As the project to reclaim the Old Harbour in Newlyn nears completion one final forging still needs to be made. Using wrought iron salvaged from old chain the final forging was finally carried out by Sanny Fey at Pencarn Forge, Canonstown near Hayle. The forging would be an exact copy pf the other handrail ends – known in the trade a a ‘monkey tail’.

The process begins with a length of round wrought iron. Counter-intuitively, the forger first has to estimate the length of bar needed and beat it into a square cross-section using a foot operated stamp. This is then put through the stamp again using it to beat along the length of each edge which then creates an eight-sided bar. That then allows each edge to be beaten again to form a round taper. Then its time to fire up the forge so that the tapered bar can be beaten into a curl – firstly using the anvil to begin the shaping repeatedly going back to the hot coals to stop the bar from cooling and then using a former held in a vice – all the time checking the curl of the monkey tail over the car template. JT Fabrications are due to weld on the end as they have done to the other refurbished handrails as ca be seen in the photo above.