Just a quick note to check in. I've been very busy with a few projects as well as work commitments. I've completed a couple of big projects for a customer in Canada and I'm working on leather awls just now. Pics will follow.

Hello again, I'd like to draw your attention to my third forging video. This time I'm making a Viking style chest and then forging the hinges.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2-mt5LKmPc

Once again I really enjoyed filming and editing the video together. It is rather fun.

I intend on using the chest to store hammers and tongs when I go to shows.

Cheers
Andy

Hi guys. I had a relatively busy day in the forge today and managed to do a couple of projects I had in mind.

First up; a couple of square bar pokers and a hold fast made from an old pry bar.

Both pokers have a short twist in the middle. One has a wrapped rats tail style handle while the other features my first attempt at a leaf style handle.
Pretty basic stuff but always nice to make.

I've been wanting to make a hold fast for some time. It's like having a third hand in the forge. Very useful. I burnt through a lot of fuel to get the 1" round hot enough but it will be worth it.

Secondly is another poker but this time with a round handle and it's own stand alone stand.

This is my attempt at a camping buddy. This is a stand you poke in the ground and then you can either use it to hold a pot at one end or skewer something at the other end with the prongs.
It's quite a nifty design actually. Though upon putting it away I discovered that if you put the skewer through the hole on the rest, it doesn't sit flat together. Something it will be rectifying tomorrow.

Lastly, this was more a welding project really. A simple stand to hold unopened letters.

this works nicely too.

All the best
Andy

Fuel

I've been having fuel issues recently. I've used most solid fuels available, most recently coke.
This was however cheap stuff from a local merchant. I can't say I was overly impressed.

I'm also told that coke is soon to be imported from America which will be of a poorer quality.

With that in mind I've decided that Feather Forge will henceforth be run on locally produced British made charcoal. I've found a supplier about an hours drive away from me. Not exactly that local but as close as I could get.

The charcoal is different to use it the forge. It seems to vary with the type of wood used; by that I mean the amount of ash produced is different as well as how hot it burns and how quickly it burns away. Typically charcoal is used up four times faster than coke or coal. But you don't get any of the nasty sulphurous stench which sticks to the back of my throat which is a big plus.

It works well enough for me so I'm happy.

Cheers

A short workshop tour

I'd like to show off my workshop - aka my tiny shed.

This is the view from my shed door looking in. The shed measures approximately 6x8 feet. Pretty small by anyones standards. But as you can see I've got it quite well equipped. I've since added a belt grinder to the bench. This was my last essential purchase to get into a position of complete versatility. 

Here you can see my bench, the small leg vice I use and the smallest of my anvils. This was my first ever real anvil. I purchased it on ebay from a farrier who lived in the highlands of Scotland. Ive had it for over 5 years now. 

This is my tool rack. It is made from one side of a large dog cage and as you can see it works really rather well. My hammer and tong collection is really rather small, but I get by rather well. I've made four of the six sets of tongs that I use and they all have a specific purpose. My hammers have been acquired from various places from scrap yards to boot fairs. I don't think I paid any more that £5 for any of them so far.   

Lastly just for giggles I'd like to show a picture of the small anvil sat atop my newest anvil. It is interesting to note (to me at least) that the smaller of the two weighs 62.5Kg - this is just under 10 stone. The larger of the two weighs more than double that. I have a third anvil at my folks place which weighs 117Kg and I can just about lift it; I can't lift the large anvil above. 

Making a rounding hammer

I found this hammer which was a little beaten up in my neighbours shed. It weighs in the 2.5lb region which is a nice weight to use all day.

This was all done in the first couple of weeks after I moved house. Long before my "workshop" was properly set up - so I did all my work outside. 

I took the hammer's most damaged edge and had at it with the angle grinder and flap discs. trying to create as smooth as dome as possible. 

This is it very nearly finished. In truth the hammer could probably do with a little more fettling but I handles it shortly after this using a pick axe handle which I shaved down to a more suitable thickness. probably a little thicker than your average handle but it fits my hands well. 

You can see my hammer in action in the video of me making a steak flipper. 

Forging a steak flipper video

This is a short video of me forging a steak flipper.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DLlTujuHQc

My first foray into making videos - I filmed it using my ipad and edited with imovie. It was surprisingly good fun to spend time editing the film together. And proved to be a useful learning exercise about my techniques. As well as showing quite how much my anvil rocks.

Building my basic forge - a step by step guide

This is a step by step of how I built my very basic forge. It was intended to be a mobile forge so I can move it outside when I want to (I work mostly outside)
It is by no means a long term product and I hope to be replacing it in the future with a bottom blast forge which will be significantly more robust.

It is my belief that anyone with a DIY background could make one of these in an afternoon as I did.

I had intended on using an oil drum for the base of the construction but when it came to it the scrap yard didn't have any. So I found a decent sized drawer from a metal filing cabinet. 



Add some flimsy legs made from rebar. - I was planning on using the new welder to fit these, then weld some supports around the base to make it more sturdy, but welding pins proved to be too much hassle, so I just bolted the legs on which was a bit easier. I've yet to weld braces to the legs, but it is stable enough without them. The whole thing would be easy to disassemble as it stands also. 



All this needs to be is a container to hold a reasonable amount of fuel. It doesn't need to be anything serious. You could do it in a metal bucket if you really wanted. But just make sure it's not galvanised. 


I used the bricks from the mk1 version of this forge to line the base of the drawer. I needed to cut these down slightly to fit in the box, I didn't want to ruin a good saw, so I bought a cheap one for the job. - I really recommend you do this if any of you use these bricks to build a forge, they will cut fine. but your saw will me knackered. - the one I used is utterly blunt now. 







Finally I cut two large openings in either side to allow me to work long stock.



As it turns out I made these a little too large and a little too deep in the box. But luckily I kept the offcuts so I can stick them in and adjust accordingly. 

Finally a shot of me about to fire it up. 



You can see the forge up and running in this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DLlTujuHQc

I need to make something to hold my hair drier in place - its pretty basic just now. 

The forge is just another one to get me going at the new house. Ultimately I'd like to replace it once more with something a bit more serious, but as it stands this forge is running well, and it's not going to fall apart any time soon. Total cost has been less than £30 to build. 

I was using coke to fuel it but the local supply is awful stuff, I'm hoping to find a better supply or I'll go back to using charcoal. 

Cheers 
Andy

Test images of some of my work. Several bodkin arrow heads for a local archer, along with the special tongs I made to hold them. 

Also shown is my tulip sculpture.

This is a test post from Andy at Feather Forge, based in the Wirral, England.