GottMitUns Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 (edited) Thank for everyone on IFI the prayed for us and helped out with info last week! I am happy to report there is a side draft 55 forge up and running in Jinotega Nicaragua!Day one started with our group traveling from Victoria Texas to Managua NicaraguaHomeLoading up in ManaguaDay 2 started with a church service on a coffee hacienda at a church we helped fund last year.Day 3breakfast at 7:00amand unpack what I brought up with me in my luggage.and moving the anvil to its new home. the young man moving the anvil is Nestor and was my student for the weekHere is our basic set up by the middle of the day. by the morning of day 3 we had everything in place and I was ready to start teaching, I had planned on making some simple S hooks to start with until the camp construction manager came to me that morning and explained that they really needed 12 piquetes next week to keep work moving along. A piquetes looks like a hatchet made from a leaf spring that has been cut off about 4" from the shackle eye and then had a wooden handle put into the shackle. They are used to chip a texture into concrete beams before a final coat of concrete is smeared on like stucco. Since we only had one leaf spring with eyes on it we had to bend 10 more. I figured the easiest way to do this was to bend a ruff eye into it over the anvils edge and then drive a drift thru it and true it up so off to town we headed to get a truck axel for a drift. 4 hours later we made it back to camp with a old Toyoda axel, 5 gals of burnt motor oil for quenching and a pint of gear oil for the blower.Since my Spanish and my helper Nestor's English were about on par with each other there was a lot of pointing and grunting going on as I made a drift out of the axel and 3 piquetes then Nestor made the remaining 7. By the end of the day Nestor could make one in about 15 minutesThe next day we heat treated the heads and made wedges for all the handles for them that another team made with a draw knife and then set the wedges.Along the way that day we also made a tool out of a coil spring to bend rebar with, a cold chisel from a coil spring for another project, repointed a 7' chipping bar and 2 jackhammer bits.The last project for the last afternoon was a Fredrick's Cross that I hands off instructed Nestor to make for his mother. I believe he showed it off to worker in the camp and when asked how he made it he would respond it was a blacksmiths secret. I left 4 of the most commonly referred to blacksmith books with them and the address to IFI and instruction to email me with any questions they had and I would try to help out all I could.Thanks to all of you for the info you have shared with me over the last few years, and if anyone wants to go to Nica on a blacksmithing trip let me know! Russell Doerr Edited August 16, 2015 by GottMitUns Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stroupe63 Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 Nice work, It looks like you had a very successful trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwistedCustoms Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 Very cool! Thank You for sharing your experience down there and the wonderful photos. I hope Nestor continues to post as he progresses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 Good job Russell, you do us all proud! It looks like a grand success and a fine lieutenant in Nestor and probably the village's new master blacksmith. A resident blacksmith gives community the independence of being able to supply many of it's own needs. If you can make your own tools you can do anything. That's a terrific gift.Frosty The Lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WL smith Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 Good work man! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianinsa Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 Knowledge, such a small gift to give , such a large gift to receive. You da man! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ausfire Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 I agree with Frosty - you've done blacksmithing proud! What a change you have made to that young man's life - his confidence and self-esteem will be at an all-time high. Great work, mate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 Actually the part I thought was most important is that they were able to make needed tools onsite and pretty fast---important to show the Jefes why they want a forge and folks trained on it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GottMitUns Posted August 17, 2015 Author Share Posted August 17, 2015 Thank you very much guy, but I will give the glory to God. All I did was light a fire and blow on it.Thomas, I had every Jeffe in the camp watching me and Nestor at one point or another during the week. I think when we repointed a jackhammer bitt in front of them is when it really sank in what they could do with a forge. I actually had the top dog holding the bitt over the anvil while I worked on it with a sledge hammer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 Yup it's just gringo loco until they see that it's a tool they can use in their daily work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old South Creations Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 Bravo. I think it's awesome that you were able to immediately make needed tools and that Nestor could pick it up so quickly. Best of luck to Nestor! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 (edited) You did well.Not only did you give them a new tool to work with, you showed them how to repair their own tools as well as make more tools for others. It would be interesting to go back in 6 months or a year and see just how many blacksmiths there are in that area. You planted several seeds that WILL take hold, grow, and produce an abundance of fruit. Someone once said in their signature:Tools do not make the blacksmith, the blacksmith makes the tools. Edited August 20, 2015 by Glenn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JME1149 Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 Sounds like a new T-shirt slogan Glenn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andys MQ Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 hey champ where abouts in nicaragua did this happen?just wondering since im there at the moment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 Outside of Managua from the text. Bet if you go to the coffe house and ask where the crazy gringoes went with the anvil thu can point you in the right direction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GottMitUns Posted September 24, 2015 Author Share Posted September 24, 2015 Andys MQ the camp is called La Fica (the Farm) and is run by Vida Joven ( young Life) the camp is between Matagalpa and Jinotega. If you want some contact info for the guys down there PM me.Where about are you down there? If you have the time or inclination to go dove hunting I can give you a contact for that also. russell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 Russell, if you can find me a sponser and they need a crazy old farrier and teamster i'm game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GottMitUns Posted September 24, 2015 Author Share Posted September 24, 2015 Get your passport updated and brush up on your Española I have been doing mission trips for years and I have never seen someone committed to go who had to drop out because of funding! Somehow the money always shows up. I'll send you some dates when we have them set. Russell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThorsHammer82 Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 Great job. For all we know you may have just started the next world renowned master smith on the start of their journey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andys MQ Posted September 25, 2015 Share Posted September 25, 2015 im down in rivas at the moment. but yes send through the contact details for the new forge. if i am passing by i can drop in and see how they are getting along.im no master smith by any means, but im sure i can encourage them to keep up the good work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GottMitUns Posted September 27, 2015 Author Share Posted September 27, 2015 ANdy PM sent.Russell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andys MQ Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 cheers mate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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