Blacksmithing and Cutlery by Gérard HEUTTE Home Index A..Z Map About... Contact Links Bibliography Events Achievements Beginners Practical Metallurgy Workshop Cutlery Forge For Sale

Accessories, gadgets and home made tools This page presents some useful accessories. They are sometimes some simple bits and pieces, but very useful ! It is often interesting to make some tools because they will be more adapted to the need. Fuller The fuller is used in blacksmithing to create a groove. In cutlery, the main use is for starting the hidden tang. To use a traditional fuller, you should have three hands (the fuller, the hammer and the worked item). No problem if two people work together. But if you work alone, the following tool will close the problem.    On the left, the basic version. I have noticed during use that the upper rod did not always fall opposite the below rod. So I have added a guide to control the upper rod trajectory. This improvement is visible on the right picture. The making is easy. A rod of 8 or 10 mm is flattened in the middlle, then winded around the horn of the anvil (or any other circular support). One side is welded on a base that fits on the anvil. Nothing more simple to use : Insert the worked item between the two arms, then strike from above... Marble A marble is always useful as a reference surface for sanding or measurement. A professional marble is useless and extremely expensive. The following assembly is good enough : The making is very simple. Get the following elements : > A glass sheet with a minimum thickness of 10 mm. Ask an offcut to a glazier. Do not forget to break the edge to avoid cuts. > Thick medium ou plywood (like 20 mm). > Araldite glue two components. You only have to glue the glass sheet on the medium base. For flat sanding, some clamps will fix the paper : Cost : Some euros... Soft vise jaws Soft vise jaws are mandatory to grip delicate items. The simplest is to glue two leather offcuts on two folded sheets or angle iron. Even with strong pressure, leather will not mark steel ou wood. However, mind to remove regularly the metallic shavings. Picture speaks by itself ! It is possible to modify in a similar way tongs or clamps...