David's metal working Forge

This view of the workshop shows the main anvil which is bolted to a block of wood which is in turn fastened to the floor. The flat top is called the table and is used for hammering shapes whilst the pointed end is called the bick and is used for forming curves.

Many of the blacksmith's tools are made in the forge using the anvil, When making several of the same thing, it's often quicker to make a jig or former to achieve consistency of shape and speed of work.

Here you can see the forge with a whole row of different tongs! They have different shaped jaws to handle differing types of work. Efficient extraction equipment is needed to keep the workshop clear of potentially lethal Carbon Monoxide produced by the burning coal.

To the left is the fly press used for punching holes. bending and shaping, speeding up repetitive work.

This is a leg vice - a vital piece of equipment for any blacksmith. It is attached to a strong and heavy steel table, and the 'leg' part is concreted into the floor. A lot of blacksmithing involves heavy work like levering and hammering things held in the vice. It is subjected to a great deal of abuse!

With the forge blazing, David is heating up the metal for a set of small traditional hinges.

The metal is shaped with the hammer. As it cools it becomes unworkable and has to be repeatedly heated up again. Depending on the task in hand, David will use one of a wide variety of hammers. This traditional shape for the end of the hinge is forged (shaped) by careful use of the bick.

Marking screw holes in the finished hinge using a centre punch.