More stones were collected today and laid in the continuation of a 60cm high dry rock retaining wall that will run the length of the allotment making another metre of usable ground. Together with the cutting in of the upper slope this will make the tier that the Forge is built on more usable as it adds about 2-3 metres of width to the flat part of the land.

As stated earlier, the plans as published on this site have changed slightly opting for a more traditional approach with a single wall supporting both the forge and chimney as well as the 2 furnaces which will be located on the other side. This will contain all of the heat sources into one more controllable area as well as simplify the overall design slightly.

Today the first of many stones was put in place at the Grimsson Forge site. These stones are the start of the small 50-60cm high retaining wall that will give the Grimsson forge site another 1 to 1.5 meters of usable space making the area a viable workshop and camping area. Further landscaping will also take place over the few weeks to provide the foundation for the actual forge which will be the next phase of construction. Earth for filling in behind the wall which is located on the slope to the lower tier is being provided by digging out the seating tiers on the slope up to the road.

It is planned that after the landscaping of the area to accomodate the forge is to construct the forge itself against a wide stonewall. The forge and two furnaces on the oposite side of the wall will provide buttressing for the free standing wall and chimney stacks. The forge itself will be made fully operational before any further construction take place, this is to provide an incentive for people to come out to Crossroads and use the forge as well as a means of making some of the parts and tools that will remain with the forge for use by Crossroads members and approved visitors.

Stay tuned for more information as landscaping and construction proceed.

After a meeting with the Crossroads Board Chairperson today I have been given approval to start work on the forge construction. There was one request from the board, and that be that I move the forge further away from the grand staircase so in order to comply with this requirement I have moved the proposed forge placement across by around 6 meters giving about 8 meters of space beside the grand staircase for future development.

Further thought on the design has also lead me to believe that a minor change in the forge and furnaces design could actually allow for a more efficient construction, as well as allowing for a multi-stage construction that would get the forge itself as well as 2 furnace chimney stacks all built first and become operational before the roof and final wall structure are built.

The plan now consists of constructing a T shaped wall with a large open forge on one side, and the enclosed furnaces on the other side. There will be about 2 metres of roof covering the forge side, and a little over a meter of roof protecting the furnaces. This will mean that to protect the entire workshop area from sun wind and rain, a canvas wall can go around the entire 10 Square meter covered area. There will be space between the two funaces to stack cut wood for long term storage between uses and there will be storage are in the forge side for tools and equipment.

I am also look at plans to use either steam or hot rising air to power a hidden blower system. This will be in operation most likely before a proper bellows is constructed, as it will allow the forge to be used more effectively to actually construct stuff on the property. I have some plans in mind, but would be willing to hear from anyone on their suggestions for this as well.

I have now updated The Plans page so that Crossroads members and anyone else can see the basic vision for the project.

At the moment it is a basic vision of what I would like to construct, I shall continue to expand this as I find the time to do and scan more drawings, as well as plan area’s with more detail.

I’ll be camping on the site of the proposed forge on the weekend of the 29th to the 31st of this month, so if you are a member and want to discuss anything please feel free to come up and have a look at the area that it’s planned for and talk with me about the vision that is in my head.

I have also just added the text of the proposal to the Plans page as I was given basic approval to plan in earnest.  Check it out, Pictures and diagrams will be posted in the next few weeks.

So, with all projects like this I would like to keep the costs to a bare minimum, scrounging as much material as I can.  As such, if you have anything on the list of Items below that you are willing to donate to the project it be a great help.

I would of course be willing to collect said items as long as the cost of transportation does not exceed the costs of purchasing said item locally.

• A Large Anvil
• Various Smithying tools (hammers, pincers and tongs)
• Slate roofing tiles (to cover about 9 Square metres)
• Large Wooden wine barrel
• leather for making large bellows
• copper or brass sheeting
• and anthing else you think would be worthwhile.

So, I wanna build a forge.

A place where people who like to make metal red hot and soft can come and beat their metal into the shapes they require, and experiment and learn.  I want to make it a place where blacksmithying demonstrations can safely be conducted whilst people sit and watch in comfort.   I want to build it so that people will come to Crossroads not just for the pretty Hall, but because there are things happening there.  I want to build it from Stone, and local wood.  I want to give it a roof that can collect water and fill a quenching drum.  I want it to have everything that I believe a small medieval forge would have, and I want it to cater for everyone who may be willing to use it.

I have now become a Member of Crossroads, and have put together my proposal for the forge, I still need to whip up a quick drawing so that the powers that be can see what I would like to build, but the rest of the proposal is done.  Once I have approval from the board, I shall make the plans public here so as to encourage people to encourage success in the project.  Yay for projects.  Yay for doing things…  yay for stuff.