greetz

where can i find these steel domes, able to withstand pounding and hammering required for helmet shaping?

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i have no personal experience with any kind of smithing, and i dont have the needed space for furnace, and i really only want to do helmets of all kinds, i watched some videos and decided to at least try and make some myself, but with other tools, i really need these specific steel dome anvils, where is it possible to buy something like this in europe (germany would be the best option)?

thanks!

There are probably some people making them for sale; I know of only one, in the UK, you can find his web presence here www.medievalmade.co.uk/tools/ . But, shipping is bound to be prohibitive.

Making the stakes yourself is probably the cheaper option. People have used everything from old bowling balls to trailer hitch balls, welded to a piece of pipe or solid stock.

Johan Schubert Moen

An aquaintance of mine uses bottoms from gasbottles. The old ones used are shperical so he just cut them off and welded some strong iron bars on the inside to strengthen them. I've been looking for some too but it's really hard to find these days. Most gas bottles are composite materials now...

I'l second Johan's link,
i know Dave from work he's done for our company,general engineering etc,
he helped me with some swordguard projects,mentioned him to my boss when we needed some metres of metalwork and he's come up trumps each time,
for the past few years he's getting a good rep for decent usable tools at bargain prices,
alot of them look very low tek,but everything will work as described or he will make good on any of his wares,
prettying up the tools isnt much more than a coat of paint on all but the work surfaces,but doing it yourself saves you more money,which is why he doesnt coat them up,
all round decent chap,
knowing what he charges compared to some of the other places tools are found,his stuff is a steal,

only other recco would be to keep an eye out on ebay,normally bits and pieces there,but i've found alot are stateside and the postal kills a good deal,mores the shame,
been quite shocked at what stake tools fetch on ebay around the UK,
if you can source some old retired jack hammer bits,the larger ones fit the anvil holes well,and its not alot of work to weld a top to the stem,you might get lucky and find someone local to help,
as to the gas bottle bottoms,that soundsa good idea,BUT there are major safety issues with cutting those down,scrapyards sometimes have precut ones,more the luck of the day though,
if you go that route,spend some time checking the best options on cutting the bottles,Don Foggs site has some info on that,
safety first on those,
happy hunting.

Eric,
The last few calor gas bottles i've seen precut at the scrapyard were still 6-9mm steel walled,nowt more than paint on the outside,
red propane in the 13-19-47kg weights,if it helps.

I am here now but you will have to wait till I can put something in the appropriate place on this forum

the posts above by Johan and Lee mention a few things I make, I hope to be able to post more details elsewhere on this forum soon where gas bottle bottoms, big ball stakes, dishing forms and much more can be discussed more easily including which UK events you can discuss you needs with me at.
until I get a usergroup membership confirmed I cannot say much more.
Dave

Hmmm.... you probably won't like to hear that I found one recently, possibly medieval or at least several centuries old and gave it away :) It was sitting in a shop corner for quite some time, and it's now at least in the hands of someone who will use it and treat it as it should be treated.