Building a Medieval Forge and Blacksmith Shop by Hand | Anglo-Saxon Blacksmithing

The Anglo-Saxons smelted bog iron, heated metal and forged iron tools in simple furnaces and forges powered by hand bellows. Simple goatskin bag bellows were used, in the Roman style, blowing air into a clay forge. The hot iron was wrought on a small stump anvil. A single goatskin was used to make each bellows, cutting a simple bag shape with a funnel. At the top, the bellows have an inset gusset which facilitates air flow into the bellows as they are opened at the handles. A Y-shaped wooden tuyere was carved and bored out, as have been found in Germanic contexts. The tuyere can be connected to the bellows with simple leather tubes and lashing. The tuyere was extended with an unfired clay tube, made of earth and straw mixed in the same way as daub. This sacrificial tuyere keeps the wooden tuyere away from the forge, so it doesn’t burn. As the clay is unfired, it was kept damp with a wet woollen cloth. The forge, made of earth and straw, is formed into shape; two curved w