Bob Geldart

Blacker on eBay.co.uk http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/metalworking-blacksm...%3A1|240%3A1318

It's a 4 hundredweight wheelwright's Anvil made by Kirkstall of Leeds, UK.

Yup, 3 1/2 hundredweight IIRC

I use the white anvil most of the time.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...ries%26_fvi%3D1

I've seen shields and breastplates in The Wallace Collection that have obvious 'signs of wear and tear'.

Great post, I look forward to reading future updates.

Try a slower quench. File steel may be something like 1095 which should just about survive being quenched in water.

It is bad luck to give away a blade. Make sure that your son gives you a coin in return for the blade.

Nice work as usual Jake. Looking through my Celtic books I've found a few pictures of such swords: Pictures taken from Celtic Art (1985) by I.M. Stead, British Museum Publications.

I got my treadle hammer the easy way, I bought it on eBay. The springs have been removed for ease of transportation.

No, It's a good grinder but too wide bodied for one handed use.

Don't try and make one, the forces generated at the screw and in the frame are massive. They are still made and relatively cheap ones are available here: http://www.blacksmithsdepot.com/Templates/...nual_Flypresses Here in the UK we can buy them for little more than their scrap value, take a look at ebay.co.uk and search for flypress and also for 'fly press'. Here's a picture of my size 10. I have about 8 presses at the moment but usually prefer to use my powerhammer for most operations.

I can see a polar bear in that bottom photo.

Hi Luke, perhaps I'm lucky in that I could buy a reconditioned accumulator for about $700. This may seem like an uneccessary expense but it means that I an run my press off a domestic single phase supply. If I ran the press straight from a pump I'd need to install a heavier cable into the shop and also spend about $2000 on a large rotary phase converter. I suspect that a system based on an accumulator will run quieter and have smoother control than a direct pump based system. And then there's the benefit of energy savings obtained by running a smaller motor. I suspect that an accumulator is ideal for people running a press at home in their garage. Bob

The essential feature missing from almost every homemade press is a hydraulic accumulator.

I thought that lager was 'training beer' for the under 18s!

Great work, thanks for sharing.

More photos over at Britishblades: http://www.britishblades.com/forums/showth...light=hammer-in

Let's hope it's once a year, not once a lifetime. Enough with the negative thoughts already, sounds like you are in depression after the event. Sad indeed, let's do it again. Stop being so negative!

Popular in France and Spain, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Font_Romeu_France.jpg

I still have not fully recovered. Looking forward to the next one though.

A great event with demonstrations on polishing and HT by Don, Jake Powning told us how he made one of his swords and its furniture and fittings, Peter Johnsson talked about the cataloging of historic swords and also about sword harmonics, Hector Cole gave a talk on the construction of Saxon swords and also gave a demonstration on welding a seax in a coal fire. Owen showed us how to weld a billet to the edge of a billet in a viking stylee. On Friday we visited a few museums in London, the V&A, The Wallace Collection and the British Museum. Quite a busy weekend.

My biggest blisters yet!

I haven't found a lining that I can't kill!