demonstrated at the cvbg annual christmas event · cvbg/george dixon demo we joined the central...

January/February 2002 The Blacksmiths’ Guild of the Potomac The Newsletter 1

Leaf form by George Dixon Photos by Connie Badowski and Bill WojikStory on page 6

Demonstrated at the CVBG annual Christmas event

Dues are due 3 Oleg Bonkovskiy 8 Colonial Toaster 14

Events 4 How-to tips 9 Francis Memorial class 15

FurnaceTown 5 Hot & Cold Roll 11 Walt’s Grill 16

Dixon Demo 6 Japanese knife 12 FurnaceTown Application 20

2 The Newsletter The Blacksmiths’ Guild of the Potomac January/February 2002

The Newsletter is mailed to members six times a year. Initial membership is $30 or three years for $60. Renewals are $20 or three years for $55. Life memberships are $300. Membership applications and renewals may be sent to the treasurer/membership chairman, Ken Zastrow, check payable to BGOP. ABANA chapter newsletters may reprint portions that are not individually copyrighted, so long as credit is given to original source. Any other publication by prior arrangement with president of BGOP. The Blacksmiths’ Guild of the Potomac, Inc, its officers, members, and editorial staff specifically disclaim any responsibility for damages or injuries that occur as a result of the use in any way of any information contained in this newsletter. ©2002 Blacksmiths’ Guild of the Potomac, Inc., and as copyrighted by individual contributors

BGOP MEETINGS Guild meetings are held on the first and third Fridays of each month at 7:30 P.M. at the Gulf Branch Nature Center, 3608 North Military Road, Arlington VA 22207. Meetings are usually held in the Guild’s shop which is located about 50 yards past the Nature Center building on the wooded path. Occasional Friday meetings with a speaker or video are held in the Nature Center auditorium. Call the HOTLINE for updates on meetings and event.

Shop Rules And Etiquette

The Guild shop is available for use by members whenever the Nature Center park is open. Shop is locked, so call Shopmaster or a Board member for access. Follow all safety rules. Record number of visitors on log sheet near door. Please observe the following rules and etiquette: ♦ Bring safety glasses and wear them. Work in a safe

manner at all times. ♦ Clean the shop before you start to work. ♦ Empty firepots and dump ash gate after each use to

minimize corrosion. ♦ Dump ashes in the ash dump outside, at the side of

the shop. ♦ Place tools back in their proper places. ♦ Dress bar ends which you have cut, to be ready for

the next user. ♦ Clean the shop before you leave, and carry out trash

which you create. ♦ Always turn out the lights and lock up when leaving. ♦ Bring your own material for personal projects. Shop

stock is for learning and practice. ♦ No alcoholic beverages on park property.

2001 Board of Directors President Vice-President

*George Anderton (2003) 5325 Ringold Place Springfield VA 22151 703-321-9737

*Chris Worsley (2004) 4203 Javins Drive Alexandria VA 22310 703-960-9030

Treasurer Secretary

*Ken Zastrow (2003) 12800 Hammonton Rd Silver Spring MD 20904 301-622-0897

*Keith Kuck (2004) 5310 Nutting Drive Springfield VA 22151 703-321-8109

*Bill Wojcik (2004) 4116 Kingchase Lane The Plains VA 20198 540-253-5121

Ross Sullivan (2002) 11548 Pine Hill Road King George VA 22485 540-775-2067

Phil Heath (2002) 4600 S Four Mile Run Dr Arlington VA 22204 703-671-3134

Fay LeCompte (2003) 1016A East Main St. Luray VA 22835

Tom Coker (2002) 12611 Bluhill Road Wheaton MD 20906 301-942-8573

Call the HOTLINE at 703-527-0409 for the latest news about Guild events.

*Member of the Executive Committee

Committee Chairmen Building Ross Sullivan 540-775-2067

Claude Moore Park Pat McGuire 703-437-9034

Corporation Fay LeCompte 540-743-1812

Demonstrations Jan Kochansky 301-937-6538

Door Prize Tom Coker 301-942-8573

Hospitality Ed Jackson 410-549-2829

Hotline Tug Tuggle 304-876-0909

Library Steve Crist 703-754-9678

Membership George Anderton 703-321-9737

Newsletter George McConnell 703-620-6454


New Members615 Jim Freely

9424 Mont Joy RoadMarshall VA 20115H [email protected] member

2002

616 Jason StonePO Box 625Solomons MD 20688-0625

2002

617 Kathryn Barnhardt719 N Nelson StArlington VA 22203H 703-276-2672

2002

618 Liz Hall806 Shahraam Ct SEVienna VA 22180H 703-281-6278

2002

Renewals397 Judith Berger 2002

601 John Lanier 2004

477 D A Willard 2002

521 Cheryl MillerABANA member

2004

345 Bruce Lewis 2004

337 Jeff Inman 2002

388 Grif Garwood 2002

454 Roy Ysla 2002

419 Larry Martin 2002

537 Austin Tucker 2002

605 Joe BolandABANA member

2002

169 Charles Gantz 2002

44 Thomas Soles 2002

570 Brandon Sines 2002

Janet Edison 2004422

426 Alan Trickey 2004

569 Alban Drzewianowski 2002

410 Judith Harron-Lord 2002

74 Fred Grant 2002

511 Fred Long 2004

315 John Snyder 2002

600 Dan Hall 2002

478 Ray Antosh 2002

449 Phil Heath 2002

585 Ralph Heath 2002

586 Ken Hadfield 2002

346 Jim Bomba 2004

492 Tim Buckley 2002

508 R. Degenhardt 2002

466 John Elliot 2002

604 Lucien Ferrenbach 2004

188 Glenn Horr 2003

610 David Peters 2002

608 Jay Peters 2002

558 Jeffrey Freeze 2002

584 Susan Fonseca 2002

389 Bob Morris 2003

DUES ARE DUE!

If your mailing label shows a 2001date, it's time to send your renewaldues check to our new treasurer,Ken Zastrow, at 12800 Hammon-ton Road, SilverSpring MD 20904-3523.

Without renewal your subscriptionto this Newsletter will stop withthe next issue.


Chris Worsley created a very nice iron in the hatpiece for the Bill Gichner hammer–in.

Phil Heathdemonstrated makingforge welded pokersat the first meeting ofthe new year.

COMING BGOP EVENTS Jan 18 Phil Heath candelabra demo

Feb 1 Business meeting, video and openforge

Feb 23 Dan Boone’s 6th Annual PastureParty

Mar 16,17 Furnacetown Joint meeting

Apr 20,21 BGOP Spring Fling

Feb 15 Video and open forge

Calling all Guild Cooks!

To celebrate the 10th Annual Spring Fling,

we’ll put out a Guild Cookbookin time for this year’s event,

featuring lots (we hope) of the yummy concoctionsfor which the Guild is noted.

So Please send your recipes for food and/or iron

by the end of February(that’s 2/28/02)

to Nancy Zastrow

e-mail: [email protected] or

12800 Hammonton Road Silver Spring MD 20904-3523


Furnace Town Blacksmith's Guild

Annual Joint Meeting, 2002Demonstrator and Workshop Leader Scott Lankton

March 16 & 17, 2002at the Furnace Town Foundation site, Snow Hill, MD

The Furnace Town Blacksmiths Guild is pleased to host the following ABANA chapters: Blacksmiths’Guild of the Potomac, Central Maryland Guild, Mid-Atlantic Smiths Association, New Jersey Black-smith Association, and Pennsylvania Artist Blacksmith Association.

Scott Lankton's demonstration on Saturday the 16th will focus on the process of making a gate fromthe design and organizational steps, to fabrication of parts, and assembling and finishing the gate. Thedemonstration will include discussion of these steps as well as forging some of the parts. This gate willbe a thank-you to Bill Gichner, who has donated funds and tools for our new educational forge, a me-morial to his daughter, Debbie. (Scott has mentioned that he is really happy to be part of this project.)

Scott will lead the workshop on Sunday, which will be the creation of a gate using the processes dem-onstrated on Saturday. The workshop will be limited to 12 people. He is A multi-faceted and creativeartist-blacksmith who works out of his forge in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

The cost of the demonstration day is $20.00 if your registration is received by 28 February 2002 and is$25.00 if your registration is received after the 28th. The demonstration day includes: coffee anddoughnuts in the morning, all-day demo, and lunch. Iron in the Hat (please bring a iron goodie) and anauction will follow the demo on Saturday. We will have a table of Norm Larson's books for order/sale.Representatives of Keen Welding will be demonstrating. Tailgate sales are encouraged.

The evening on Saturday costs an additional $15.00. Reservation for this supper must be made no laterthan 9 March 2002 as the caterer requires an accurate head count.

The supper will be served buffet style starting at 6 pm. The evening program is to be announced.

The Sunday workshop will cost $25 plus materials per person. Each of the supporting groups: BGCM,BGOP, FTBG, MASA, NJBA, and PABA have 2 slots in the workshop. Because of the limited numberin this workshop, one should contact Ray Noble as soon as possible. After 28 February 2002 a waitinglist will be formed to fill vacant positions.

Send registrations and checks to:Mark Williams, 114 West federal Street, Snow Hill, MD 21863(H) 410-632-0914, (W) 410-651-6431 Email: [email protected] checks out to Furnace Town Blacksmith's Guild

Contact Ray Noble for the Sunday Gate Workshop:(H)410-651-0987, (W)800-220-3015 Email: [email protected] address: 27840 Oriole Road, Princess Anne, MD 21853Call or e-mail Ray as soon as possible so that the workshop list can be completed.


CVBG/George Dixon DemoWe joined the Central Virginia Blacksmith’s Guild on Sat. Dec. 8 at their annualChristmas event. Thanks go to Harold Longest who hosted the group in his shopat Central Garage, VA, as well as John Elliott and Anthony Seniunas who han-dled iron-in-the-hat, while Roger Smith and Eddie Boudreaux handled oystersand chicken and ribs. Meeting attendees included a good number of membersfrom BGOP as well as the Shenandoah guild. A good time was had by all.

The highlight of the meeting was a demonstration by George Dixon. When wearrived, George had already forged a stylized leaf form (right) on one end of a ½”square stock and planned to add a row of spheres on the other end. He started bytapering and rounding the stock, keeping the taper blunt so that there would be adistinct size progression from one ball to the next. He then traced an outline ofthe stock on top of the anvil and divided the length into squares to indicate eachsphere. Once the tracing looked right he transferred the layout to the metal witha silver pencil and indexed each line with a center punch at several points aroundeach circle. Next the dots were connected with a chisel on the treadle hammer,and the cold work was complete. After heating, George returned to the treadle

hammer, this time balancing each incisionon a cold cutter hardy (see photo left) andcutting from the top with a chisel beveledto match the thick wedge of the hardy.George was careful to work the cutsgradually and keep each at the same stage,wedging only once around a ball and thenmoving to the next, as cutting one ball allthe way before moving to the next wouldcreate a thin cross section, vulnerable tovibration from further work. When eachwas cut to depth, the facets were knockedoff by resting each on the sharp edge of ablock and planishing from the top. He

then carefully folded the piece back on itself (photo right), using the vice andvice grips for fear that hammer vibrations might knock the balls off.

The balls were to be sheathed in a Florentine leaf, which George had alreadydrawn on paper and glued to a piece of gauge metal. This was chisel cut and an-nealed to counteract any work-hardening at the edges. Note that cutting with theflat edge of a chisel against the line will upset the edge, since the bevel drives thechisel back in towards the line. George also warned that chiseling distorts thesheet so you need to switch back and forth to opposing sides to counteract thewarp.

Once the leaf was cut George shaped it on a leaf stake then brought the base of itto a “U” shaped cross section to cradle the row of balls made earlier. To formthe sheet of the leaf base tightly around the square stock, he wrapped the U sec-tion (upside down) over the square and squeezed both in the vise, then gentlyknocked the top down until it was parallel to the bar but not touching, openedthe vice and pushed the bar back into the sheet, clamped it back in the vice andknocked it closer, etc, etc, until it was tight enough to secure with a rivet.George told the group how to set a blind rivet with the head inside the stock by

Leaf

Spheres

Folding

Florentine leaf

Photos by Connie Badowski & Bill Wojcik


drilling a hole as wide as and deeper than the head of the rivet, placing the rivet head in the hole andthen pushing material in from all sides to secure the head.

Repoussé – The next lesson was raising an image of the state of Virginia in 1/8” sheet. Again, a paperpattern was glued to the sheet and the outline was done first with sharp butchers and chisels and thenwith wider butchers to compress the material outside the image. The work done on the front of thesheet left an imprint on the back side as well, an important guide later when raising the image. A flat-ter chisel (planisher punch?) was used to further smooth the background material, the piece was heatedand Virginia was pushed out from the back, bringing the thinned section level with the base material onthe front. This was done hot on a block of wood on the treadle hammer, with frequent visual checks ofthe front and the use of lung power to blow smoke away from the work. George warned that repousseshould always be laid out on a sheet larger than your finished piece, since raising will bring the edgesin and shrink the sheet.

George then showed how to put a 2” diamond on the end of a 1-1/2 x ¼ fb(flat bar) by fullering to isolate a square, tapering back from the square, thenknocking the corners in on the edge of the anvil while holding the stock 45°to the face of the anvil. This requires several heats and corrections to keepthe metal flat so you don’t get any shuts. This form serves as a base for agothic finial (see photo right), and looks best with a long and smooth taperto the end of the bar.

More hints from George:Patterns – when drawing symmetrical shapes, draw one side freehand, thentrace that for your second side. Be sure to make copies of your patterns for archive or future use beforeyou glue them to your stock.When you have sharp inside corners in a pattern, cut them as a softer radius and file the angle to shapeonce all hot work is done.–Flattening sheet – can’t be done on a flat surface, as it wants to rebound and your hammer strokeswill only forge the piece thinner and add more warp. Small warps can be fixed over the hardy hole (soyou can push the metal past straight to compensate for the rebound), and larger sections can be flattenedon plywood (again, to push past straight and allow for rebound).–Texturing metal – in an age of machined perfection, our eyes look for texture as a mark of the hand-made, so George textures his sheet before shaping it by hammering scale into the surface. Heatingwith the scale side up every time will also make the scale more pronounced. Finished work metal isgone over with 80 grit sandpaper and a red scotchbrite. Since the passage of every day alters the colorof steel, it’s best to sand all pieces of a large job as you go and use scotchbrite to do the finish sandingon the same day to even out the color just before oiling.–WARNING: – handfinishing & sanding adds about 30% more time to a job.–a shiny clean weld on a textured surface can be disguised by dropping scale on top, heating with atorch and hammering the scale in.–Oil Finish – Fill a 1 pound coffee can with 40% boiled linseed oil and 60% turpentine, then mix withan 8 oz jar of japan drier. Brush with this mixture and let dry (up to several days), then give it threecoats of paste wax. Wax should be applied liberally and buffed out before the next coat. Buffing witha rag leaves lint, whereas a shoe brush does not. Pieces need to be re-waxed once a year.–Jigs should allow enough tolerance to fit a business card between the stock and the jig.–Wrought iron from the past: material found in old bridges is generally merchant grade, and not ashigh quality as double refined, which was folded and welded twice. Triple refined wrought iron addedanother stage of folding and welding and was sold for architectural purposes.

Connie Badowski & Bill Wojcik


UPDATE ON OLEG BONKOVSKIY– Bringing a Ukrainian Smith to Washington and

ABANA 2002

Plans are well under way to bring OlegBonkovskiy to the U.S. to demonstrate at a June1st event in the DC area, and to give a lecture anddemonstration at ABANA 2002 in LaCrosse,Wisconsin.

Professor Bonkovskiy teaches blacksmithing inthe Metal Art department of the Academy of Artin Lviv, Ukraine. He is the best knownblacksmith in the Ukraine. Photos of his workappeared in the Spring 1998 and Fall 2001 issuesof The Anvil's Ring.

We need over $2000 to cover air fare and otherexpenses to bring him here. AlbinDrzewianowski suggested a raffle of some ofBonkovskiy's art work. Jim Bomba, DaveHutchison and the Coker's came up with the ideaof a demo at a local shop. We are pursuing bothproposals.

Professor Bonkovskiy has agreed to providethree items for the raffle: "The Wind","Swallows" and "Dedicated to Blacksmiths."Bev Coker is selling $5 tickets for a drawing tobe held at the June 1 demo.

Brad Silberberg has offered to host the demoat his shop in Silver Spring. Because oflimited space, reservations for the demo mustbe made in advance. Bev Coker will havefurther information.

Ken Zastrow

Swallows

Dedicated to Blacksmiths

The Wind


Cole Dust News Sept/Oct 2001


From September 01 Cole Dust News Ocmulgee Blacksmith Guild


NORTH WEST BLACKSMITH ASSOCIATION


Artist-Blacksmiths’ Association of North America, Inc.PO Box 816, Farmington, GA 30638 USA706-310-1030 tel 706-769-7147 [email protected]; www.abana.orgChapter Liaison Letter

ABANA Chapter Liaison LetterNovember 2001

2002 ABANA CONFERENCE JUNE 5-9, 2002, LA CROSSE, WISCONSIN.Get a load of these family activities.

♦ Amish country tours.♦ Art stained glass creations tour.♦ Down a scenic country road tour.♦ Niagara Cave tour.♦ Demonstrations and lectures on arts and crafts.♦ Museums and galleries.♦ River cruises.♦ And a whole lot more. (See the next Liaison Letter for more family activities.)

Here is a sample of the foreign demonstrators.♦ Smederij and Cees Pronk, Frits and Smederij Kramer from The Netherlands.♦ Alfred Habermann and Hand Neuschmied from Austria.♦ Jos Spanier from Luxembourg.♦ Michael Kaczmar and Alfred Bullermann from Germany.♦ Ousmane Samassekou from Mali.♦ Oleh Bonkovsky from Ukraine.

HERE IS SOME HELP THAT A LOT OF US CAN USE.

Doug Kluender, an Arizona blacksmith, is experienced in the workings of non-profit organiza-tions. He has served with his local United Way in teaching boards of directors of non-profit organiza-tions how they may more efficiently operate. He will meet with the board of any chapter that requestshis services. He charges no fee, just cover his expenses. Further information on this offer is being sentto all chapter presidents. If you think you could use this service, encourage your president and boardmembers to look into the offer.

A NEW SERVICE TO YOU IS ABOUT TO BEGIN.

In the past few ABANA Liaison Letters we have been talking about a new program by which chaptersmay share their successful activities with all chapters, so that we may learn from each other. Afterchecking with every one imaginable (O.K., so I exaggerate a little) it is ready to go. Detailed informa-tion will be sent to chapter presidents in the near future. Talk with your president and board membersand urge them to discuss using this program.

Bob Fredell, ChairmanMember Services Committee3500-45 Ave. So.Minneapolis, Minnesota 545406-2927(612) [email protected]


Name:Address:City:State: Zip/PC:Country:

Type of Membership Newڤ Member

Renewalڤڤ Regular—$45 ڤ Contributing—$100ڤ Student—$35 ڤ Library—$35ڤ Senior (65+) -$40 ڤ Overseas Air —$80ڤ Overseas surface -$60ABANA Chaper Affiliation:Application may also be made at the ABANA

M E M B E R E S H I P A P P L I C A T I O N

BGOP Membership Application and Renewal

Name Home Phone

Address Work Phone

City State Zip

I am a member of ABANA, The Artist Blacksmiths Association of North America ڤ Yes ڤ No

ڤ New Member—$30 or 3 yrs—$60 ڤ Renewal—$20 or 3 yrs—$55 ڤ Life—$300

Make check payable to: BGOP

Mail check and Member application to: Ken Zastrow, 12800 Hammonton Rd, SilverSpring MD 20904

BGOPs hop

NatureCenter

LogCabin

Parking

Gulf Branch Nature Center3608 N. Military Road

Arlington VA 22207703-358-3403

To Lorcum Lane, Rt 29,Spout Run and GeorgeWas hington Parkway

To Chain Bridge, Rt123 and Glebe Rd

MilitaryRoad

E-mail:www url:Phone:Fax:Credit Card Information

ڤ Visaڤ M a s t e r c a r dExpiration Date:

Card#

Submit check, money order (US banks only), or by credit card:

LeeAnn MichellPO Box 816 Phone: 706.310.1030


APPLICATIONPre-registration is encouraged; please use form below and return to:

Mark Williams, 14 Federal Street, Snow Hill, MD 21863

SATURDAY SUNDAYRegistration

(coffee & doughnuts) 8:00 Assign workshop tasks 8:00Demonstration starts 9:00 Work on gate details

Lunch 12:00 Lunch 12:00Memorial forge dedication 12:30 Assemble gate ——–

Demonstration continues 1:00 Finish the gate 4:00Iron in the hat 4:00 ——–

Dinner and program 6:00

JOINT FURNACETOWNMEETING SCHEDULE, 2002

NAME (S)ADDRESSCITYSTATE & ZIPPhone & e-mail

Number attendingSaturday demo X

Demo @$20.00$25.00 after 28 Feb.

Number attendingSaturday dinner X

Dinner @$15.00

Number attendingSunday Workshop X

Workshop @$25.00

TOTAL

demonstrated at the cvbg annual christmas event · cvbg/george dixon demo we joined the central...

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