Bruce the Spruce the spiral bird bath

Peter has been making tools since he was in his teens.

Here are a set of hand forged tools used to carve a bird bath from the stump of a spruce tree in Bushey, Hertfordshire.

All of the metal in the tools was reclaimed and repurposed. The wood was almost all from very local sources including Abbots Langley’s Tanners Wood, the orchard at Peter’s previous forge in Bushey and the now closed, long established Bushey wood merchant, so the carbon footprint was negligible. Peter collected and cured most of the wood, with some of it being worked in its ‘green’ state – used soon after the tree had been pollarded or chopped down.

The wood included: oak, ash, apple, cherry, pear and purple heart.

Here are all the Petefire Artist Blacksmith hand forged and wood carved tools.

The copper top is the bird bath, formed from the bottom of a household boiler, and attached with screws.

Hand forged large axe

Forged by Petefire, handle made from ash, bought from generations-old Bushey wood merchants – now unfortunately closed.

Hand forged scoop chisel

Forged by Petefire, apple wood handle, from the previous Petefire forge in Bushey

Knife

Forged by Petefire, from a metalwork file, handle is ash wood

Small hand axe

Forged by Petefire, handle ash wood Bushey forge

Small wide faced hammer

Forged by Petefire, handle is ash, Bushey. Head of hammer made from a jack hammer

Hand forged 12mm scoop chisel

Spring steel, oak from Abbots Langley, Tanners Wood

Light weight bill hook

Ash wood handle, blade: truck / large coil spring

Large adze

Handle is local cherry wood, head from a large piston

Mild steel hammer head

Abbots Langley pear wood handle

Angle faced chisel

Pear wood, spring steel

Small carving knife

Purple heart wood, blade spring steel

Heavy full metal offset knife

Forged from a digger piston

Small hammer

Name Peerie Dinger

Digger pistol, head, locally sourced ash wood

Small adze

Made from a ball pein hammer, hickory wood handle

Who would have thought so many tools went into the carving of Bruce the Spruce the spiral bird bath?

It was a great project to work on, and a good test of the Petefire hand forged tools.

If you’re looking for a unique tool, or a regular tool, you’re very welcome to get in contact. Peter is happy to meet up and discuss how to make tools for clients, whatever you need.

Here are the various ways to contact Petefire Artist Blacksmith.