tuits 

Double doors open, both windows open, CO alarm mounted beside it. 

Usually get a decent cross breeze, but have set off the alarm on the odd occasion when there has been no wind and had it running a couple of hours. Good to know it works. 

Funnily enough it is an offcut from an armoured land rover windshield cover... Unfortunately that's all I have of it. 

Had been used as part of a bbq for a few years, but it's rusted away, so will be reusing it for the same purpose. 

It's toughened glass, and the angle of the doors when I'm working keeps the glass out the firing line... To be fair I've already etched the windows from grinding sparks, so replacing a panel wouldn't be the end of the world or break the bank. 

Frosty, it's my forge shed. Decided I didn't want a big brown wooden box, and if I decided blacksmithing wasn't for me, I could always use it for the bike or a small bar or something. 

Here's a quick 'walk around'. Small and basic, but it does the job!

What's the budget? Are you wanting to throw something together as quickly and cheaply as possible, or do you want something a bit more aesthetically  pleasing and conventional for the usual UK garden?

Nothing wrong with a wooden shed rather than a metal one, and plenty of options. B&Q, Argos, Tesco Direct all stock a fairly standard range, and there's  also the likes of Waltons with a bigger range of specs and sizes all for not too much money.

The other option is to find a local company and get one custom built... that way you can specify no floor, and they'll take care of the measurements + install for you. More expensive, but can be a lot less hassle... the whole time vs money aspect of it.

This is my own 'forge' shed (9x9):

Looks like it would make a nice Egyptian style bottle opener!

If there was enough thickness left in the 'head', I would personally try flattening it down a bit more to match the profile of the rest of the cross rather than being rounded. 

Rather than the textured hammer marks, perhaps use a small fuller to uniformly depress the centre rather than random marks, so it's a bit of a cleaner/decorative finish?

Either way, a great first version!

Not a problem. I have to get back to it myself. Was between two other books at the time and didn't get very far into it when I found it. Too much to read, not enough hours in the week. 

Beautiful work Al! Looks like a real exercise in consistency and patience. 

Haven't had much time in the forge recently as life has gotten in the way. 

Knocked out a quick thors hammer necklace today just to have done 'something' 

Specifically focusing on the viking era blacksmith, the following mphil thesis from the University of Glasgow may be of some use for further sources or research angles:

http://theses.gla.ac.uk/4083/

Live long and prosper. 

Nice!

I assume based on step 6 there, that it's mild with a high carbon bit welded in? 

Carefully. 

If it's too awkward to lift, get some boards to make a bit of a ramp and 'walk' it out.

Sounds about right. My son (asd + learning difficulties) loves toothpaste and similarly textured things. We've had at least four tubes of it plastered all over the bathroom, doors, floors, etc in the past month. 

I managed to melt a hole through my flame retardant overalls and set fire to my jumper when grinding. Was an awkward angle and the only place for the sparks to go was into my chest. 

Have worn a leather apron when grinding since that incident. 

Have also burned a hole in the crotch of a pair of jeans with a grinder under similar circumstances. Luckily it just smouldered and didn't go up in flames!!! 

Motorcycles aren't the easiest to work on 

That'll certainly kill one gift horse with two stones. 

There's a website called fatfingers which lets you search ebay for common misspellings in the hope of finding a cheap listing with an erroneous title.

Is 'to see if I can' or 'for fun' a suitable answer?

I ended up buying an anvil, new shed, forge materials, etc, etc, all because I wanted a draw knife for some basic wood-working.... to date, it is the most expensive tool I own due to the investment in tools, materials, and time before I actually made one 

cordless impact driver with a pozi drive bit, and a load of really long screws.... just drive them in at an angle.

Amazing!

Do you have a final weight?

Looks like a perfectly serviceable butter knife to me.

Given that the original post was (I assume) referring to ad listings in the USA, the spelling 'vise' is etymologically correct in this context.