Ric Furrer

It was a Japanese style bellows Thomas....though one can make the point that the difference is mute in the end. That was a good time at Quad-State that year...or at least I had fun. I have forged with the personal box style as well as the early Viking style..both are smaller in volume that the American version often turned into coffee tables these days. I think what you need to decide is what you are trying to accomplish with your bellows and go from there. If you are after a certain style or time period then you need that particular thing. All of them make air and all are useful and I am not sure which one my kids prefer. I have seen Japanese smiths who have an electric blower tucked into the end of the box bellows....for when tourists are not around. Ric

Who are you? Ric

So, Did they upset the billet and then draw it again out to guarantee a solid center? The upsetting I have seen involves then drawing rings or reworking the billet in the other axis. They sure went through a bit of energy doing that operation...has to be a reason. Ric

http://www.cotronics.com/catalog/ The salesman sent me this listing for prices. Costly to some degree, but if it holds up.....may be good for the interior several inches of a melting furnace or high temp welding forge backed up with a blanket insulation. Ric

I thought the average cast temp for bronze was around 2100F Has anyone found out the costs for this Rescor 760? Ric

October 10th 2012 NOVA "Secrets of the the Viking Sword" Documentary 9PM/8Central some photos here: http://www.doorcount...s.com/NOVA.html In the Summer and Fall of last year I had the pleasure to be involved in the production of a TV documentary program focussed on the Viking Sword. The program was produced for NOVA (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/) though the work of National Geographic and Pangloss Films (http://www.panglossfilms.com/). In October of 2011 Pangloss Films came to my shop and documented the making of a special sword based on the research of Dr. Alan William's of "The Wallace Collection" in London (http://www.wallacecollection.org/). Several years ago Dr. William's began a study of Ulfberht inlayed sword blades and discovered that the blade which carried a signature of a certain type appeared to have no slag. His work can be seen in several articles and his new book "The Sword and the Crucible" ISBN 9789004227835. I had the pleasure of spending a few weeks with Dr. Alan Williams in North India back in 2007 and can tell you he is an extremely insightful archeo-metallurgist. The program will discuss the importance of Dr. Williams' find, a particular blade housed at the National Museum of Denmark (http://natmus.dk/) as well as illustrate the manufacture and larger context of these cultural artifacts (My bit). We did the work in a charcoal forge with leather bellows on a stake anvil....more or less. Some of the smelting processes of manufacture are based on the research of Dr. Ann Feuerbach , currently at Hofstra University, and I await her book on the subject which she is currently authoring. For my part I enlisted a bellows and hammer man in the form of Kevin Cashen of Matherton Forge in Michigan (http://www.cashenblades.com/). Kevin and I have been friends for many years and in addition to being a deep well regarding European blades and a talented craftsman...I simply enjoy him being around. Kevin was a huge help to me for the film shoot as it is always a good thing to have someone around with his skills and depth of knowledge, but he preferred to be a bit more off camera than on. Thank you Kevin! Following the filming Kevin and I went to Arms and Armor in Minneapolis (http://www.armor.com/ ) and saw Chris Poor and Craig Jonson and were given a very good tour and handling session of the Oakeshott Collection.http://www.oakeshott.org/ In this project I was part of a greater whole and I believe this may be a defining watershed for the public to see what is possible by modern smiths. Peter Yost of Pangloss Films has produced may award winning features for TV and I look forward to seeing this program he has crafted. As to the sword I made? You will have to wait till the premier October 10th to see it. I will say it is the first of its kind in 1,000 years. Yours, Richard Furrer www.doorcountyforgeworks.com

There is a phrase out there "They went at it Hammer and Tong"...I can't quite picture fighting with a hammer and tongs, but I'm sure an unbearable pinch would be followed by blissful silence for the looser. Joshua, I am sorry to hear that not all your classmates are compassionate about you hobby/activity. It gets better. Most smiths are solitary creatures and rather centered in the universe...what others think often matters very little. The only grief I get now is when the "art" type come around...you see we do not do the "quiet arts" of painting or clay or glass and much of our work requires more time and noise and dirt than most wish to entertain. Be happy you found blacksmithing so young....your skills will grow with you. In the Western US the cowboy has the myth of the being the tough man and yet when the loggers came to town they would clear out the saloons....it seems that axe work was more muscle building than horse riding. There is a lesson in there somewhere. I'll leave you with this: You bloodied that other boy...he may not be so fast to forget that. The next time he may not be keen on a fair fight either. Be polite, but vigilant. Ric

I'd like to change my above list. The person I would like best to apprentice with would be myself 18 years ago ...back when I knew everything. And additions: Peter Ross Howard Clark Brent Kington Ric

I got the same three times a year and now I am on an annual tax schedule....they send a large bill to get your attention..nothing more. Ric

in no particular order. Nol Putnam Daryl Meier Tom Joyce Doug Wilson Toby Hickman -I would like to work with Tom Ryan (Koenig Iron)..I worked with him for six months in Florida a decade ago...deep well, wide experience and young enough to do the grunt work as well. On a side note If I had the chance to do any apprenticeship program I would push to be the shop assistant at one of the Craft/Art schools that have a metal forging program.....such at the New England School of Metalworking. The good smiths rotate through..you get to watch and have access to the shop after hours. Ric

Sounds wonderful. I hope it will show on this side of the Pond at some point. There was a show which had the blacksmith Tom Joyce in it here in the US...called "Craft in America". It sounds similar to what you are describing. Ric

Well done Owen and Mick and Eli..... Owen, I think a set of tools from the bloom would be a very good proper project. I plan on doing that with Michael Pikula later this year with ore we will gather from the shores of Lake Superior in Northern Wisconsin. Ric

Do you have a chem report on the Green Bay coal?..any info on its source? I have heard of a few who have tried it, but none that said it was good. What is its sulphur level? Ric

Very dramatic photos...I do like black and white for iron. Suggestion....if you are splitting the 5/8 square could you cut in the stock at a severe angle to where it is still 5/8 on one side and then down to the split....leaving the 5/8 for the rivet on one element and then doing the same on the other side (but leaving the parent stock thick for the other rivet) thus having both rivets from the parent stock...no need for forging to 1/2" or any other issues....I did not explain that well. Think about the stock split....now take a 2" length of the 5/8 and set it over your drifted pass through as if it were of the same stock....measure that and try one for fit. Sorry Rory...I don't have the words to describe what I am thinking and you have a solution that looks quite stunning... Ric

"I also understand that some would claim that the sword is "far too complex" for "that kind of analysis" (i.e., an engineering and physics analysis) because there are "far too many variables." Quite frankly, I think that idea is rubbish. Engineers and Physicists have characterized and understood and built systems far more complex than the sword." Very true, but those far more complex systems have far more money paid to those who did the study. It appears you are trying to work out a system of your own...good for you. My question...have you measured ten originals of any single time period or culture? Yes they are hand made, but I think you would be rather surprised with the results....more commonalities than differences. Museums are not likely to let you put anything to a blade but your hands..many do not like you taking measurements with plastic calipers. I suggest you find a collector that is sympathetic. As to flex...it is almost completely independent of heat treatment and related to cross-section only. Take two bars of store bought W1....heat treat one and then lock them both in a vise..they will bend the same under the same load...but the annealed one will take a set sooner. As Kevin Cashen says "if you want it flexible then make it thin" I second Peter Johnson...quite the learned guy when it comes to what you are researching....he should be on your list of experts to contact. Ric

I am developing a love hate relationship with titanium of late. Randy, It may be worth a bit of time to get some known alloys from Ebay and compare that to the stuff you have access to as scrap. I have found CP to be rather forgiving at the anvil. Some alloys are very difficulty to forge...unless you need the strength (or can get them cheap) I see little use for them over CP and 6AL-4V alloy. Ric

Great ones? In no particular order Don Fogg..Maine Louie Mills..Michigan Howard Clark..Iowa Vince Evans..Hawaii Patrick Barta..Czech Republic Kevin Cashen..Michigan Peter Johnson..Sweden to name a few there are a good number of folk who are doing very fine work and will be masters in due time. I tend to lump quality of person in with quality of product. The above are honest about what and how they do their craft. Production blades...I'd say the folks at Arms & Armor in Minneapolis (they also formed the Oakeshott Institute). As for "best sword that can be made"..there is no such animal...never was and never will be. Excalibur is a myth..hard to make/own a myth...though there are many who will happily sell you one. If they say they can..then they are lying...Show me a liar and I'll show you a thief. Ric

Marek, I do not know if they are hiring, but you may contact Matt here: http://www.lesforgesdemontreal.org/indexEN.html Ric

I always liked this piece of work from Don Fogg: http://www.dfoggknives.com/Oldbone.htm He cleaned it all up and then textured...so it was well planned. Ric

I did a demo in Washington DC and one of the most asked questions was "Is that a real fire?". Michael, If they can not recognize fire how can you theorize how hand work is viewed? I wish I had someone following me around to make my work look as good as John's work in those two video. Ric

well it was about 8 years ago..so..less costly I think. The smith said he wished he had another pound to forge as he spent the time with the first worrying about it going wrong and not enjoying himself. I wonder if Hoover and Strong or Fort Knox would let me set up a forge/hammer for a few days.....they could get it all back after...I just want to play. I can picture five pound fan-like gold leaves hanging off the induction units there. Ric

Ciladog, A little nerves heightens the mind.... I would assume that you could now make three of them three different ways in that same three hour timeframe. With one-off work it is often an extrapolation of what "should" work, what "has" worked and what you should have done ten seconds after you did something else. I have not done this lately, but in years past I would keep a few hours of friday open to play...no agenda really, just heat up some odd shapes or drops or what not and see what it does with a given force applied. The trick is to watch and see what is happening as you go....if you see something interesting then do it again....repeatability is the basic building block of technique. Keep notes...on paper and in metal..save the interesting parts forged. The above does two things...gets you comfortable with the unknown and allows you to explore that unknown with your tools rather than following another's tool path. One of the traps that some fall into is that they get good enough to look at a drawing and say "it is best to make it this way"...it is efficient yes and if you job is product out the door (which I guess it "should" be) then maybe it is the only way, but it most certainly does not allow for serendipity. And we could all use a few serendipitous moments in the shop. Then again...I consider it a good effort when I make tooling and jigs for a job that minimize my input of skill when using those tools/jigs. In effect I do the up front work in designing the tool so that in its use the tool does the rest. It means that I do not have to be "on the ball" the whole time...it makes for a more repeatable product. Sorry for the sidelining of the thread, Ric

I left brass off the list on purpose..horrible stuff, but yes silver..forgot that completely Thomas.....I guess gold as well, but honestly I have only had fabrication experience with that metal thus far. I do know a smith who forged out a pound of gold...said it moved easy. A forged torque or leaf of silver would be good....3/8" square maybe. Ric

Dereck...think that this would make for another class? Non-iron forging? Silicon Bronze, aluminum,titanium,copper,monel...300 series stainless as an add on. Maybe tie it into the welding program as well...TIG? The title could be "Take the FEar out of forging..... Exploring the other metals on the periodic table" hey I may use that myself....kinda catchy. Ric

To be given Wile E. Coyote Style? Ric