Use this Infographic to Build Your Own Iron Throne

Want to build your very own Iron Throne? Then set aside a lot of time. According to professional swordsmith Jake Powning, forging the 1000 swords that make up Westeros' Iron Throne could take around 700,000 hours—or about 80 years—using modern-day welding techniques. The infographic below shows how it might be done.

The first step is getting the right tools. Powning—who forges original swords as well as period replicas—says that plenty of a variety of welding equipment and forging tools would be needed to make all of those swords.

Giving yourself time to use the equipment—and not being afraid to make mistakes—are also a key part of the process. “There are a lot of things that can go wrong when you’re undertaking the many steps that add up to making a sword," Powning says. "Each time a blade breaks from being too hard or a casting fails, losing weeks of work, or you crack the beautiful grip you spent a month carving, it’s a chance to learn, but it’s okay to cry a little before you go on.”

The Targaryens used a dragon to weld the swords together in the shape of a throne, but you'll have to make do with more realistic equipment. “Welding the throne together would be a job in itself,” Powning says. “But once you had the swords, a good architectural blacksmith with a few assistants, a forge and a MIG welder could assemble a throne in a few hundred hours’ work.”

The new season of Game of Thrones starts April 6. You probably won't be able to catch this particular season from your very own Iron Throne, but you might finish in enough time to read the next book in the series.