John B

Hi Davor, and welcome, just a couple of things, You don't have to be a "good enough blacksmith to contribute to the site" , all questions will help others too shy to ask, so don't be shy. Secondly, it's not a dying art, far from it, The problem is we usually labour away in isolation, with a low public profile, which we are constantly working on, both on this site and in our own groups and associations. If you are over in the UK look us up and see if we can help www.blacksmithsguild.com or look in the Blacksmith Groups section on this forum, bottom of the home page.

You could try electrolysis using brass anodes, works for copper. What base material are the handles?

Not the video, but something like this I suspect. or variations on the same method Same thing, just twisted differently these were made from 5mm (3/16") diameter rods, First take two bars, (or bend one back on itself to lay side by side) tack the end(s) together and twist evenly, count the number of twists. Repeat for three or four sets, depending on thickness required of finished item, in this case four sets Place together and forge weld ends together to give one solid piece, Illustration has a squat ball welded on ready to be joined to a poker/fork/ladle/ or any other item requiring a handle. The whole assembly is then heated up and twisted In these two the twists are the same direction as the original twists, one just being tighter than the other, they can be tightened more to make the effect like corn on the cob. and tighter However if you reverse the direction of the original twist, the whole opens up and gives this This gives a nice flexible feeling handle that keeps cool and is comfortable to hold, and it is a method that can be used for many applications.

Nice one for a starter Tim, Just a minor point, cut the projecting bolt off nearer to the post, makes it look neater.

Hi Tom, Colleeen and all the others who attended, some are also on this site, but did not identify themself. However we had a great turnout, and thanks to all who turned up. With an anticipated twenty or so indicating/booking for lunch turning into over forty on the day, so the ladies did well, worked a little miracle and kept us all happily fed, We know it brought a tear to their eyes when they saw the extra numbers, so we presented them with a special award to mark the occasion. It was quite hectic to say the least, and so I did not get many pictures, and the ones I did get are a bit wobbly so apologies. Here are a couple of pics from participants on the forges. Tom being in the corner in the first one. Besides everyone getting together to enjoy themselves, and to share the current finances and happenings of the previous year, the main events are the awarding of trophies, The Frank Day Trophy, and the Audrey Paull Trophy The Frank Day Trophy is open to any student with three years or less experience of the Craft, and is open to all, not just Guild members, If there are no worthy pieces, the award is not made, no problems with that this year. This year there were eight entries to be perused and judged against each other by qualified NBCC Judges, the winner receiving a cheque for £250.00, a Certificate and photo opportunites with the actual Trophy to be used to publicise themselves to help kick start their careers..The trohy was made by some of our Guild Mebers, the main figurine features being mde by Bob Hobbs which went towards the gold medal award he received from the Worshipful Company of Blacksmiths There were some excellent pieces in the contest, the winner entering a traditional sign bracket made on his recent year long course at Hereford College. It was also gratifying that he also attended some of our classes before attending college. Here he is with his certificate and the Trophy, sorry about the poor quality of the pic. Our other main award is the Audrey Paull Trophy which is a brass version of our Guild Lily, our old logo and test piece, made by one of our members Lu' Back who lived past his 100th birthday, and was an encyclopeadia of knowledge with unparalled experience and character, sorely missed but still in our presence with the skills and knowledge he passed on so unselfishly. This trophy is awarded to a member who represents all our unsung heroes, the members of the guild who support and work for the guilds promotion and existence without being in the limelight, and who make the Guild what it is. There was also good support for our secondary meeting regarding and giving the approval for a proposed International Blacksmithing Festival some of you already know about, it will be going ahead, the dates are August the 13th to16th 2014 to be held at Westpoint , BABA, NBCC, WCB, and our own Guild are all involved, so lets make it a good 'un, book the dates now. Thanks to all who attended, and apologies if I did not get to speak to you, I was kind of busy. The next opportunity for a get together is St Clems Day at Finch Foundry, more details later.

Hi Dee, if you are able to, come along to the Forge in at Exeter this coming weekend and you can see/try the coke we use, and have a play on the forge hearths, or just watch others demoing and working. Ordinary household coal will work in a hand cranked forge/hearth, just have to learn the best way to manage that particular type and grade of coal you are using, some are better than others. If you can't get along, we purchase our fuel from Symonds at Clannaboro near Bow, or you could try Jeffries at Bovey Tracey

John Parkin was a great benefactor to many of the blacksmithing community in the UK, and for those who knew him, there will be a memorial service to be held at Exeter Cathedral on Monday October 7th at 2.00pm, If you can't be there in person, please join in spirit and just pause a moment to acknowledge this gentleman and the service he gave to the blacksmithing and other communities he was involved in.

Can you not size the shaft and seating? Micrometer or vernier calipers or just calipers and a rule should give some idea of sizes, Another couple of people to try are www.garage-equipment-direct.co.uk, or www.majorlift.co.uk Laycocks' made a lot of garage equipment and lifting gear (Felco hoists), Dynamometers, wheel balancers, car lifts, various manual and hydraulic presses, carburation testing equipment, compression testers, wheel weights and so on. Good luck with the search and the restoration.

Hi James, some fuel hoses are ok to use with acetelyne or propane mainly the more modern ones, so check what you have on your unit. With regard to the soldering/brazing debate, I believe that the current International Convention is that brazed joints are made above the melting point of aluminium (610 degC) and are also known as hard soldering, silver soldering or brazing, below that temperature, you are soft soldering, I think Ian is using (German) silver solder which comes in different qualities/melting temperatures for different applications A brazed joint is identified by the temperature of the filler metal, not the material being used as the medium. Which then poses the question if you tig weld using parent copper/brass to themselfs is it technically welding, or brazing? Brazing is a capillary action wheras welding is a unification process (Others have more knowledge on this terminology and process) If you are having trouble with bits falling off or coming loose you may have a design flaw in the joint design, or using the wrong jointing style, consider overlaps and recesses or the use of dovetails or tongues. A brazed joint is strongest when in a shear or torsion situation, and at its weakest when in tension like a butt joint, surface area is important. Properly made silver soldered joint strengths are well above the strength of annealed copper or brass. Wandered a bit from the question, but the information may be useful to someone.

Your location would help, Laycocks were part of the GKN group, try http://www.abseals.co.uk/seals there are others if these cannot assist

Named it preconception, Still ageing/patinating in the scrap pile.

Good job so far. Punching an eye is not the only option, a wire wrap just needs a fullered groove around the body and also helps to let the flatter freely float over the finishing surface on the material, or just leave as is and hand hold or use tongs. here is a pic of what I mean

BOC can supply air aspirated acetylene units complete with ignition system,

Hi Frosty, how about trying the metal spinning way?

That size will twist evenly cold, unless you want a really tight twist, Mark your bar centre, equal space your twist areas from this centre, twist your bar one right hand, one left hand, then apply heat and bend on centre mark, legs and twists should then align. If you are going to heat prior to twisting, mark at each end for the twist with a centrepunch mark (Round or square point, some prefer square as it seems to show clearer) or typing correction fluid if you don't want to mark the bar, chalk/soapstone will not be visible at higher temperatures. Have fun!

Just cool the top part of the loop to just below half way so you maintain the loop as you twist with an inserted bar, the twist should then come up to the bottom of the loop.

Peoples .......and welcome back Johnnie

Post a pic of where you are at with it, then we may be able to advise you further

Try make your loop first, (after drawing/forging whatever end you want on it) simple U bend at whatever gap you want for the eye, and close the bars together until they reach where you want the twist to start, You can forge them together,to touch, or just put them horizontal in the vise jaws and tighten until they meet. Heat up the portion you wish to twist, Cool the loop off by dipping in water, place bottom end of where bars are to be twisted from securely in vise, Place a bar through the loop and put your twists in, as rapidly as possible, until desired effect is achieved, try to do it in one heat if possible, if not repeat heat dip'n cool loop and add further twists. Straighten whilst hot using vise jaws or mallet /wood/fibre/copper hammer on anvil Wire brush and finish.

If it is good forging coke then the price is good, if it is coke for other purposes it may not be so attractive, until you try it, you won't know for definate. When it says graded, what size is it graded at ? That may give a clue as to its use, Most of the forging coke comes from one company in the UK known as Monkton beans/singles or other name bearing variation, and is a by product from the chemical industry in the UK owned by a French group I believe. Currently we are paying £525.00 per tonne, delivered and bagged in 20kg bags As Owen (Basher) said, you get used to it and get on with it, its not 'bad' just not as good as it could be.

The Guilds annual AGM and forging weekend will be at Westpoint on September 28th and 29th, The Guild's AGM will be at 11.00am, and a meeting to discuss the forthcoming 2014 International Blacksmithing Festival will be at 3.00pm Judging for the Frank Day Trophy will take place, so anyone with less than three years experience of the Blacksmiths Craft bring along your pieces and lets see what you have made, There is a £250 prize, and a certificate and a marketing opportunity with your local press. Last years winner with his tutor and his father And the trophy itself. The weekend is open to all, as is entry for the Frank Day Trophy,not just paid up Guild members, but only paid up members can vote at the AGM. Buffet style lunch, barbeque or hog roast in the evening and live entertainment from "The Outwood Forgers", bring your own alcohol.

Well done Tim, glad you are forging ahead in your new career, and you look to have a sound base to build on and a great website. Are you going to the Dorset Show this coming weekend? There's a Blacksmithing event on there which may be of interest. make a bottle opener in an hour is the competition I think. Bring your own material and tools, enter the competition and sales are free. See http://www.blacksmithscompetition.co.uk/dorset_county.html for further details, and contact Simon if you haven't already, and want to go. Or pay on the day and just visit.

Thanks Billy, i can see your problems, I would not have described that as a collar, more a start to a wrap, However you have done a good job on getting your corners neat, did you use a mandrel to size the gap? Is it finished or are you going to enclose the bar to make the wrap/collar? Looks to be a sliding fit you are aiming for?

Have you a pic you can show us,I am somewhat intrigued on how you are going to collar a 1" square bar to a 1.5" wide flat bar with the end T'eed and make a secure coupling.

Welcome to the site Gareth, check out the Uk Blacksmiths Guild on the Groups forum, and at www.blacksmithsguild.com and see if we can be of further assistance. Good luck on your new path.