After welcoming a group of 14 members to the forge, Oscar Duck gave us a brief history of the company. As a teenager, Oscar had built his own furnace at home before taking a Saturday job at the Trapp Forge near Read, owned by Bill Carter. In 2020, Oscar decided to become a full-time blacksmith and after working with Bill on some large-scale projects, Carter and Duck was formed.
Photo: Pete Booth
Oscar explained that he would demonstrate some of the skills of a blacksmith by using a single rod of mild steel to make one of the company’s famous ram’s heads. By operating a powerful electric fan (no manual bellows!), he increased the heat of the coke in the open forge to about 2500 degrees.
Photo: Pete Booth
After heating the end of the steel rod in the forge and plunging it in water, Oscar used a hacksaw to cut a split lengthways down the rod. Heating it again, he hammered the ends flat and bent them back into a ‘T’ shape before shaping the ends into ‘prongs’. With the rod in the vice, he then twisted each prong and bent the rod over to form the shape of a ram’s head with straight horns.
Photo: Pete Booth
More heat applied, the head was hammered flat, before Oscar used a series of special tools to form the facial features: eyes, nostrils, eyebrows and a speckly nose. The head went back into the furnace so that Oscar could then use a pair of pliers to curl the horns. Apparently, the tricky part is making the horns match.
Photo: Pete Booth
After displaying the finished head, Oscar answered questions from the group and showed us some of the larger projects he is currently working on, including a pair of replacement gates. Members then inspected and purchased smaller products made in the forge: keyrings, tea-light holders, wall hooks, pokers etc.
Photo: Carter and Duck Ltd
Following a vote of thanks to Oscar, we all travelled the short distance to the Aspinall Arms for fish and chips.