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Have considered something like that, but perhaps being triggered via a sensor, so that anything over a given humidity percentage starts it. Being clockwork I shall probably avoid any 'phone work... Louvred panels and a decent stack were my first thoughts, but it's the humidity that is the pain...

I have a smoker and chimneys I could use too, but although I like that for some bacon, I don't want to do it for all. There is an old lead-mine in the valley, but it's into the hillside rather than down, has virtually no air movement and is even damper than outside... and it certainly has rats...

Can't find anything on the forum specifically covering this, happy to be appropriately directed if there is... however, having made all sorts of things from pigs, and most of it very successfully, I'll admit that I have struggled with air drying - am in Carms, West Wales. Whether hams or...

Had to laugh at your last sentence... have tried many times over the years and only have an outside success rate of about 50%, air-dried hams are real gamble... :nailbiting: But what should I expect in West Wales? We've tried doing it in a drying room at the top of the house, but even with an...

I have drills - corded - my father bought in, I guess, the 80s or 90s and they are far better than the modern B & D stuff. In fact it's remarkable that, brushes aside, they've never needed anything doing to them other than a drop of oil now and then.

I have, I think, eleven Makita 18v cordless tools and can't fault them. Looked at other brands before buying and only Milwaukee came close. In fact I think a couple of Milwaukee tools are much better than the Makitas, but I used both ranges and found Makita's best for me overall. I have a...

Another vote for Makita; I got one to keep and use from a vehicle for random jobs around the place, now I use it for everything but the biggest work, it's just so much more convenient. I took down a big sick ash a few weeks ago (about 2'), it took a couple of sets of 5ah batteries to do it, but...

Still hear them now and then here - West Wales - but there are nothing like the numbers there were. Saw one this year, once; haven't filmed / photographed one since Summer 2014.

I think you have misunderstood my post; my use of the word 'firstly' was not in reference to what those animals originated as but, instead, to make clear it was the 'first' point. Hence my rather imaginative and clever use of the word 'secondly' to make the second point. :)

The fact that a hominin can easily cope with or thrive in an aquatic environment is not evidence that it evolved in one; the aquatic ape theory has been comprehensively rejected by anthropology as a whole, if not be individual anthropologists. As for foxes in the Falklands... firstly they were...

Have been using a thin coat of walnut oil on spoons etc. for over a decade now. As long as it's applied to pretty dry wood, and then itself allowed to dry, the results have always been good and the spoons last well. Periodic re-oiling - maybe every year...? - keeps them good. I mostly carve...

Agreed, it's not essential but it is very useful and often cheaper than a normal vice because people don't know much about them. I must admit that I skimmed over the mention of no anvil... something big and hard is essential. Rail track is not bad for a start, the wide bottomed stuff is best...

You can often pick up a leg vice on ebay for as little as £20, older ones are better - I had a modern one snap at the weld just under the jaws, old ones were fully forged with no joins. Look at the Harries book for tong-making, once you get the knack it's quick. Be wary of tongs made of tool...

You're welcome. But... don't cough up for anything new! New blacksmithing tools really only come from two sources in the UK and both are geared up to supply the government and academic institutions i.e. those who are spending other people's money, therefore for individuals the prices are...

Take a squint at 'I forge Iron' and 'Anvilfire' for all the plans / blueprints you'll need. For a gratis downloadable book search Harries+Blacksmith+Book+PDF; it shows forges, bellows and tools in basic. Best smithing beginner's book I know of is Peter Parkinson's 'The Artist Blacksmith', not at...

Well... the first one may be a set hammer the second is definitely either a cold set chisel or a fuller, hard to tell which from the pic' due to bad corrosion. Neither any use for converting to a 'grisset'. But, with a bit of work you could probably use the first to help make one. I've made a...

Hello all, just a note of thanks to those who have contacted me, both via BCUK and my website. G

Hello all, I want someone competent to teach me the basics of leatherwork i.e. decent quality cutting, sewing and wet-moulding; just the basics up to a point where I can go on and teach myself more. You don't need to be a saddler, just able to produce quality stuff. In return I can teach...

The term 'bottom tools' could be used but most of us call them 'anvil tools'. There are loads of kinds, although they nearly all go into the hardie hole (the square one) a hardie is only used for cutting. Take a squint at the I Forge Iron forum.