BALCONES FORGE
Blacksmiths of Central Texas
November 2002

Larry Crawford-President Gerald Pollard-Treasurer
Jerry Achterberg-Vice President Vince Herod-Editor Harvey Wise-Secretary

From the Prez
I would like to thank all the membership for giving me another term as President of the best blacksmith club in Texas (and I aim to keep it that way)! Congrats goes out to my fellow officers, Jerry Achterburg-VP, Harvey Wise-Secretary, and Gerald Pollard-Treasurer for their re-election as well. I am sure I speak for all the officers in saying we are honored.

Special thanks to Vince Herod for hosting the Smithin Magician workshop. It would not have happened if not for Vince & Tom Lupton's hard work. How about that assembly crew; 25 units in less than three hours.

After October's meeting the officers met for a short meeting to discuss a gallery show for Artist-Blacksmiths, scholarship plan for Balcones Forge and to cover details on the upcoming Jeff Funk workshop. The gallery show could be held at Dougherty Art Center in Austin in 2004. We will have to file a petition and submit slides of exhibitor's work. I should have more info at John Horrigan's meeting. The scholarship plan is being investigated and a likely facility would be the ACC Riverside campus because of their extensive metals program.

November takes us to John Horrigan's knife shop in Burnet. I'm looking forward to seeing some of John's spectacular pattern welded steel. Be there or be square.

The Jeff Funk workshop will be here soon and we went over a few details at our past officer's meeting. Only one hitch so far is Jammin House Restaurant has been sold and I have not contacted the new owners to make reservations but I'll figure out something. More on that matter at the next meeting.
Gary Hilton has arranged and been our agent for procuring all our demonstrators, so please next time you see Gary, tell him you appreciate his efforts.

L. C.

Secretary's Report
On Sat. the 26th of Oct we held our regular monthly meeting of Balcones Forge Inc. President Larry Crawford called the meeting to order close to 10:00am. The meeting was held at the Austin Opera Scene shop and hosted by our newsletter Editor Vince Herod. We started the meeting of with several announcements about future events happening with the Blacksmith world. Then Vince talked about the general operation and purpose of the shop and its employees. Larry then talked briefly about an exhibit of Blacksmithing and about the scholarship, which was and will be discussed at future officer and regular meetings.

Larry discussed the coffee situation and had talked to Tom Lupton about it also then the club decided to purchase a big coffee machine that we can use at our big demo so Tom doesn't have to spend all day making a bunch of little pots. This was done after a motion was made by Bob Phiel and seconded by Vince Herod; the motion carried. The cost of the machine is to be near $200:00.

We then proceeded to have officer elections and Larry started of asking if anyone wanted to run or nominate someone for an office. After nominations from the group we all elected the following: Larry Crawford President, Jerry Achtenberg Vice Pres., Harvey Wise Secretary, Gerald Pollard Treasurer, Vince Herod Editor and John Crouchet Librarian.

Due to the workshop we were having at the meeting we went ahead and had our Trade Items and Iron in the Hat auction early, there was 7 trade items all made from a railroad spike there was an assortment of things made. The Iron in the hat auction hat 15 items in though most were small we still netted $84:50 for the kitty.

The workshop started around 11:00 an after about 2 hours we had 25 brand new smith magicians made. Much thanks to all that helped out with our workshop. And especially to Tom Lupton and Vince Herod for all that they did before the work shop getting everything ready for all the rest of us.

We had several pieces of cold roll left over and a piece of the flat plate, which were auctioned off.

Larry was busy handing at copies of the bylaws and the Articles of Incorporation now that we are incorporated. Contact Larry Crawford for a set if you missed this meeting they'll come in handy in the future. After everything was cleaned up we adjourned.

The next meeting will be a week early as it will be on the 23rd of Nov. at John Horrigan's shop in Burnet, Texas. DON'T miss this one because this one is going be interesting. See you all on the 23rd.

Harvey

The Big Demo
Balcones Forge is pleased to welcome Jeffrey Funk to Central Texas for our annual winter extravaganza. Mark your calendars for February 22 and 23, 2003 and make the trip to Marble Falls to enjoy a great weekend of Blacksmithing. More details are coming your way soon.

Meeting Info
Be sure to be in Burnet, Texas at 9am on November 23rd to see our own John Horrigan demonstrating Japanese clay tempering and Powdered Mosaic Damascus. He can put pictures in steel! If anyone has some pure nickel sheet please bring some for John to use or purchase. And yes, there is a map in here somewhere.

Upcoming Events
NOVEMBER HABA MEETING - ROB LYON DEMONSTRATOR
Rob Lyon, Master Blacksmith from Old Sturbridge Village, MA is coming to Houston for a lecture Friday evening November 15th and demonstrations and a workshop Saturday the 16th and more demonstrations Sunday the 17th. The lecture will be held in the church of the Tomball Museum Center, 7:00 PM. The public is invited and there is no charge for the lecture. The Saturday and Sunday demonstrations and workshop Saturday evening will be at Robert Killbuck's shop in Magnolia, TX. The charge for two days of demonstrations and the workshop will be $25.
There will be a reduced charge for Teachers $15 and Students $10. Additional details and directions to the Tomball Museum and Robert Killbuck's shop will be in the October edition of The HABA Letter. See the HABA website for more info or get in touch with Dave Koenig.

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>.

For Sale
Gary Hilton sends this info on hammers and coke.
Bill Givens of Ingram, TX has two power hammers for sale.
1. Meyer 50 lb (1919) $2990 mechanical hammer.
2. Kayne Big Blu 100 lb air hammer (1999) $3500.
A photo of these hammers is on
Bill's website www.givensmetalcrafts.com under used equipment. Bill's contact is info@givensmetalcrafts.com or 830-367-2452.

Also, George Craig still has tons of coke for sale. I bought 1000 lbs a week ago for $125. This is a good buy and I like the coke.

From the NTBA newsletter.
Bill Epps video tapes for sale. The tapes are:
#1 Animal heads.
#2 Tong making
#3 Leaves and flowers.
#4 Birds and bugs.
The price of volumes 1,2 and 4 is $24.95. Volume 3 is $32.95 or a complete set is available at $100.00. Shipping and handling charge is $5.00 per tape but no more than $10 dollars for the complete four-volume set. All major credit cards accepted as well as checks and the ever-popular cash. The tape can be purchased from Bill Epps at 972-557-5778 or from Love of Art Productions, www.teachingtapes.net
1-800-382-5967, pin # 00.

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.

Book Review
Professional Smithing, by Donald Streeter

Donald Streeter was one of the "grand old men" of the American blacksmithing renaissance. A contemporary of Francis Whitaker, Streeter was well known in architectural circles as a specialist in the restoration of fine American Colonial ironwork. Acclaimed for his beautifully detailed and exacting reproductions, he was a major influence on the work of many well known smiths, including Peter Ross, now the head blacksmith of Colonial Williamsburg.

Professional Smithing was published in 1980, near the end of Streeter's blacksmithing career. The photography is in black and white and, while adequate, it is clear that the photographs were used only to illustrate the tools and techniques being discussed. If you are expecting "glamour photography" in the style of Dona Z. Meilach, you will be disappointed. This is not a coffee table book. It is a "how-to" book, aimed at the more advanced blacksmith. It details Streeter's methods of punch and die work and whitesmithing techniques, showing jigs, various slotting tools, forging templates, benders, and a whole array of colonial reproduction projects.

The fine detailing and rather intricate hammer work may seem overwhelming to a beginning blacksmith. If you have ever watched Peter Ross demonstrate with beautiful, machine-like precision, you will know what I mean. Many of the forging instructions are literally detailed down to one thirty-second of an inch. If you can forge in that category, you may feel right at home. Some of these projects could even be considered "beyond challenging". Still, for those of us who aspire to forge more intricate work, this book is a treasure, although it is a treasure you will have to dig for. It will make you set your sights a little higher. As my buddy, Ruthie, says, "Aim at nothing, sure to hit it!"

John Crouchet,
Balcones Forge Librarian

Trade Item
Our host for the month has selected the following for the trade item: something made from a piece of pipe. Get busy folks!