Blacksmithing and metal work

This appeared in 1903 – four years before Hasluck’s “Metal Working” described elsewhere in this list. Some of this material is included in “Metal Working”, but you get much more. Consider bent iron work. You don’t need heat, but you do need a bench anvil, hammers, pliers, and other sturdy tools to turn iron strap into fancy lamp brackets, candlestick brackets, grills, fire screens and much more. Fastening is done with simple clamps and rivets. Chapters include tools and materials; bending and working strip iron; simple exercises in bent iron. And the projects he shows are British! You’ll see drawings of grills and screens from Winchester and Chichester Cathedrals, and Westminster Abbey. Classic, beautiful stuff. Profusely illustrated. 160 pages.

From 1911 comes this rather good book on ornamental blacksmithing. Just under half is a clear description of the tools and techniques used, and then you have instructions on making Twists, Scrollwork, Box forging, Embossing, Drawer-Pulls and Hinges, Doorplates, Lamps and a whole load more designs which were current 95 years ago, and might just be coming back into fashion! 197 heavily illustrated pages. Paperback. Lindsay Publications

Here is a great plan for an easily built shop forge which will enable you to heat metals and do blacksmiths work,tempering etc.

Built from scrap items such as on old sink and a vacuum cleaner motor you can build this great working forge for very little expenditure.It works as well as any expensive commercial model to.

A great item which will enable you to do all kinds of metal work which you could not do without a forge.