The Forge

Home     About the Artist     Portfolio     Store     Commissions     Media  Accolades     Awards     Contact   
Shop Tour     Blacksmithing Courses     Blacksmithing Spoken Here     Nigel's Old Iron 

 

This is where the blacksmith trade is plied. When I started blacksmithing 8 years ago this area was a two bay garage that was used as storage. As I moved the stuff out I got the space. I have made several improvements to it including upgrading the wiring and redoing the facade.

 

The Coal Forge

This old railroad forge is my primary source of heat. Bituminous coal is piled around the outside and the impurities are baked out turning the coal into coke. The coke is then burnt with an air blast from below. Hot coals heat the metal when it is placed in the fire. The coal fire can give you a beautiful fire scale texture on the metal.

 

The Gas Forge

I built this gas forge 4 years ago. It is a great forge for long consistent heats and heating multiple pieces at once.

 

The Anvil

The ring of an anvil may have a certain mystique and it is on this anvil that I work my magic. This is a 395lb. London Pattern anvil that was made by Kohlswa in Sweden.

 

The Post Vice

You've heard that you have to strike while the metal is hot, but you also have to clamp while the metal is hot. This is on of my post vises. The design offers a quick closing action, firm grip, and the "leg" gives it superior rigidity.

 

The Treadle Hammer

Long ago the smith used to have cheap labor in the form of helpers and apprentices to swing a  striking hammer. This treadle hammer allows the present day smith (me) to do detailed chasing, incising, etc. by themselves.

 

The Power Hammers

Nazel 1-B 65lb Electropneumatic Hammer

Much like the treadle hammer; power hammers enable the smith to forge heavy pieces of metal by himself.

This is a Nazel self contained air hammer (the premier type of power hammer) that was built in 1917. I totally rebuilt and repainted it before it was installed. I use this hammer primarily for light work and with hand held tooling.

Nazel 3-B 300lb Electropneumatic Hammer

This brute of a power hammer can forge up to 4" square mild steel effectively while having the control to draw tapers down to 1/4" square.   I rebuilt and repainted this hammer in the spring of 2005 and will post a picture of the rebuilt hammer shortly.

 

Other tools in my forge include:
Air Compressor
Bickern
Cone Mandrel
Filing Station
Layout Table
Miller 251 Mig Welder
Miller Synchrowave 250 Tig Welder
Oxy-acetylene Torch
Swage Block
Vices

 

Home  l  About the Artist  l  Portfolio  l  Store   l  Commissions   l  Media  Accolades   l  Awards   l  Contact   
Shop Tour   l  Blacksmithing Courses   l  Blacksmithing Spoken Here   l  Nigel's Old Iron 

 

Tudor Ironworks
www.tudorironworks.com

 

Nigel Tudor, Metalsmith
1061 Sugar Run Road
Avella, Pennsylvania 15312

email questions or comments

724.587.3763


This page was last updated on Sunday, 25 June 2006