BALCONES FORGE Blacksmiths of Central Texas November 2003

Larry Crawford, President Harvey Wise, Secretary Jerry Achterburg, Vice President Vince Herod, Editor Gerald Pollard, Treasurer

From the Prez:

 I hope this newsletter finds you all well, busy and productive as we enjoy this lovely Fall weather. Yes Fall; that means we are hurtling towards the holiday season which means you need to get out to Santa's forge and make gifts for all the good little boys & girls.

This past October's meeting at John Crouchet's "El Rancho Grande" was most enjoyable with a scenic view, fold forming demo by John, good food and a crack bleacher assembly crew. Thanks to John & Carolyn Crouchet and Ruth Carter for putting together a wonderful meeting.

With our new bleachers we will be much more ready for our winter hammer-in with Lorilie Simms in February; a not to be missed event.

I have received notice from ABANA that if we sign up ten new members to ABANA by March 4, 2004, we will receive a free registration to the 2004 ABANA Conference in Richmond, Kentucky. This registration can be either awarded or auctioned off by Balcones Forge.

November's meeting will go south to San Antonio to the forge of George Schroeder. The word is out that George is into big iron forging so it should be an interesting event.

If you are not already an ABANA member we can sign you up and help us get our gift registration for the ABANA conference.

Thanks, L. C.

Meeting Info:

 Our Balcones Forge Vice President Jerry Achterburg has arranged for the November meeting at Metalmorphosis in San Antonio. That is the shop run by George Schroeder where the small hammer is a two hundred pounder. George will do something on the 1000 and 1500 pound steam (now air) hammers and some with his big press. I'm sure it will be impressive, whatever it is.

THE MEETING IS ON NOVEMBER 22nd! The start time is 9:30am. The address is 257 W. Turbo, San Antonio, TX 78216.

Here is a map.

 ELECTIONS ARE THIS MONTH!

The Trade Item is a leaf.

George will also let us play with the 200 pound air hammer if anyone has something they want try. He has plenty of scrap steel for us to play with.

The 1000 pounder is for sale for $2500, but be aware; it takes a 50 H.P. compressor to run.

Secretary Report:

 The regular monthly meeting of Balcones Forge was held on Sat. the 25th of October at the scenic shop of John Crouchet east of Marble Falls, Texas. President Larry Crawford called the meeting to order around 9:00 am. After some discussion about our library, the big Winter Demo with Loreli Sims, insurance and scholarship forms; we got down to real business.

Larry told a touching story about Jeff "Stretch " Panak who passed away on October 13, 2003. We held a Memorial service of our own and honored the life of Stretch with every member present placing a hammer blow to the top of John's anvil with a remaining member hammering the last final blows (until the anvil had rung 42 times, Ed).

The meeting was then turned over to John and he put on a real interesting demo on Fold Forming metal. He worked in mainly Copper for his demo for speed but said everything he did could be done in mild steel.

After the demo we had our Trade Item exchange. Let me say this had to be the best turn out and the best assortment of hooks seen anywhere in the world as we had the largest turn out that we have had in some time, we had 18 different hooks made and all were excellent. After the Trade Item we held our Iron in the Hat Auction and had a real good day at that also as we took in $185.50.

We then broke for lunch that was put on by John and Carolyn Crouchet that consisted of homemade chili and Veggie soup along with Cobblers cooked over a open fire by John's brother Charlie and dessert brought by Helen Wise and others.

After lunch we got all the parts out to the Bleachers that we bought and everyone assembled them which really didn't take as long as we thought it would as everyone brought more than enough tools to work with. They are now ready to be used at our big Demo. Thanks to Everyone.

We had 33 members sign in. At the November meeting we will have our election of Board members that make up our Officers. So if anyone wants to run for an office they need to let us know who they are. If you want to nominate someone that's willing you can at the meeting. Also, membership dues are due in Jan. 2004. The next meeting will be held in San Antonio at George Schroeder's shop on the 22nd of November. The Trade Item is a leaf.

Safe traveling and we will see you all there.

Harvey

Hammer Fest Review:   My thanks to JohnCrouchet for this review and my apologies for not running it sooner, Ed.

Corrina Mensoff Brings a Different Perspective to Hammerfest 2003

Corrina Mensoff livened up the annual Hammerfest weekend with a fresh perspective and a handful of non-traditional techniques. Corrina's background in fine arts and sculpture shows through in her use of sheet metal forgings to provide visual mass for her works. Although she has worked with Nol Putnam and a number of other "traditional" blacksmiths, Corrina often finds her blacksmithing solutions in different and original areas.

The two dozen assembled blacksmiths at the demonstration were treated to a fine display of fold forming techniques in ferrous and non-ferrous metals. These techniques result in unusual three-dimensional forms, which are formed quickly and with relative ease. Corrina uses the resulting forms, in brass, copper, silicone bronze, and iron, in her artwork and her forgings.

Corrina displayed talent at the anvil and a powerful hammer stroke as she proceeded through a succession of more traditional forgings while explaining the importance of terminations and connections in blacksmithing. By night, she put on an entertaining slide show of wacky sculptures and impressive ironwork, including the step by step process of building her well-known Sun/Moon gates for the Atlanta Botanical Gardens.

Hammerfest is an annual event, sponsored by the North Texas Blacksmiths Association and held at the Sid Richardson Scout Ranch about 60 miles west of Fort Worth on the shores of Runaway Bay. The site is remote, quiet, and beautiful and Hammerfest always seems to coincide with the first break from the stifling Texas summer heat.

We would like to thank David Wilson, Lud Pietz, Tom Essary, and the other members of NTBA for a fine show and a memorable weekend.

John Crouchet

Book Report:

Alfred Habermann, Blacksmith and Designer, By Peter Elgab

You may have seen Alfred Habermann. At ABANA conferences, he is the big, bearded German blacksmith who usually directs the forging of very large, "modern-art-looking" pieces at the European tents. Other smiths treat Professor Habermann like a blacksmithing god. That's because he is one.

Habermann's "sharpened view for the simple things" has influenced our entire generation of blacksmiths, even those of us who do not know his name. A traditionally trained European smith, Habermann refused to abide by the restrictions of traditional designs and instead went on to create an entire body of work that uses traditional smithing techniques to build completely new forms. He is the modern master of freehand design. When you see iron with heavy textures and spikes or flares projecting off into space, that is the influence of Habermann. When you see the plasticity of big iron worked to its maximum under the powerhammer, that, once again, is Habermann. You may not know who he is, but you will recognize "that look" when you see his work.

This book about Alfred Habermann is mainly a picture book. The first few pages detail, in both German and English, a bit of the history and philosophy of his works, but, for the most part, this book is about showing the work itself. Fortunately, his work is well documented and there are dozens of excellent black and white photographs of his major works. An additional treat is the occasional inclusion of Habermann's original drawings for the work.

Read this book for the perspective it will give you on "modern art" in blacksmithing and next time you are forging on the big hammer, you might recognize where those crazy ideas come from!

John Crouchet, Balcones Forge Librarian

Coming to Marble Falls February 28 and 29th Lorelei Sims !

Balcones Forge continues its tradition of bringing you the greatest blacksmiths in America!

Our special guest this February (2004) will be Lorelei Sims, a master at forging the elements of nature. Some of you may have seen Lorelei as a very popular featured demonstrator at the ABANA Conference in Flagstaff. A versatile and fearless blacksmith, she is the owner and resident smith at Five Points Blacksmith Shop in Charleston, Illinois, where she works on everything "from railings to railroad cars".

Lorelei has recently forged a series of public art commissions dedicated to indigenous plants of the Midwest. She will be showing us some of her magic at forging botanical forms in iron.

The descendent of many generations of Danish coppersmiths, Lorelei brings a special inspiration and touch to her work, which is evident in the beautiful and very intricate work she forges. For an advance look at some of Lorelei's commissions, check out her website at www.blacksmithchic.com And be sure to mark your calendars for this exciting demo, brought to you by Balcones Forge !

Photo from her website.