Axe and Anvil Hand Works

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Axe and Anvil Hand Works Full-time blacksmithing shop offering traditional & bespoke ironwork. We are passionate about keepin

The forge at Mansker's Station & The Bowen House is finally complete! Dry laid limestone base, partially pointed with cl...
10/17/2026

The forge at Mansker's Station & The Bowen House is finally complete! Dry laid limestone base, partially pointed with clay mortar, brick top of pre-civil-war handmade bricks laid with homemade fireclay.

Last couple of layers of stone, I used a lot more clay mortar to make sure everything was really solid.

Slotted and keyed eye bolts for the bellows pole pivot. Keys have a notch in the middle to capture them.

All chain is hand forged and forge-welded.

I reworked pieces of antique wrought iron single tree hardware to attach the chains to the pole. We used a clinched nail to secure this one…

…and a through-rivet to capture this one.

Handle is hickory with a hot-fitted tapered tang capped with a riveted washer.

The wrought iron tuyere before finishing the masonry.

Been really busy around here, juggling multiple projects at once as usual. One of the biggest has been building a new st...
10/01/2026

Been really busy around here, juggling multiple projects at once as usual. One of the biggest has been building a new stone forge for Mansker's Station & The Bowen House. The old one was inconveniently small, and a pretty cobbled together not-very-authentic affair, and we are replacing it with a decently-sized stone forge, dry stacked and pointed with clay mortar. Last week, we left the old forge pan perched on top of the new structure so the forge is usable for demonstrations until we can install the final bits of the new side blast arrangement, including a wrought iron tuyere. Other than being in too big a hurry, this has been a fun and interesting project to say the least- and it has just thrown gas on the fire of my desire to build a big stone forge in my own shop.

09/16/2026

This was a fun forging. Christopher Schwartz and I whacked out two support pins for the bellows on Saturday. I pulled one of the originals from the antique bellows I am copying, and it was fun reverse engineering the forging process to try to get the the same results the smiths did in James Sleeper’s shop in Philadelphia some 190 years ago. I’d say we did all right. The legs of the pins are inlet and riveted into the middle board of the bellows, and support the whole thing while the top and bottom board move pumping air.

09/12/2026

Another crazy thing about the 1830s bellows that I am copying for the set for Mansker's Station & The Bowen House is the way the valve boards are made. 1/2” thick, the boards were flattened, and then saw kerfs made lengthwise almost through the board dividing it into thirds, then once the leather seal and reinforcing strips were tacked on, the board was cracked through to allow the valve to flex- accounting for any future warpage anywhere. The seal leather is 3oz with the flesh side out, just like the original. Really happy with this, we shall see how it performs!

One of the surprises in this bellows project was discovering that the nozzle was fixed into the hole in the nose block b...
09/10/2026

One of the surprises in this bellows project was discovering that the nozzle was fixed into the hole in the nose block by driving wooden wedges all around to expand the wood into the flare of the nose band and lock it down tight to the nozzle. This was the case on my 1830’s bellows, as seen in this photo and the next, as well as on two other sets of antique bellows I have, one that is possibly 18th century and one that dates to later in the 19th century.

Two different kinds of wood are clearly seen- the poplar of the laminated block, and the wedges of some presumably harder wood.

Wedged nozzle and band on a smaller set of bellows that I think may be 18th century.

Hollowing the middle board for the nozzle. We are copying the 1830’s bellows nearly exactly.

The lamination finished. Nozzle can be inserted after the fact. Hole fits the large end of the nozzle, but the taper allows for just under 1/4” of gap all around here.

Hourglass-shaped nose band fitted. We started the fitting hot so as to help shape the band.

Band fitted.

Beech wedges glued and driven in. A chisel was used to start the 1” wide wedges. Glazing putty was used around the nozzle, but the cast majority squeezed out in the wedging process. We will only use a thin coat on the nozzle next time.

Band and nozzle done.

End grain cleaned up, the two woods clearly seen just like in the antique bellows. This connection is rock solid and airtight. It’s almost like the old timers knew what they were doing.

Work is progressing on the bellows build for Mansker’s Station. Zane and I got the nose laminated and roughly shaped yes...
09/09/2026

Work is progressing on the bellows build for Mansker’s Station. Zane and I got the nose laminated and roughly shaped yesterday, and today we will be focusing on finishing the hardware and hopefully getting it all fitted. We are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel!

I don’t even know where to begin with Markus Tobert. The guy has followed along for years, and we first got to meet up a...
09/08/2026

I don’t even know where to begin with Markus Tobert. The guy has followed along for years, and we first got to meet up at Handworks 2023. This past weekend we reconnected at Handworks ‘26, and he came bearing gifts all the way from Canada- a beautiful spoon he carved, along with an insanely cool Roubo book stand that I will be using in the shop a LOT to hold reference books open while I work. Markus, thank you for the wonderful gifts and the encouragement- and keep up the beautiful work.

Handworks 2026 is in the books. It was a blast to say the least- all except for Thursday night (the night of the mosquit...
09/08/2026

Handworks 2026 is in the books. It was a blast to say the least- all except for Thursday night (the night of the mosquito) and the fact we were under an extreme heat warning all weekend. We all managed to have a great time anyway! Huge thanks to Chris Suhre, Great Oak, and Zane for throwing in with the Goodwin clan for the weekend, helping constantly, contributing some fine pickin’, and generally adding to a good time. I had an overwhelming number of fine folks come by the booth and admit to following on the socials- it’s always a humbling encouragement to get to meet folks in person you have connected with online. We also sold some small ironwork and lots of antique tools- I need to start making some REAL inventory for next time! I’m thinking chest hardware, holdfasts, planing stops, etc… what do y’all think?

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1433 US-64
Waynesboro, TN
38485

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