During a storm

– Avoid flying swirls of soot and sparks in your eyes

– Ignore horizontal rain
– Dodge being stabbed by dangling shards falling off the roof

Useful tips
– Using the correct tongs is imperative
– Keep metal orangey-yellow or the metal will fracture if too cool
– Do not let the metal get too hot or it becomes a sparkler
– Once it’s become a sparkler file out the burnt black stuff and weld in more steel
Cutting through metal
– Use the hardy square
– Heat steel and hammer the rod making incisions – rotating
– Use tongs to twist it off when near to the centre
– Do not hammer right through the metal or the end will shoot off, embed into something and then set fire to it
Parts of the anvil
– Face
– Body
– Beak
– Hardy hole (square)
– Pritchel hole (round)

Making a loop
– Use round nosed pliers so not to mark the surface
– Twist to make a loop and gently hammer in the end.
– Hammer the leaf on the end of the beak to create a curve.
Chiseling leaf marks
– Hold chisel at an angle
– Hammer incisively with one blow
– Do not chisel horizontally or the mark will be too long

Finishing the leaf
– Use metal brush to clean up the leaf and make a nice shine
– Remember the brush is the most dangerous tool of all at 11000rpm as metal hairs can embed in your skin if loose
– Spray with WD40 to stop it rusting.