Year Blacksmithsnewenglandblacksmiths.org/newsletters/2014-Vol34No1.pdf · 2019-05-06 · professional welders with considerable experience to facilitate each member to get their

WINTER 2014 NEW ENGLAND BLACKSMITHS

The New England Blacksmiths

Our 36th

Year

1978-

2014 VOL 34 NO.1 Winter 2014

TO DISCOVER ‐ TO HELP

NEB Contacts ........................................................... 2

Around New England ............................................... 3

President’s Message ............................................... 4

NEB Spring Meet Info ............................................ 5

Blacksmithing for Woodworkers ............................. 6

On Line Tidbits ........................................................ 7

Na onal Grille Project, Forge Welding Scarf…………..7‐11

Editor’s Note & Brentwood North …………………………...21

Obituaries ............................................................... 13

NEB Membership Applica on .................................. 14

Abana Membership Applicaton .............................. 14

NEB Scholarship Criteria ......................................... 15

NEB Scholarship Applica on ................................... 16

Membership Gallery ............................................. 17‐20

Reposse; Trade and Tools……….…………………………. 21‐23

Scrapbox .............................................................. 24‐35

Table of ContentsTable of Contents

WINTER 2014 2 NEW ENGLAND BLACKSMITHS

Owen Bostrom- President (14) 99 Chase Hill RD Ashaway, RI 02804 Phone: 401-377-2611 [email protected] Bob Menard– Vice President (14) 56 Warren Ave. Suite 106 Portland, ME 04103 Phone: 207-878-2217 [email protected] Jim Crothers- Secretary (14) 953 Tuckertown RD Wakefield, RI 02879 Phone [email protected] Leigh Morrell- Treasurer (14) 207 Greenfield Rd Colrain, MA 01340 Phone: 413-624-1200 [email protected] Karen Sims, Membership Chair. (14) 337 Rope Ferry Rd Waterford, CT 06385 860-442-3925 [email protected] Marc Godbout, NH Rep. (14) 236 Old Wellington Rd. Manchester, NH 03104 -8771 Phone: 603-425-8404 [email protected] Taffy Case, NH Rep. (15) 1789 E. Madison Rd Madison, NH 03849 Phone: 603-367-8225 [email protected] Fred Mikkelsen - RI Rep (15) 23 Waterman Dr. N. Scituate, RI 02857-2036 phone: 401-647-3086 [email protected] Ariane Ferland (15) PO Box 775 Chepachet, RI 02814 401-568-5971 [email protected] The New England Blacksmiths, an affiliate of the Artists-Blacksmith’s Association of North America, is devoted to the preservation and advancement of blacksmithing. Letters to the editor, articles, technical tips, tools for sale, or other materials which furthers these ends, will be considered for publication in this newsletter.

Richard Holman- ME Rep. (14)

195 Varney Mill Rd

Windham, ME 04062

Phone: 207-892-9511

[email protected]

Ed Grove- Me Rep. (15)

828 Haley Town Road

Brownfield, ME 04010

Phone: 207-935-2262

[email protected]

Courtney Mead- VT Rep. (14) 721 East Hill Rd.

North Troy, VT 05859 Phone: 802.988-2503 [email protected]

Judson Yaggy-VT Rep. (15)

846 S Rt 116

Bristol, VT 05443

Phone 802-453-6005

[email protected]

Bob Phillips- MA Rep. (15)

P.O. Box 583

Westminster, MA 01473

Phone: 978-874-1367

[email protected]

Dick Lempici- MA Rep. (14)

2 Lempici Rd

Dudley, MA 01571

Phone:

[email protected]

Steve Melady- CT Rep. (15)

54 Cards Mill Rd

Columbia, CT 06237

Phone: 860-228-2185

[email protected]

Chip Sowalski- CT Rep. (14)

100 Gungy Rd

Salem, CT 06420

Phone: 860-287-5395

[email protected]

Note: The number ( ) after each name denotes the year of term expiration of that Board Member.

The New England Blacksmiths disclaim any responsi-bility or liability for damages or injuries as a result of any design, construction, manufacture, use or other activity undertaken as a result of the use or applica-tion of information contained in the newsletter of the New England Blacksmiths.

Contributors to this Issue

Owen Bostrom

Ian Walker

Mark Aspery

Fred Mikkelsen

Mike Imrie

Photo Credits

Lucian Avery

David Hagman

Ray Ciemny

Newton Millham

Richard Spreda

David Court

Nick Downing

Bob Menard

Deadline for submissions to the Spring issue March 15, 2014


Brentwood Teaching Center

NEB Ground Zero (so to speak)

Around New England

Maine February 22, 2014

Brentwood North program is being hosted by Bob Menard at the Ball & Chain Forge in Portland, Maine. 9A to 4P

There is more information deeper in this issue.

Contact Bob for more information 207-878-2217 [email protected]

New England School of Metalwork

www.newenglandschoolofmetalwork.com

888-753-75032

Forged Botanical Forms with Dereck Glazer

Feb 18-21

Beginner Blacksmithing with Dereck Glazer

March 18-21

Here there be Dragons with Dereck Glazer

March 24-26

Intermediate Blacksmithing with Dereck Glazer

April 1-4

New Hampshire The Brentwood Teaching Center is closed until the last Saturday in March. We had a very active season in 2013. We signed up a number of new members and provided some forge time to people who may not have their own forge set up. There were also active members who stopped by to ask a question or just spend a day playing and talking blacksmithing. The Brentwood Committee would like to thank all these members for making each open forge day a rich experience.

This up-coming year will provide more stimulating programs. Stop by with a project you have always wanted to pull the trigger on or we can suggest one. Either way NEB’s well equipped shop will send you home with something useful — be it a completed project or knowledge.

Vermont No Submissions at press time

Massachusetts January 25, 2014

Morrell Metalsmiths 207 Greenfield Road, Colrain Mass. is hosting their very popular Anvil repair day.

Anvils of almost any dis-repair have come to this program and left as repaired tools of nearly new condition. Leigh & Justin bring in professional welders with considerable experience to facilitate each member to get their anvil looking and acting considerably younger than it really is. Think Joan Rivers after lots of skilled plastic surgery.

Each participant is responsible for their own safety gear and a metal fume respirator and hearing defenders are recommended. Welding tech and rods are provided. Other tools you might like to bring like right angle grinders are not discouraged.

FMI contact Morrell Metalsmiths 413-624-1200 [email protected]

At press time this program is sold out and there is a wait list.

Rhode Island Join the Southern Bunch at South County Museum in Narragansett, RI on the 4th Saturday of the Month.

Contact Jim Crothers 401-783-5400 for more information

Connecticut No Submissions at press time


President’s Message for Winter 2014:

As I sit down to write this thoughts of the Holiday season

predominate just about everything. On a personal matter my wife,

Martha, and I are working our way through the sudden death of her

brother and my good friend, which occurred on the Thanksgiving

weekend.

The weather has turned colder and we have had a bit of snow. Tis the season, eh? Tis also the

season for NEB dues so remember to send your twenty bucks off to Karen.

Speaking of snow, since it seems that my trips with Fred Mikkelsen to Portland seem to be

associated with lots of snow, how about thinking of either demonstrating at or attending Brentwood

North as a student? It is a good time.

We have made a pretty big purchase of NEB castings. Depending on when you read this,

remember that Christmas is coming, or maybe that post holiday shopping spree will happen. In

either case consider these items, which we offer to members at NEB cost.

Plans for the Spring meet at Brentwood are coming together. Note that we don’t have any current

plans for any meets after that. It would be great if someone or a group would step up to suggest a

prospective event. We should all try to attend the ABANA meet on Aug 13-16 in Delaware.

The boring but important stuff:

Our finances are in good shape. Nothing’s unusual there, which is all good

As unusual as it may seem to some of you (maybe most of you) I am having trouble thinking of stuff

to write today. With that thought I will just stop writing; however, I hope you all have a happy and

wonderful Holiday season, with lots of good contact with friends and family. Hopefully that crazy

uncle got over it at Thanksgiving too. I also hope that all of us have a wonderful and profitable

2014 this coming year.

Cheers,

Owen Bostrom, President, NEB


The New England Blacksmiths Spring Meet

Members of the Board of Directors have been getting questions lately about when is NEB going to be having another working style Meet, so on June 6,7,8 2014 the Board of Directors and the Brentwood Committee will be hosting the Spring Meet in Brentwood NH.

This will be a “working Meet” as we create a signature gateway sculpture for our site in Brentwood. At the moment our Teaching Center is a non-descript “small brown building” with little idea, from the outside at least, as to its purpose. We will seek to change this with a “Blacksmiths Totem Pole.” The history of the totem poles is they were used to communicate stories and histories and be able to do it from some distance. Of course the material available to the First Families was wood, we must take the path best available to us and create from metal.

The sculpture will be a stack of six 24” cubes, each rotated respective to each other to create twisted appearance. This infrastructure will be fabricated out of 1/8” Cor-Ten steel and will be mounted on a concrete base. The bottom of the sculpture where it interfaces with the concrete base will have bearings installed that will allow the entire structure to be rotated by hand. There will be twenty four surfaces on the cubes that will be embellished with a range of different decorative forged grills. The plan is to have a fabrication group and a forging group.

The fabrication group will be supervised by members who are professional welders. I expect we can put together four to five welding stations, and a half a dozen fitting and grinding stations. This will be complemented by at least twelve forging sites. These forging stations will be supervised by member gurus of some considerable renown from within NEB. Exactly how these forging groups will be configured is still a matter of speculation. There are a number of options available to us. We may have 12+ groups all working on different grills or there may be multiple forges working on one piece. There can be grills entirely forged and ones forged and fabricated. We are only limited by our imagination and ambition.

It is not necessary for this project to be completed at this Meet. I believe the infrastructure will be finished but there is likely too much work to complete all the grills. This part will be a bit of an on-going project. It can be one that affiliate groups within New England can contribute to as well as a source of teaching programs for the Teaching Center. A plaque will be affixed to the base of this “Blacksmiths Totem Pole” that explains who New England Blacksmiths are and what we seek to promote.

Not everyone needs to participate as a worker bee. Some will want to observe and learn from as many as 15 demonstrators. That is also encouraged. NEB has some of the finest blacksmithing talent in the country. Whether you are observing or participating as a working member, this sculpture will be a lasting memory of who we, the Blacksmiths, are.

This project will receive National attention and continue to demonstrate the vision and drive of New England Blacksmiths. There is much work to be done and we have many creative and emerging talents. Get involved!! You know who you are! Bob Menard is coordinating the sculptural elements. He needs to hear from you. Do you want to be a part of the fabrication team? A forging team? Do you have a creative idea? Get in touch, sooner rather than later. This is the property of NEB and the goal is for everyone to take ownership. This sculpture will speak to generations and be a legacy of those that were there when it was created.

Come on. You know you want to and we want you!


More pearls of wisdom from Ralph Sproul

Passed on from Ian Walker; I thought of the NEB, while hot on the trail of woodworker/author/publisher Christopher Schwarz and was pleasantly surprised to find a pot of blacksmith gold on the website of Popular Woodworking Magazine. They have a Blacksmithing for Woodworkers series (use their search tool to find the series) that includes three DVDs of blacksmith/whitesmith Peter Ross turning out a Compass, Marking Knife, and Butterfly Hinge. In the Compass DVD, Peter demonstrates the 18th Century process of making precision tools with simple tools: a hammer, anvil, and a few files. The production quality is very good and Peter's work and explanation are excellent, as always. After viewing the Compass DVD I ordered the other two. Also, Popular Woodworking Magazine has a Viking Tool Chest (working title) DVD in the works for February, 2014, focusing on reproducing the chest and it's hardware, I believe. Including plans for building a $40, give or take, backyard forge. Welsh chair bodger Don Weber is featured. There are a number of interesting tidbits on the magazine's website for those who enjoy exploring and finding things of common interest to woodworkers and blacksmiths. Kudos to the woodworkers and to Popular Woodworking Magazine, with which I have no connection.

Wanted, Li le Giant power hammer rear clutch drive parts.

I am restoring this 1943 Li le Giant 50 LB. hammer that was pur‐chased without a clutch drive system. I would like to keep this ma‐chine as close to original part configura on as possible.

The specifics for these items are for a 50 LB. rear drive hammer which has a 2 inch diameter cranksha , therefor the bore for the fric on pulley assemble must have a 2 inch bore and the ma ng shi ing col‐lar. There are two models for this hammer, a rear drive assembly as pictured or also a center drive system. Both systems are useable for my long sha machine, just located in a different posi on on the sha and have some differences in pulley diameters and shape, I prefer a rear drive assemble for this long sha restora on. These parts need not be in ready to use condi on, if you have either system please call or email with info.

Unfortunately the Li le Giant Company and/or Sid Suedmeier have none of these parts available.

Byron Aubrey

207‐884‐7365, email @ [email protected]


CBS Evening News covers an anvil shoot.

The video clip at this link was a news spot shown on the evening news out of Farmington Missouri. Anvil collector Gaye Wilkins collects, carves, and

shoots anvils. It is worth a look and a laugh.

http://www.coolestone.com/media/895/Anvils_Away/#.UqzP3IWOjzg

Steve Bronstein plays the most significant role in the creation of the newest Hanukkah stamp released by the US Postal Service.

h p://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/ar cle/20131126/NEWS07/311260002/

This link is to a nine minute you tube video about a Czechoslovakian Blacksmith Festival. This is the kind of festival we would all like to participate in.

h ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIl0A‐NsvKw

This video is an English language report on an unusual practice by some Blacksmiths in China creating a fireworks display by throwing ladles of molten steel at a brick wall. This is a very strange practice and more

than a little eye opening. Especially when you consider the lack of apparent safety gear.

h p://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZTxm8PDyS4

Online Tidbits

Craft in America is a PBS program showcasing a large range of crafts and craftspeople

Episode X is focused on metal craft and forging. Full episodes can be seen online

h p://www.cra inamerica.org

This is a link to part one of a four part BBC program. The rest of the show is linked from part one.

Metalworks - The Blacksmiths Tale

h p://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLM4S2hGZDSE6V20nBZc2fJbkYZgHq1yNG


The National Grille Project; The Forge Welding Scarf HB Staff

The ABANA national blacksmithing curriculum calls for forge welding both in the curriculum and in the final grille piece.

This article is intended to give the novice smith some of the rationale as to why the end of a bar is prepped

before welding. The article shows one illustration of a scarf, although many variations exist. This scarf pro-vides the new forge welder with enough mass in the scarf area to carry the heat from the forge to the anvil. The scarf does not favor a particular fuel source.

Perhaps the best way to learn to forge weld is at the side of an experienced smith, however geography can

work against us in that aspect as there can be quite large tracts of land between smiths in the USA. In figure 1, I am trying to weld two bars together. My question is, "From which direction should the hammer

blows come?" If the blows come from the end of the bar as shown in figure 2, then the bars will slip past one another. The bars are in a slip or shear plane.

If the hammer blows are directed from above and below the two bars, as shown in figure 3, then the two

touching surfaces are in a welding plane. The issue now is that the ends of the bar are still in a slip plane as shown in figure 4.

If you continue to weld these bars together without preparing the ends of the bars for welding, the weld will

have cracks at each end of the finished weld. Fig. 5.

Fig. 1 Fig. 2

Fig. 3 Fig. 4


FORGE WELDING SCARF Fig. 5 Tapering the ends of both bars into a short

slope or taper will put the ends of the bars

into a welding plane. Fig 6. The bars will

weld with a diagonal weld with no cracks at

the end of the weld. Fig 7.

There is another factor that will alter the

scarf, that of anvil effect.

Let's suppose that you have a heavy bar

suspended from the ceiling by a chain. All

of the bar is hot—as hot as you like, I don't

care. Fig. 8.

If you delivered a hammer blow to one

end of the bar that end will be deformed due

to the inertia of the bar, its tendency to stay

still. Fig. 9.

The other end of the bar will not be

deformed. A bar can act as its own anvil—

even though it is all hot. Fig 10.

We know that to unite these two bars on

what is an atomic level, we use light blows

to start—or run the risk of blowing the weld

apart. Light blows do not fully penetrate the

work. In the case of our two bars, the lower

bar will act as an anvil for the upper bar.

Fig. 11.

You will turn the two bars over as you

weld, but the bottom bar will always

support the top bar.

Unless we further prepare the end of the

bar for welding, you can develop little

wings at the tip of your scarf as it spreads

out on the supporting bar beneath it.

Fig. 6

Fig. 7

Fig. 8


Fig. 9

Fig. 10

Fig. 11

Fig. 12

When joining two bars together as we are showing here, it is sometimes nice to put a step in the scarf so that only the material that you need is overlapped.

Keep in mind that the step is in a slip plane.

Don't make it too deep as you start welding. Fig. 13.

At a later stage you may play with this step a

little in terms of angle and depth. You will notice that we have plenty of material

in the main body of the weld, we're not wanting for material there. Fig. 14.

The material at each side of the weld will be

subject to the same welding heat and will lose mass due to scaling. Fig. 15.

This same area is also the subject of some ham-

mer blows as you blend in the toe of the scarf above it. Therefore this area needs to be upset or made thicker in preparation for the weld. Fig. 16.

A typical upset will leave the end of the bar with an increase in mass. When we draw out the scarf, this increase may result in a long scarf. Fig 18.

A long scarf is not a desirable scarf as it

offers a greater opportunity to trap dirt and scale between the welding surfaces.

If you upset into the step of the anvil (at a

45˚ angle) or into a 'V' block, then the end of the bar is pushed back, creating the upset be-hind the scarf and starts the taper to the toe of the scarf. Fig. 19.

You will see many smiths do this at the

edge of the anvil with their hand hammer and it may look like they are drawing a taper on the end of the bar.


Look at their hammer angle—it will be quite steep as they pull back the end of the bar to start their scarf.

The lack of mass at the very tip of the bar allows the smith to pull a shorter scarf. Fig. 20

Fig.13 Fig. 14

Fig.15

Fig. 16

Fig.17 Fig. 18

Fig. 19 Fig.20


BRENTWOOD NORTH CELEBRATES A TEN YEAR ANNIVERSARY

February 22, 2014 9:00 am to 4:00 pm Since 2004 Bob Menard has hosted a program at the Ball & Chain Forge in Portland ME.

as a cabin fever reliever during the doldrums of Winter. Called Brentwood North, it is an extension of the active educational programs run out of our

Brentwood NH Teaching Center, which is a frozen lump in February. It has evolved into its current form which is 4 small groups, 4 working stations with 4 different subjects and 4 different instructors. Each subject is 90 minutes long and then the groups move to a new station and subject. Over the years the range of techniques shown has been extensive and has only been limited by the instructors imagination. The program is kept manageable by keeping the class size to 12 students, 3 per station, so all get

a quality experience. The full range of equipment in this pro shop is available to broaden the experience. Students can expect both coal and gas forges to be in operation. Other available equipment can include an air hammer, hossfeld bender, oxy/ propane or oxy/ acetylene torches, and a full range of hand and power tools Delicious breakfast goodies and a full home cooked hot lunch are provided and the coffee pot is on all day.

The program subjects are still in the planning phase and I am still looking for instructors. If you are interested in teaching, the specifics are a project that a student can complete in 90 minutes and leave the station with a

completed project or test piece. This outline can present an interesting and rewarding challenge for the instructor.

The program is half sold out at press time. The cost is $70.00 for the day including the food with all money collected supporting the Teaching Center

This regularly sells out, Full payment guarantees your spot. Sign up early. There will be a wait list but we have not gone to it yet. To avoid disappointment, if you are interested pull the trigger now.

For more information contact Bob Menard, 207-878-2217, [email protected]

Editors Note;

This issue features an article from Mike Imrie of Vermont on Repousse on the skills he learned taking a class at the New England School of Metalwork. This was largely funded by a scholarship from the NEB scholarship program. Are you going to be the next recipient of one of our awards? You cannot be considered if you don’t apply.

This issue incorporates elements of a scrap box edition but alas there will not be a separate scrap box issue. It is my fault. I just can’t seem to squeeze the time out of my schedule to pull it off. The concept is not dead and now that I have a better understanding of that undertaking hopefully it can be resurrected for 2014.

In the meantime, I hope this content informs and entertains. Enjoy the color centerfold. Please send us more color photos for this gallery section. Every Blacksmith I know has a project they are proud of. That means a couple of hundred choices if the majority of NEB members participate. A color photo and a brief description is all that is needed.

The Spring Meet will be epic and something that will be talked about for years. It needs member support and enthusiasm. We have so many great talents and this project will demonstrate that. See you in June.

Bob & Debby Menard


I am sorry to post this but I have just received word that one of my oldest and dearest friends in Blacksmithing community Toby Hickman died suddenly earlier today. I have no other details other then his wife Anne has asked to please allow her privacy at this time and not call. There is to much to say about Toby at the moment for me other than he was a great and dear friend to us all and will be sorely missed .

Posted by Mike Bondi on 12/30/13 on the CBA website

OBITUARIES

Bob Robinson of Stockton Springs, Maine, long time NEB member and mentor passed away on March 12, 2013

Norman Taillon of Bristol Connecticut passed away at home on September 25, 2013.

Most of us are familiar with at least some of the blacksmithing saints and gods: Hephaestus, Son of Zeus and Hera was the Greek God of Blacksmithing.

The Roman version was Vulcan. Saint Eloi French and Saint Dunstan English.

A story about St. Dunstan tells how the Devil entered the Saint’s Smithy and asked to have his single hoof shod.

Dunstan recognized his customer and nailed a horseshoe to the Devil's hoof. This caused the Devil great pain, and Dunstan only agreed to remove the shoe and release the Devil after he promised never to enter a place where a horseshoe hangs over the door.

Some claim this is the origin of the lucky horseshoe.

Reprinted from Forge Facts, A Publication of the Rocky Mountain Smiths


ABANA Membership Application Primary ABANA Chapter Affiliation:_____________ Name: _____________________________________ Address: ___________________________________ City: _________________________State: _______ Phone: ( ) ___________________Zip: ________ New Member Renewing Member Includes a Subscription to the Anvil’s Ring and The Ham-mers’ Blow magazines Regular Member ..............................................$55 yr. Senior Citizen (Age 65+) .................................$50 yr. Full time student ..............................................$45 yr. Overseas airmail ..............................................$80 yr. Overseas surface mail ......................................$65 yr. Contributory ...................................................$100 yr. Public library ....................................................$45 yr.

ABANA Central Office 259 Muddy Fork Rd, Jonesborough, TN 37659

NEW ENGLAND BLACKSMITHS MEMBERSHIP FORM

Dues are $20.00 USD, and due January 1st of each year.

Send checks to: NEB Membership – 337 Rope Ferry Road- Waterford, CT 06385

Please Print Clearly and check whether New member __ or Renewal __

Name ______________________________________________ Date_______________

Business name, if applicable___________________________________________________

Address ____________________________________________ Phone _____________

City _______________________ State_______ Zip________ Fax _______________

E-mail__________________________________Web Site___________________________

Occupation________________________________________ Year of birth______________

Check forging skill: __Beginner __Intermediate __Advanced

Blacksmithing areas of interest ________________________________________________

Check all that apply:

__Teach Blacksmithing __Teach Related Metalworking Skills, which skills______

__Do you do Public Smithing Demos __Demo Fee (Amount: ) __Require Travel $

__Would hold NEB Office are you an ABANA Member Yes or No

Any demonstrator or demonstration requests for NEB Meets?_________________________


NEB SCHOLARSHIP

The New England Blacksmiths (NEB) have a scholarship program open to all members — (a full year of mem-bership is required to apply). Apply now for financial aid to improve your blacksmithing knowledge & skills. NEB offers educational scholarships to cover up to $500 of the cost for NEB members to attend blacksmithing hands on classes.

What you do

Decide on a class (anywhere, but it must be a real blacksmithing class or hands-on workshop, not a sit-on-duff workshop or conference).

Procure the application form from the newsletter, our website or from a Board of Directors member.

Fill it out and return it,

If possible, include a class curriculum or brochure.

What we will do

Evaluate your application.

If you are chosen, we will notify you that you will receive an NEB scholarship

After your class, NEB will reimburse you the amount of the scholarship upon receipt of a copy of your receipts and certificate of completion.

What you owe NEB

Within one year of completing your class, you will provide:

A 2-hour demo of the skills you've learned in the class

A 2-page illustrated article to the New England Blacksmiths Newsletter on what you've learned.

Contacts

Any Board of Director Member or

Ed Grove, Scholarship Chairman

828 Haley Town Road

Brownfield, ME 04010



Members Gallery This is a space for all members to showcase their work. This could be new or old projects.

What do you have to share? Send photos and a brief description to the editor

Fireplace screen by Lucian Avery

This is one of two panels for a deck

By David Hagman

Bill Arduser shows off the Kokopelli sculpture he created Copper and Steel Candle Holder

Created as a wedding present by Bob Menard


This is a recently completed railing installed in Avon, CT. No actual pattern. Scrolls laid out to meet 4" code. Steel with antique gold faux paint finish.

Ray Ciemny artisaniron.com


This is an image of a Norse church door knocker I made last summer as part of a suite of hardware for a new reproduction church being built in Connecticut. The original Borgund stave church near the Sogne Fjord northeast of Bergen, is believed to date from 1180-1240 and is probably the best preserved and most well-known of more than twenty stave churches in Norway. The design elements of knocker and back plate reflect the marriage of the recently Christianized Norway with the old Norse culture: Norse runes make up the pierced decoration around the central square knocker boss while the knocker ring has Celtic twisted bands and serpents head terminations. There is also an similarly elaborate key escutcheon on the same door. All of the knocker parts were forged from wrought iron.

Images of the original church in Norway with some views of the door hardware can be found at: http://www.norgeskirker.no/wiki/ Borgund_stavkyrkje#Bilete

Newton Millham


Two from Richard Spreada. 5 nested chandeliers ready for shipping and a set of andirons.

Lithuanian Cross 40" Diameter, forged/painted steel. Created by David Court

Nick Downing from Maine threw the pottery vessel and made the copper lid and steel handle


This article is by Mike Imrie of Vermont The Course, taken at the New England School of Metalwork,

was in a large part funded by an NEB scholorship

Repoussé – Tools and Trade

Late last summer I had the opportunity to attend a Repousseé class taught by Wendel Broussard at the New England School of Metal Work (NESM). For those folks not familiar with ‘Repoussé’ it is a sheet metal forming technique. The word itself is French in origin and roughly means ‘to push up or back’, which describes the metal forming process. Repoussé is an area of our craft that has always fascinated me. How did craftsman of years past take a simple piece of flat sheet metal and shape it into some of those incredibly ornate three-dimensional forms that you see decorating Baroque and Rococo style railings? The work that those craftsmen were able to accomplish is nothing short of amazing, and that is what I set out to discover at NESM.

The instructor for the class was Wendel Broussard from Smithville, Texas. While Wendel does many different kinds of blacksmithing work, he has developed a well earned reputation in the repoussé technique. Many years ago Wendel spent a period of time in France studying with “Les Compagnons du Devoir”, the French trades/journeyman’s organization. Since then, he has worked on many commissions utilizing the repoussé technique.

The technique we learned was traditional ‘stake’ repoussé. The stake method does not use pitch as is often associated with other repoussé techniques. Rather, the forms are primarily raised on a simple stake which is typically held in a vise. The process begins with a concept and sketch of the desired form. Below is an example of a Renaissance acanthus pattern (Figure 1).

Figure‐1 Renaissance acanthus

(Source: Metzger, Pa ern Book for the Ar st‐Blacksmith)


(Cont. Article is by Mike Imrie)

To begin, you’ll want to use the lowest carbon sheet steel possible as it is the most malleable. Typically 20 Gauge is used for cold work, and 14 Gauge for hot work. Some will simply scribe the image onto the metal. Or you can cut out a photocopy and use spray adhesive to hold it on the sheet, and then trace it out. Historically, the form would then have been cut out using many small chisels, and then filed. These days, if you have several to do, an alternative would be to have several water-jet cut.

First, let’s start with some basic terminology:

Sinking – stretching sheet metal into a concave indentation, for example into a lead or wood block

Embossing - creating a relief, using a convex shaped hammer (ex: embossing or ball peen hammer)

Raising – uplifting flat sheet, into a three-dimensional form; in our case at the ‘stake’

Planishing – a metal finishing technique which smooths out and, at the same time, stretches work hardens the piece

Veining – creating a line, or ‘vein’, for a particular visual effect. (Note: in this context, veins are raised, not chiseled or incised)

Once the form has been cut out, roughly sketch the centerlines through the various lobes so that you have a reference later. Now you are ready to start, but wait! When you raise/sink the form, it tends to collapse in on itself, which may make some areas inaccessible later. This can be very frustrating! So, you need to plan a little in advance. Take note of the various lobes on the form you are trying to develop. Generally, you will want to work the metal from the inside out. However, you’ll want to do this first on the outermost lobes, leaving the center of the overall pattern untouched, at least initially. The tools used are shown below (Figure 2). The tools (excluding the Peddinghaus embossing hammer) were forged from an axle and then ‘normalized’. The tools were not heat treated, as they see only very light duty use and can easily be cleaned up if they get any marks in them.

Tools, Top to Bottom:

Large embossing hammer (domed faces)

Curved stake

Planishing hammer

(round and square end, very slight crown)

Raising stake

Veining Hammer

Lead & Wood blocks

(not shown) Figure‐2: Tooling


(Cont. Article is by Mike Imrie)

I started by first ‘sinking’ the forms roughly in a lead block. (See Figure 4 for work pieces). You can first create a right-sized cavity in the block by simply striking it with an appropriately sized emboss-ing or ball peen hammer. After sinking, I began raising at the stake. With the stake in a vise, I would work the metal immediately adjacent to the stakes edge effectively raising it. “Hit it where it ain’t” is kind of how I thought about it – you don’t strike the metal so that you pinch it directly be-tween the stake and the hammer. Rather, you strike ‘just slightly’ off the stake edge, effectively rais-ing the metal above. Also, unlike a blacksmiths hammer swing, when doing stake repoussé your el-bow and forearm are held firmly against your body, and you use only your wrist, which allows for greater endurance and accuracy. This is demonstrated by Wendell, below in Figure 3.

Figure‐3: Wendel Broussard at the

stake, developing a Rosse e. (Photo

courtesy NESM)

With most of the sinking and raising completed, the shape now begins to collapse in on itself, making work difficult. Interestingly, you can planish the piece, and it opens up again. It also provides a nice surface texture. However, planishing also work hardens the piece somewhat so you’ll want to be selective about where you planish. For example, don’t do it in areas where still need to add veins.

Lastly, you can raise veins in the object by working the met-al along the fine edge of the stake by using a ‘veining’ ham-mer. Note that by adding ‘veins’ you introduce folds into the form and by doing so you increase the strength and rigidity of the piece (surprisingly so, even for fine 20 gauge). Be-cause of this additional rigidity and also because veins are very difficult to remove and/or rework, the veining process is done as a last step.

The work pieces are now complete. You can use them as an embellishment or to add three-dimensional volume to other works with little additional weight. Typically, you would rivet them onto another piece. Be sure to include weep holes if there is any chance of water accumulation.

Fig. 4 Completed work pieces


If you are weary of making the same old style of flesh forks and other utensils. Here are a few new ideas!


Demoed at South County Museum Fred Mikkelsen

Straighten using the hardy hole and anvil face, enough so you

can place the center on the edge of the anvil.

Use a round faced hammer when crea ng the inside dimple.

Draw the ends to a nice curved taper then close up the heart.

HORSE SHOE HEART

From the desk of Fred Mikkelsen

Anyone that knows a farrier or a horse person knows an individual with a lot of old horse shoes.

This project makes a nice trivet or a fun trinket for 9-14 year old girls.


I Thought Everybody Already Knew This

Smooth Curve Jig by Clay Spencer

This is a piece of 1/4”x 1” flat bar

Lighter material could be used for a shorter arc

For a really large arc you can get schedule 40 pipe at 21’ to make a much larger pipe clamp

Reprinted from The Hammer’s Blow summer 1993


One of my customers asked me to make a

rose trellis for the end of her front porch. The house is one of those nice old Victorian places with lots of ginger bread trim. She wanted a dragon fly incorporated into the project so I did some sketches and we agreed on a design. The trellis was to be roughly five by seven feet, and the dragon fly would have a wingspan of over four feet, with some stained glass and bur-nished brass thrown in for interest. I really en-joy this type of commission, as it gives me a chance to be creative, and usually generates enough publicity to bring in more business. There are always challenges. In this case, the problem was the myriad pieces of bar stock that would have to be cut, all at odd angles. In previous situations, I'd used a chop saw (messy and noisy) or my portable band saw (lots of clamping, unclamping, and hard to make accu-rate angles). I considered one of the 4x6 band saws that are for sale in every tool catalog, but I don't have room in my shop, and I didn't think that it was the right tool for the job.

Of course, the solution was to build a new saw.

After considerable thought, I came up with the following criteria for the project. It had to cut compound angles in bar stock and tubing with out a lot of fussing and adjusting, it had to be adaptable to various jigs and fixtures that I might create for future jobs, and it had to be cheaper than the 4x6 band saws that I could buy ready made. What I came up with was the Hundred Dollar (almost) Sliding Table Band Saw. It does everything I'd hoped for, and can be built in a long afternoon, or weekend at the most. Best of all, perhaps is the idea that if you don't already have a band saw, you can use this one to build itself.

I used welded construction, but any of the joints could be made by drilling and bolting, with the addition of a few ex-tra braces for rigidity. I used my milling machine to make the slotted holes, but a rat tail file would work as well, if not as fast. Finally, I made use of a plasma cutter where you could get by with a jig saw. All the metal parts came from my scrap bin. Nothing is critical here. Larger or smaller angle iron will work as well, and if you have some thicker sheet metal for the base and table, so much the better. My only expense was for about half a can of spray paint, and oh yes, one brand new portable band saw. Sit down, take a deep breath, and accept the fact that you are going to take a perfectly good, shiny new band saw right out of the box, and tear it apart, throwing a whole bunch of parts in the re-cycling bin. The dizziness will pass, and you will be alright.

What you need: 1 discount priced portable band saw 8 feet of 1 ¼" x 1/8" angle iron; 2 feet 1 ¼" x 1/8" wall square tubing; 2 feet 1" x 1/8" wall square tubing; 5 carriage bolts; 1 ½" x 5/16" NC with nuts and washers;1 3/8" x 1" NC hex head bolt with nut and washer; 1 electrical "handi box"; 1 Single pole, single throw (spst) household switch; 1 cable clamp; 1 wire nut; 1/8” steel plate ----large enough for base

The Hundred Dollar Sliding Table Band Saw

Article and photos by Otto Bacon, a MABA member


These little band saws are available from Harbor Freight, Northern Tool, and other discount outlets. Mine cost $79.00 at this writing, and that seemed a pretty typical price. Get the one speed model, as is cheaper, and you are going to throw the switch away anyway. If you already have a metal cutting saw of some sort, you can get right to the dismantling part, otherwise, use your new saw to cut all the steel parts to size before you dismantle. Two words of caution: wear ear protection, as these little saws really make a lot of noise, and throw the blade away that comes with the saw. Save yourself a lot of frustration by in-stalling a good quality blade. The blade guard serves no purpose that I can determine, so undo the screws and pull it off. Next, back out the two cap screws holding the upper handle. The handle/switch housing is held together with a number of bolts and screws. They all have to come out. Save all the bolts and screws. The handle will come apart in halves, and you can cut the two red wires that go to the motor at the switch. Cut the cord where it goes into the rubber strain relief gizmo on the handle, saving the cord and the rubber gizmo.

Drill a ¼" hole as shown in the picture. Exact location is not critical. This is just to hold the saw in place while you fit the frame around it.

Square up the saw, using shims if needed. The blade lines up pretty well with the edge of the frame, and the casting where you took the switch/ handle assembly off. Use a framing square to eyeball the blade for verticality. Put the longer brace up against the back side of the saw frame, and mark for a ¼" hole. You will find a bolt that holds a roller near the top of the brace.

This bolt will be used to attach the frame to the rear brace. When everything is bolted up, and square, put a couple good tack welds at the base of the brace. Now repeat this process for the short brace. Using ¼" holes will allow for some adjustment, as the mounting bolts are somewhat smaller than ¼".

Use this bolt to mount saw to brace

Temporary moun ng hole

You will need to drill a ½" hole near the bottom of the brace for access to the lower screw. Bolt the small brace in place, and tack weld as before. Now carefully check the cutting edge of the blade for square with the base plate. A framing square is perfect for this. Add some shims if needed, and when it is where you want it, tighten the bolts and weld the braces solid to the base. One more check to make sure that the welds didn't distort the alignment, and you have the saw mounted to the base. Now you will install the box for the switch. Remove two knockouts from one side (top and bottom, leaving the center one in place) and one from the back of the box. Put the cable clamp in one knockout as shown in the pictures. Trim the cord strain relief gizmo (what are these things called?) so that it fits into the cable clamp. Now weld the box to the shorter of the two square braces as shown in the picture. Weld through the hole in the back of the box where you punched out the knockout. The sliding table needs to be as square as possible. I used my plasma cutter for all the cuts, but a metal cutting blade in a jig saw, or even another band saw can be used.


Oversize hole to allow access to screw Completed base plate

The slot for the blade must be centered and square with the edges of the plate. Two passes with the plasma cutter will do the trick. I use a plastic rafter square as a guide for the plasma cutter. The plastic square is the right thickness to hold the cutting nozzle away from the steel being cut, and being non conductive, it doesn't short out the cutting current. Surprisingly, the plastic doesn't melt (much). When the slot has been cut, drill the 3/8" hole as shown, and using this hole as the center point, lay out and cut the curved slot for angle adjustment of the fence. Once again, I used the plasma cutter with a circle guide to make two concentric arcs, 3/16" apart. Allowing for the width of the cut, this left me with a 5/16" slot. The edges were cleaned up with a ¼" carbide rotary file in my die grinder, and all the cut surfaces were polished up a bit with a 120 grit flap wheel. Do not try to clean up plasma cut slots with

a file.

The cutting process leaves a hard surface that will ruin your file. I have the file to prove it. Let's take a minute to talk about plug welds. I use them all the time because they are strong, and if done correctly, virtually invisible. Start with two pieces of steel to be joined. Drill a hole in one piece, place it on top of the other, and weld the two pieces together through the hole. In practice, this involves a slow circular motion following the inside edge of the hole, and spiraling to the center of the hole until the hole is just filled and smooth with the outside surface of the steel. It's a lot like filling a parfait glass with whipped cream. Use a little more current than you would for a filet weld on the same thickness of steel. Make sure that both parts are very clean in the area of the weld. A successful weld should show some melt through on the backside. This is easiest to do with MIG but I've done lots of them with a stick welder. Practice on scraps until you get the hang of it. The frame for the sliding table is assembled with plug welds. Starting with one of the 12" pieces of angle iron, drill four equally spaced 3/8" holes.


Align with one edge of the table, and clamp securely. Starting in the center, plug weld the angle iron to the table top, waiting a few minutes between welds for things to cool to minimize warping. Repeat this pro-cess on the opposite side of the table top, measuring very carefully to assure that the two angle irons are as parallel as possible. The exact distance between the angle irons is not critical. Using a fine flap wheel on your angle grinder, clean up any weld spatter and polish the inside corners of the angle irons. Now add the brace/push plate, cutting it to fit between the other two angle irons and attaching with a couple plug welds.

The fence can be prepared next, by drilling a 3/8" hole in the middle of one of the 12" angle irons. Insert a 1" x 3/8" bolt in the hole in the fence, and then into the hole in the middle of the table. Thread on a nut till snug, and tack weld the nut to the bottom of the table. Turn the assembly over, and mark for the bolt that engages with the curved slot. If you were careful in preparing the slot, you should be able to use a 5/16" carriage bolt. If you drill a 3/8" hole, you will have a little wiggle room, things will work smoother, and with a washer in place, no one will ever know. I rounded the corners of the fence using my belt grind-er. It might save a skinned knuckle some day, but it's up to you. With the table finished, it's time to work on the track frame. Begin by cutting the slotted holes in two of the 12" angle irons.

Using a 3/8" cutter in the milling machine, cut the slots at least half an inch long. This will be your adjustment to get the blade cutting square with the table. It won't hurt to have a little extra room for alignment. Assemble each side and loosely bolt to the base plate. Put the slid-ing table in place, and wiggle, jiggle, and adjust until everything is square, with minimal play in the system. Clamp the cross member securely, and tighten the frame to the base. I've been using my saw for a couple years now, and have made many hundreds of cuts with it. It still cuts straight and square and, except for the noise level, I'm quite pleased. I have made two additions as a result of my experiences. After a few dozen cuts I found that I was cutting the fence in two. I cut a large washer in half, and used it to bridge the gap in the fence. Then I fastened a rubber bumper to the leading edge of the ta-ble so that it hits the fame of the saw just as the blade contacts the fence. Now carefully remove the table from the frame. Weld the cross member in place. If you are timid or just like extra adjustments, you could bolt the cross piece in place. At this point you can cut a few chunks of steel and see how your table lines up with the saw blade. If you have some windage in the cut, loosen the frame from the base, and slide it around until the cut is on the money. Keep in mind that worn blades, among other things, can cause a cut to stray.

Completed Table


table frame ‐ note elongated holes for

adjustment

If your cuts just don't seem to go where they should, try another blade. Now put a few witness marks around the base of the frame so that you can get it back in place, and disassemble the whole machine and give it a nice coat of industrial paint. Put some grease on the sliding parts. The blade guides on these saws are a weak point. I found that they work better if they are reversed (put the bottom one on top, etc). One of them has been replaced with a home made version, and one guide bearing has been replaced with a couple bearings out of an old computer printer. This is low tech machinery. You can fix it.

You have probably already figured out that by removing the fence, and clamping the table in place, you have a vertical bandsaw with a nice big table. Bonus. No extra charge.


On a recent trip to Switzerland we

visited the town of Appenzeller.

Within the town, very close to the

town centre, was this collection of

anvils, vises, and other items in a

private yard next to a house. There

were no other details available but

the collection is quite vast and went

from the side yard and into the back

yard. I think some may find them

interesting.

Jim Munro

Reprinted from Iron Trillium

Fall 2012

Ontario Blacksmiths


Here are a few new methods of tong making from the Pittsburg Area Blacksmiths

December 2013


Reprinted from Pi sburg Area Ar st Blacksmiths

Associa on December 2013


DO YOU KNOW? The first power Hammer? One of Leonardo

Davinci’s inventions circa 1497

Reprinted from FORGE FACTS ~ A Publication of the Rocky Mountain Smiths ~ Summer 2013


Visit us on line

www.newenglandblacksmiths.com

New England Blacksmiths

Bob Menard, ‐ Editor

Ball & Chain Forge

56 Warren Ave #106

Portland, Maine 04103

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