[quote=@Crimson Raven]
Here is a question that has long bothered me. 

Do maker mages need the material to be present to cast the magic?

With ice make, you can assume that they gather the moisture from the atmosphere, and memory make creates it from their memory.

I can't remember any other canon maker magics, nor if there was an explanation for this. Internet searches have proved unfruitful.
[/quote]

Well, this Iron Make seems to just come out of nowhere. I assume it is using magic to form a material. It is almost like Solid Script magic

http://fairytail.wikia.com/wiki/Iron-Make:_Needle_Hammer