From the Prez
Thanks
to everyone who came out to Gerald Pollard’s for the January meeting on such
a “raw” January day. It did
not seem to affect the attendance. Thanks
to all who help put together the meeting and thanks to Gerald for hosting and
setting up the program.
In
our announcements & business segment the main topic of discussion was our
Jeffery Funk demo on February 22nd and 23rd and all that
entails, which is quite a number of things.
There is much phone calling and e-mailing between the “support
group” for this event. This is
our fourth year to do the Winter Hammer-In and they have all been a success.
The demonstrators have all been top-notch and presented much valuable
information to our membership. This
year will be no different. Jeffrey
Funk is a great demonstrator and has been doing “stellar” work for over 20
years. This is a “be there or
be square” event. Please
don’t miss it.
Did
I mention that you get all this wonderful talent and information at the
Balcones Forge Winter Hammer-In at a very reasonable rate?
Balcones Forge is able to do this only with the help of our membership
donating auction items for the Saturday evening auction.
So please, I am asking you all to bring some articles for this auction.
Help us out with some of our operating costs.
We are not picky, fine art to railroad spikes, we will take it.
Our
drive to get the Dougherty Arts Center of a 2004 gallery show is progressing.
If you have samples of your work in photo or slide form, please get
them to me. I need to submit a
sampling of our club’s talent with an application for the gallery.
Reach me at: 830-693-1391.
We
have a scholarship committee on the job to explore our options to award
metalworking scholarships to deserving individuals in our membership.
At present Gerald Pollard, Doc McFadzen & Mark Gelatt make up our
official scholarship committee.
I
am looking forward to the Balcones Forge Winter Hammer-In 2003 and to all the
old and new faces I’ll be seeing. Besides
being an enlightening and educational event, it is quite a social event. How could it not be with 80 plus people on bleachers in a two
thousand square foot shop? I’m
excited and hope to see you all here in Marble Falls.
Your
President,
Larry
Crawford.
PS.
Saturday evening meal will be at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church.
Fajitas with all the trimmings (vegetarian fajitas will be available as
well) ice tea and coffee for $10.50.
Don’t
forget to bring those auction items!
Meeting Info
Just a
few late breaking details! A map
is on the back page of this very edition.
HOWEVER for those of you who have been to Larry’s shop before there
are a few changes. The car
dealership to look for now is Sue Harton Chevy and the church in front of
Larry’s now belongs to a Baptist (no longer Jehovah’s Witness)
congregation. The flyer has the
rest of the details. Please be on
time and get signed in right away. You
must pay the membership fee along with e registration fee due to insurance.
And, if I can make one little suggestion, bring something soft to sit
on. Bleachers can get a little
tough.
Jeffery
Funk Demo
Marble Falls - February 22 - 23, 2003
Balcones Forge is proud to bring Jeffery Funk to Marble Falls for a
demonstration in February 2003. Here
is a note from Jeffery that will give you a heads-up on the weekend.
I was born in Wilmington Delaware in 1955, and lived there until age 17, at
which time I began various educational pursuits and travels, eventually ending
up in Montana in 1976 to stay for good. My interest in metalwork began
as a youth, and after learning to weld and studying bronze casting in college,
I took to forge work. However, at that time, there were few
opportunities for formal study, and I pretty much just set up shop and read
what books I could find in 1977. Simple living and a passion for
learning allowed me to get by on my work as I continued to get deeper into
forge work.
From the beginning, I produced both architectural and sculptural work with an
emphasis on iron, but also using non-ferrous metals and stone. I earned
my living since 1977 with this work, and guess I'll continue as long as my
body holds up. Today my work consists of about half architectural
metalwork (gates and hardware), and half public sculpture.
On Saturday I would like to cover
the basics of forging and joining mixed metals. I will work with iron,
bronze, and stainless steel, and discuss their similarities and differences in
forging, welding, joining, and finishing.
On Sunday, I could do a variety of things; perhaps a hammer if folks are
interested. I also am making several different types of West African
bells. And it is always nice to leave things a bit open in case of a
major
inspiration between now and February.
Jeffrey Funk
Larry
Crawford addresses the crowd at January’s meeting.
Photo by Gerald Pollard.
Upcoming Events
THE
FEBRUARY 15 HABA MEETING
The February HABA Meeting will be held at Tudor Forge in Magnolia, TX. The start time for the meeting will be 9:00. Dave Koenig recently completed four sets of gate hardware. There were a total of 12 angle hinges, two bolts, two Suffolk latches and two "U shaped flip latches". The February meeting demonstration will focus on making a one piece pintle and an angle hinge that requires a "T" weld. If time permits, he will also demonstrate the Suffolk latch handle from one quarter inch by one inch flat bar.
What
to Bring:
o
Safety Glasses with side shields. They are required.
o
A forge and related tools if you have them.
o
Gloves and hearing protection suggested.
o
A sack lunch unless you go to town for lunch.
Directions
to Tudor Forge:
Take
249 NW from Houston. Travel
through the towns of Tomball, Decker Prairie and Pinehurst.
At Pinehurst 249 changes to 1774.
Stay on 1774. About three
miles ahead on 1774 look for a Texaco station on the west side of the road.
One half mile past the Shell station, turn left or west on Tudor Way.
There is a small white realtor office on the corner.
You will find the forge about a mile down the road.
From
the intersection of 1488 and 1774 in Magnolia, go south on 1774 about4 miles.
Look for Tudor Way just after the Country Jamboree building.
If you see the Shell station you went too far.
B.O.B.
MARCH 8 LAFAYETTE, LA -
JEFF
MOHR DEMONSTRATOR
Louisiana
Metalsmiths' Association presents the 9th Annual Banging On the Bayou
featuring JEFF MOHR who will demonstrate the forging of fireplace tools. BOB is our annual fundraiser and will be held Saturday, March
8, at Beaver Park in Lafayette, LA. The
fee is $25 for members and $35 for non-members. There will be additional demonstrations by LAMA members
forging copper and aluminum. Broom
tying and design basics will also be taught.
Forges will be set up and someone will be on hand to assist getting you
started at forging. LAMA members
made a great toolbox filled with handmade blacksmithing tools that will be
raffled off. An auction of iron
art and other goodies will be held and is open to the public. For more Information check the LAMA web site,
http://lametalsmiths.org/news/
or
call
Jerry Baker 318-232-7985.
THE
MARCH 22 HABA MEETING
NOTE:
THE MARCH HABA MEETING WILL BE ON THE FOURTH SATURDAY OF THE
MONTH
AND NOT THE THIRD!
The
March HABA meeting will be a welding workshop for those who never had a chance
to weld and an opportunity for experienced welders to learn about the latest
welding technology. Lincoln
Electric is located in Suite 585, 770 Bradfield, Houston, 77060.
This
located in the NW quadrant of intersection of Beltway 8 and Hardy.
Lincoln's
phone number is 281-847-9444 and our hosts are Tom Angelino, Manager and Dan
Hernandez Assistant Manager. The
schedule looks like this:
o
08:00: Sign in, donuts and
coffee.
o
08:30: The first classroom session starts with up to thirty people.
o
Part of the agenda will be a plasma cutter demo and hands on with the cutter.
o
Welding and forging begin after the first class if there are less than thirty
people.
o
Begin a second classroom session if needed.
o
12:00: Break for lunch. Bring
your own lunch or visit a local eating establishment.
o
Continue welding and forging after lunch.
o
4:30: Wrap up
Bring
your hood and gloves if you have them. There will some hoods and gloves
available for folks who do not have them.
Bring your safety glasses with side shields and wear a long sleeve
shirt, long pants and work shoes. Please
Note: NO SNEAKERS, SANDALS OR ANY TYPE OF OPEN SHOES WILL BE ALLOWED.
IronFest
will be May 29 - June 1, 2003, at the Grapevine Heritage Center. The 2003
conference will continue the successful format, including the open to the
public, fabulous tailgate area and free demonstrations. A separate fee area
will present an incredible group of demonstrators including Toby Hickman,
Susan Hutchinson, David Court and Mark Pearce. More information about these
blacksmiths including photos of their ironwork and biographies are available
at ironfest.org. Auctioneer, David Cornett will entertain the audience at the
Saturday night auction in the Heritage Center Farmers Market
Building.
Please contact the Ironfest Registrar to be included on the mail list
and receive a registration brochure. Contact Verl Underwood, IronFest
Registrar, 613 N. Bailey, Fort Worth Texas 76107 <vaunder@aol.com>.
CanIron
IV
McMaster
University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
July
10-13, 2003
www.caniron.com
A
biennial exposition involving Blacksmiths, Coppersmiths, Silversmiths,
Farriers and all other Metalworking professionals and artists, from across
Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. Demonstrations, seminars,
art gallery, auction and sales.
Get Your Pics to Tom
For
those of you who have asked Tom Lupton to turn your pictures to slides for use
in the Gallery Exhibit, Tom says “sooner is better than later”.
Get the hint!
An
example of the fine work at Michael Hall’s foundry.
Photo by Gerald Pollard.
March Meeting
Rumor
has it that Doc McFadzen is working on the March meeting.
Details are not available at press time but you know it will be a fun
one. Be sure and be nice to Doc.
Remember he is on the scholarship committee.
Balcones Forge April Meeting
From Larry Stevens:
It
was announced at the 25 January get-together that the April meeting will be
held at the Homestead Heritage Crafts Village.
I told my wife about it and, although she usually does not care for my
travels, she informed me that I was taking her to this one.
According
to the "2002 Texas State Travel Guide": Homestead Heritage Crafts
Village is a 350 acre working
homestead. Craftsmen create
handmade furniture, wrought iron pieces, pottery, and other items.
At Brazos de Dios, visitors will find craft workshops at the Potter's
House, the Heritage Forge Blacksmith Shop, and Homestead Heritage Furniture
and Gift shop.
Directions:
From Interstate 35, take exit 343 West on FM 308 (a very short distance).
Turn North on FM933, then West onto Halbert Lane.
For information, call 254-829-2060.
We
visited there about three years ago to observe the Herb Garden.
The modern buildings are laid out on each side of a wooded ravine with
walkways between, displaying some interesting wood craft work.
The ceramic, woodcraft, and blacksmith shops each appeared to employ
less than ten persons, each of whom seemed eager to share their knowledge.
At
the very large Woodworking Shop, they were working on mesquite furniture,
commissioned for an estate. This
native wood takes a beautiful finish. I
was impressed, for normally a piece of mesquite longer than a foot without
flaws is unusual. No problem;
after shaping the piece, they simply sandblast the flaw and fill with clear
epoxy. Then they reshape and proceed as if it were a choice
exotic wood from the tropics.
The
Blacksmith Shop was in a large modern building with a central forge.
It was very well equipped for hand forging.
I do not recall an excess of power tools.
What did stand out was there was no junk in the corners.
These smiths must have either been very good in that everything turned
out as planned, or the failures were disposed of in the local gift store as
art.
Prices
in the gift shop appeared to be reasonable, without the usual art dealer's
markup. As for "I Survived
the Texas Flood" T-shirts or Lone Star emblems made in Taiwan, forget it!
These are not those type of folks.
They
sell a delicious homemade vanilla ice cream cone.
After two or three taste tests, I still could not determine if it is
better than Blue Bell. With your
help, maybe we can make this decision in April.
It would be a tragedy to have to conduct repeat testing again the next
year.
Larry
Stevens
P.S.
Brazos de Dios is about a two hour drive from Marble Falls.
Safety First
It has
been noted that many folks are not bringing safety glasses to wear while
watching the demonstrations. This
is NOT an option. You will be
asked to move away from the demonstration if you are not wearing proper eye
protection.
Ironfest Update
This
from David Wilson,
Tim
Ryan will be our auctioneer. (David Cornett was previously arranged but is
unavailable, so Tim will be returning to entertain us)
Jerry
Achterberg <treefarm@swbell.net>
will be coordinator of the National Demonstrators forging areas. Contact Jerry
if you would like to assist him in this area.
John
Crouchet will demonstrate fly press techinques during the free workshop day,
Thursday, May 29. Fly Press will be provided by Old World Anvils. Other
demonstrators are needed to forge during Thursday workshop and may contact
David W. Wilson <dwwilson@flash.net>
to volunteer.
Public
demonstrations led by Chuck Stone <<bak2basx@swbell.net>> will again be located near the Main Street area.
They will be primarily on Saturday. Each public demo is scheduled to be
approximately 30 minutes to 1 hour. Contact Chuck to participate. Seating and a tent(s) will be provided for the demonstrators
and audience.
Wish
list - we will provide (rental if necessary) a fork lift to unload heavy
equipment on Thursday and Sunday. A loan of a forklift would be greatly
appreciated. Also a golf cart for convenient transportation at the Heritage
Center would be a big help.
For Sale
From
the HABA newsletter.
COAL
FOR SALE
Attached
is an ad from Doug Johnson, a mining engineer, who is selling Sewell coal
(pronounced 'sool', like "cool). Sewell
is an outstanding forging/coking coal with almost no clinkers at day's end. Here's
your chance to get premium forging coal in small quantities.
50# containers shipped via UPS. Price is $10 plus shipping.
Sewell
Bituminous
Coal, 1" screen size, 15,000 BTU, <2% Ash, < 0.8% sulfur.
Contact
Doug Johnson, Route 2 Box 53, Summersville, WV 26651 or
doujoh03@yahoo.com.
