John B

Thanks guys, The objective of the courses we run are to use traditional blacksmithing techniques developing the skills base for participants as they attend various courses. All the items were done freehand, jigs and fixtures were explained afterwards to enable 'short cuts' to be made when producing them as a commercial item The T hinges were made from 3mm (1/8") material as they are more commonly used on furniture and doors, the strap hinges were made from 6mm (1/4") as this is more relevant for the heavier duty type use for this style of hinge. As well as the techniques used to make the rolled ends for the hinge pivots, the use of shaped or straight butchers/hot sets/chisels to make profiles and incised patterns are also incorporated, along with punching square and round holes. The students are given the basic skills and encouraged then to develop those techniques as they see fit, using their own imagination and knowledge of where these items are to be used, so they fit in with the surrounding architecture. Most important things learned on the course? Decide on the finished sizes/ pattern for the location / purpose it is to be used for, and what suitable size material to use to achieve that Make the eye/barrel part of the hinge first, the T hinge barrel can be cut out with hot cutters before rolling, or can be left as one, then cut out using hacksaw and chisel to allow centre the portion to be removed. The centre portion should have a chamfered edge to allow the strap part to fit snugly but with clearance to allow free movement. The ends of the rolled barrels should be angled/chamfered to allow them to roll into the body of the hinge, this applies to both these types of hinges. When forging large strap hinges, there is a tendency for the eye end to forge non parallel, that is the centre forges in more than the ends, to help prevent this, preform a curve into the width of the material before turning the eye. After you have formed the eye, you can then use a drift of the appropriate size to ensure a good fit onto the pintle being used. Otherwise general rules apply, keep the anvil clean, forge and cut when at right heat, use cutting plates and sharp tools for detailing, wire brush to keep forging surfaces clean before forging, clean fire, correct sized tongs to securely hold material. Then a little sweat and application. I have also attached a picture of asimpler alternative hinge type that dates back to the Viking age, they should have been puched for the fixings, but the guy who made them wanted to drill them back in his workshop, and was not sure of the location for the holes for the box he had made, these were his first efforts at forging metal.

Made on this weekends hinge course. Objective to learn the techniques for making T hinges and strap hinges

Why weld on a shank when you can forge them down from the stock you are making?

I believe they are a Christmas celebration, but also to the memory of a lifeboat crew who perished when trying to save others lives

That should be OK, when I had a similar problem, but only for a one off, I used an old square file of the right size, cut off the tang, forged it to a longish taper at the front, and cut teeth into the taper, heat treated it and pushed it through with a press. Just make sure it is vertical to the axis when you push it through

Dimmer switches that can take 1000 watts are available in the UK for 240 volts

Try this site Body

Quote "The smith was not a stupid individual. As technology developed he embraced it if it made sense in his ( or her ) business" The smiths also were responsible for advancing and making the advances possible. Traditional tomorrow is what we do today, its just another benefit we can utilise

Good job Larry, you put the effort and emotion in, and thats not easy on a project like that, sorry to hear of your loss. For those who want to get critical, have a go at the pictures I have attached.

Copper, Steel, Aluminium all work OK, be careful with the aluminium and copper as they retain the heat very well

Why not just put piece of bar of the right diameter, approximately the thickness of the joint, plus 3 to 4x the diameter of the bar, and rivet it equally from both sides of the tongs, Heat it and use rivet sets if you want to or just leave it rustic.

Use punches and chisels to put a design on them, or try using an old fashioned hand held masonry star drill to put a cross on the top Just heat the heads and put them through a bolster plate to support the head whilst putting on the design, or you could make them like the old nailheads with various hammer strike patterns, or rosettes. Or make yourself a touchmark and use that on them.

So what happened to the 20 to 1 anvil to hammer ratio? or is that just another myth?

port.... as in hole or ships window

Attached are pictures of the Trivets made at Finch Foundry's open day for St Clem, one of the patron saints of blacksmiths. Where were all you British Iforge site smiths? There were 8 forges working with smiths making other items also throughout the day. Smiths came from Wales, Brighton, Kent, Somerset, a busload of blacksmithing students from Dorset and enjoyed themselves. Thanks to all that turned up, especially those who competed or demonstrated, and look forward to seeing more of those who weren't there at future events.

Link removed at the request of anvilfire check item 56 this should help

Give the man a chance, he's still trying to get the blueprints up that folks are clamouring for I know he works miracles with the site, but lets put that on hold until resources are available. Sorry to put a downer on the thread but lets execute a little patience, I a sure the request has been noted.

Was the outfit OK when you first used it? If so, When you closed down your valves and left them after you previously used them did you release the pressure on the diaphragms. If not, they may be a potential cause. Is the nozzle clean?

Nice to see a proper job, you will get quicker. Well done

Old 55 gallon oil drums for outside, (with drain holes in base) inside shop 5 gallon container for small bits, then transfer to outside drums, take to scrapyard when full or its worth someone's while to come and collect them in a skip

Anvil block for a junk yard hammer?

I still have a small stainless steel block that my dad used as a ASO when he was a mechanic for straightening and flattening items on. Still in use as its very convenient and handy for certain jobs, Dad passed away some years ago, but he's still there with me in the forge, everytime I pick up some old tools he had, and there are plenty of them.

Now you know why! Nice to see you still out about and surviving in the big wide world

Oops sorry about that, this Saturday November 22nd from 9.30am

Try another blacksmith or small enginering company in your locality, I know of 'smiths at Horley, Guildford, Chertsey, are any of those near you?