BALCONES FORGE

Blacksmiths of Central Texas

March 2003

Larry Crawford-President Gerald Pollard-Treasurer

Jerry Achterberg-Vice President Vince Herod-Editor Harvey Wise-Secretary

From the Prez

Whewww! What a demo; and our fourth one at that. They just keep getting better. The fourth annual Balcones Forge winter workshop was a success in every way.

We made an excellent choice in calling on Mr. Jeff Funk for our demonstrator. The man is certainly a creative force and made an excellent presentation of his methods of metalworking.

O.K. Not to turn this into an Academy Awards kind of thing but there are people to be thanked for this event that just took place in my humble little shop in Marble Falls. Gary Hilton, Demonstrator Procurer, for four years of arranging the “talent” to be delivered to us. Treasurer Gerald Pollard, always on the ball; he is like State Farm, your money is in good hands with Gerald. “SEK” team of Harvey & Helen Wise; managing the registrants and their money. John Crouchet provided the sound system for Jeff Funk and also the bleacher transport. Vince Herod; a great performance as auctioneer, hanging out with opera types can be a positive thing. Vice President Jerry Achterberg ; for flyer creation and general moral support when making announcements. Bob Phiel for procuring bleachers. George Craig; for making himself and the granite gravel available. Kamber Sokulsky for celebrity blacksmith chauffeur. Latta Java; caterers for the fajita dinner. And finally; I can’t mention everyone’s name in this space but you know who you are. Thanks to everyone that made our Balcones Forge workshop a success.

The March meeting at Colin McIntyure’s studio on East 6^th Street in Austin will be a joint effort with John “Doc” McFadzen. I am looking forward to seeing what these guys have up their sleeves. I have not gotten word on what the program is so far but the trade item, according to Doc, is a pair of tongs.

The April meeting is still scheduled for Heritage Farms in the Waco area. I’ll keep you informed on that.

The Gallery show for Balcones Forge is still on but we need slides or photos of your work.

Doc McFadzen outlined our scholarship program at the Jeff Funk demo. Anyone who wants to apply for a Balcones Forge scholarship, Doc, Gerald Pollard and Mark Gellat are your contact people.

I am starting a rumor: Tools will be forged for Ironfest auction items in May at an undisclosed location in Marble Falls.

PS. We are looking for an expert blacksmithing demonstrator of the female persuasion. Corrina Menshoff is already promised for a North Texas appearance later this year.

Meeting Info

The team of Doc McFadzen and Colin McIntyre will host the March 29th meeting of Balcones Forge. The location will be Colin’s Lost Pine Metal Works. The address is 2507-B East 6^th Street, Austin, TX 78702. Phone is 512-479-9941. Start time of 9am. What’s on the program? Well, those details have not been released at press time but you know you want to be there. So be there. No map this time but just head east on 6^th from the interstate and you should be fine.

Secretary’s Report

The February meeting of Balcones Forge took place in Marble Falls at the shop of Larry Crawford. It was held on the 22nd and 23rd of Feb. We had a bunch of members that showed up Friday to help clean and set up Larry's shop, get the bleachers and just get everything ready for Sat. and Sun. Stretch, John Panak, John Crouchet, Larry Stevens, Jerry Achterberg, George Craig, Vince Herod, Jim Galish, Gary Hilton, Gerald Pollard, Harvey and Helen Wise to name a few AND to those I missed THANKS for making it on Friday. We couldn't have done it with out you.

Jeffrey Funk from Montana was our featured demonstrator. Larry called the meeting to order at 9:00 am and after several announcements, Jeff started his demo with a brief bio on himself and then got down to business. He worked Saturday till noon and then broke for lunch. After lunch he worked till around 5:30 and we all went to the Lutheran Church Fellowship hall for a catered meal of fajitas. After the meal we had our Iron in the Hat Auction which netted the club over $1600; with Jeff Panak buying the Demo item that Jeff Funk was making and going to complete on

Sunday at the rest of the demo. Jeff worked with various metals such as Wrought Iron, Stainless Steel and Bronze.

After the meal we all watch a slide-show of previous works by Jeff Funk, and then cleaned up the hall. We had 71 people sign in on Sat. morning. Sunday was another fun filled day demos with Jeff, which lasted until after lunch. The meeting concluded after 3 on Sunday and then everybody still there helped clean up.

Membership Info

A membership roster will appear in next month’s newsletter. If you have moved or are perhaps unsure of the info we have on you, get the current info to Gerald and Vince soon. Thanks!

Jeffrey Funk demonstrating his silver solder technique. Photo by Gerald Pollard.

Upcoming Events

FOR SALE - The first of two inline, solid ram, Clay Spencer Treadlehammers HABA owns will be offered for sale at Oldenburg. HABA’s hammers were made along with 28 others during a workshop in March of 2002. The workshop was supervised by Clay. Each of the hammers made at this workshop has its own brass plaque showing Clay’s touch mark, date and serial number. The hammer offered for sale is Number 14.

DATES- Friday, April 4 - Sunday, April 6
PLACE: Highway 237 – Oldenburg. The Hammerfest site in Oldenburg, TX is located at the intersection of highway 237 and Bauer Road. The site is on the north end of town on the East Side of Highway 237. Oldenburg is located about eleven miles north of La Grange and about 5 miles south of Warrenton.

CAMPING - Friday - Sunday:
Camping is available in the field behind the demonstration area. No charge to members, their families and their guests (donations will be collected to help with expenses). Portable toilets, water and electricity are available.
SALES TENTS - Friday - Sunday:
Club Fundraising Table - Handmade items donated by members for sale to the public.
Members Sales - Opportunity to sell your excess tools (anvils, forges, hand tools), supplies, hand made items to other members or to the public. Tools for Sale include - blowers, anvils, hand tools, forges, Clay Spencer treadle hammer.
DEMONSTRATIONS - All day on Saturday.
Please call James Porter (281-337-5384) if you can demo or bring a forge setup.

The Mississippi Forge Council conference will be held on May 23rd, 24^th and 25th in Jackson, Mississippi at the Agriculture and Forestry Museum. The featured demonstrator is Jack Brubaker, he has been a full-time artist-blacksmith since 1970. He has studied extensively in North America and Europe. He has presented a slide lecture on his work at the First World Congress of Artist Blacksmiths in Aachen, Germany. His kinetic sculpture was included in the Friedrichshafen of Forged Sculpture in Germany. More information can be found on his web site, www.jackburbaker.com. The Mississippi Forge Council will sponsor a wine and cheese party on the night of May 23rd where Mr. Brubaker will present his slide lecture, we are inviting interior designers and architects to meet the artists. For more information contact Jim Pigott @ jpigott@jam.rr.com or 601-540-6030. Thank you.

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, 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>.

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. This event features 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!

As you may know, we are trying to put together a gallery showing at the Dougherty Arts Center for 2004, featuring the work of Balcones Forge. In order to secure a commitment and date from the Dougherty Center, we must first submit a couple of dozen photographic slides showing the type of work we intend to exhibit. Our intrepid president, Larry Crawford, has requested slides at the last couple of meetings. Perhaps he is not begging hard enough or loud enough, because so far he has scored a big goose egg! Zero! Nada! Zippo!

I am worried that Larry will feel let down, ignored, and depressed if someone doesn't come up with some slides soon. Could you please help me out on this one? These pictures don't have to be the greatest blacksmithing in the world, although it would be nice if they were at least interesting. If you don't have any slides, or can't take any slides, you can just bring me some of your work at the next meeting. I will take some pretty slides for Larry and get your work back to you. That way, everybody's happy, we get to send in the application, and you get that warm, fuzzy feeling, knowing that you personally helped out good old Larry. Thanks a million.

Jeffrey & Larry Crawford set some lines in the demo piece. Photo by Gerald Pollard.

Balcones Forge April Meeting

The April meeting of Balcones Forge is still on for Heritage Farms just north of Waco. See last month’s newsletter for a good description of the place. See next month’s newsletter for all the details.

Balcones Forge May Meeting

Mark your calendars!!!! The May meeting of Balcones Forge will take place on Saturday May 17. We will once again be making tools for donation to the Ironfest auction.

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

Regretfully we have a change in the IronFest demonstrators. David Court has a serious illness in his family and has cancelled his demonstration at IronFest 2003. Our thoughts are with David and his family.

The new demonstrator William Roan is also a fabulous blacksmith. He has demonstrated at the ABANA conference in Flagstaff and numerous national conferences. A unique craftsman, William creates ironwork for

Hollywood movie sets and is nationally known as a gargoylist. He is a very entertaining person to watch, with strong audience participation and hands-on work. Photos of William Roan's ironwork are on the ironfest.org website.

An updated site map is also on the website. The IronFest organization needs your participation and volunteers are welcomed to get involved. Please contact Jerry Achterberg to help with the National Demonstrators forging areas. Our other needs are for the Public Demonstration, General Maintenance, and Auction. Please contact David W. Wilson <dwwilson@flash.net> to help build the IronFest conference in 2003. It will be fun, and we look forward to seeing you in Grapevine!

Book Report

Decorative and Sculptural Ironwork, Tools, Techniques and Inspiration is yet another great book from Dona Meilach, the power-hitter of blacksmithing authors. This one however is not new. Ms. Meilach wrote this book way back in 1977, decades before her blockbuster picture books, The Contemporary Blacksmith and Architectural Ironwork.

Although this book contains many photographs and drawings, it is not a big, glossy picture book like we are used to seeing from Dona Meilach. Instead, it includes far more text and information, describing smithing techniques and basic procedures in great detail. Charts, tables, and discussions of the metallurgical properties of various steels offer excellent reference material, even for more advanced blacksmiths. For the novice, there is a fine discussion of the various common steels and their usage in smithing.

Basic forging procedures are covered here, along with a good bit of helpful information from such later-to-be-luminaries as "Mr. Damascus" (Daryl Meier), author Jack Andrews, sculptor Christopher Ray, and smiths Frank Turley, Eric Moebius, Steven Bondi, and Albert Paley. Keep in mind that in 1977, these people were not famous. They were mostly student and journeyman blacksmiths, talking to Dona Meilach, who seemed to be the only person around interested in writing about the newly reviving art of blacksmithing. It is also fascinating to see old pictures of a young Albert Paley, working on his famous entry gates for the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian.

Because Ms. Meilach is a fine researcher, as well as author, this book has the added bonus of a wonderful bibliography of books on blacksmithing, historical information, metal technology, guns, swords, and knives, and modern exhibition catalogs, as well as supplier lists and resources for the craftsman.

Decorative and Sculptural Ironwork will give you a clear overview of the history, techniques, and general state of the art of revived modern blacksmithing. This book is a fine old jewel and should be read by every blacksmith, even those of us who mostly just like to look at the pretty pictures!

For Sale

House (3/2) with great shop for sale. 1906 Sharon Lane, Austin, 78703. We need to find the one right family out there who cares about having a great shop and a terrific kitchen, practically downtown Austin. Go by and check out the shop in back, then call Gordon Gorychka to look at the inside of the house. $489,000. Thanks.

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

On The Web

Be sure to check out the Balcones Forge website. On it you will find a fine article on the Jeffrey Funk workshop put together by Scott Little & Chris Smith. Great job fellas!