Chuck in Ms

You can get coal at Gulf Coast Blacksmith meetings. Gulfcoastblacksmith.com for info. PM me and I can spare a hundred pounds or more till you get hooked up. Chuck

There will be no December meeting for GCBA. We will meet again Saturday, January 23 2016. Please enjoy a Happy Holiday Season.

Our August meeting will be on Saturday August 22nd at Buddy Leonard's shop ( 61 Hyacinthc Dr, Covington Louisiana) Starts at 10 a.m. Come visit us for a good demonstration, lots of forge time , good food and friends.

Welcome to the site. You are off to a good start. Your work improves with each attempt. Try looking at the third one a different way. It didn't break, you broke it. Study what went wrong and what you have to do to not let it happen again. The metal only does what you make it do and if you don't pay attention to each forging, successful or unsuccessful your skills cannot improve. Just something I wish someone had told me in the beginning. Your fourth one looks good and I would like to borrow your design.

RIP Danny, You will be sadly missed by Gulf Coast Blacksmith Association

Hopefully everyone enjoyed a safe and happy Holiday Season. Now is the time to focus our attention on the new forging opportunities that 2015 will offer. This promises to be a busy year and attendance to our monthly meetings will insure you are kept up to date with the many upcoming events this year. Our first meeting will be at Buddy Leonard's shop in Covington Louisiana on Saturday January 17. It will begin at 10 a.m. with a business meeting to discuss the upcoming year. Chuck Robinson will provide an update on where we stand with the Blacksmith Helper workshop and other news will be discussed. Our demonstration will be on traditional Joinery Techniques and is geared so that beginners and more experienced members will all have a chance to learn something new while being inspired by the skill of our demonstrator. Following the theme of last years ABANA conference we will be studying more joinery in 2015. If you have been wanting to improve your joinery techniques, use this year to master these skills. Ed Scafidel will be cooking up a delicious pot of Chicken and Sausage Gumbo while we work at the forges in the back. The lunch meal being prepared on site allows us to get ample forge time and work with plenty of folks who are willing to help refine our techniques. Your $5 donation helps offset the cost of the meal and keeps you in the forge longer. Thank Ed as you get your hot lunch on site. Our Show and Tell will feature Stylish Handles. Last February Col. Russ demonstrated a Pineapple Twist for knife handles or any handled items you forge. Lets see what you learned. Bring those Pineapple Twists or any other forged handle you would like to show. Be prepared to discuss how you did it and ask others how they did theirs. IITH should be interesting and fun. Don't forget to bring those donation items and purchase tickets for the raffle. This important part of our meeting is the main source of income for our Scholarship Fund. See Sid Gale to learn more about the Scholarship Program. The library will be available for those wishing to check out or return DVDs. This is an important asset and a resource that everyone should use to improve skills at all levels. If there is a title we do not have that would benefit members please bring it to the attention of Larry House.

I know this is short notice for IFI viewers. If anyone can attend please stop by. Both GCBA and LAMA are very active and provide great demonstrators each month. I will work on getting some pictures up soon. We hold these joint meetings two or three times each year. Looking forward to meeting some IFI members..

Our final meeting for 2014 will be held on Saturday November 8th at Ed Lancaster's shop in Abita Springs Louisiana. The address is 23218 Jarrell Street, Abita Springs Louisiana. This is a joint meeting with LAMA and our chance to meet other blacksmiths from the surrounding area. Expect an informative and inspirational meeting, take notes and pictures while meeting new Smiths and learning new forge techniques. The featured demonstrator will be Master Bladesmith Chris Marks. No one presents a demo quite like Chris and there will be something for everyone to learn. This is a rare opportunity to get questions answered by a world class Bladesmith. Watch close and listen closer as Chris unveils the techniques of a Master. Don't miss this one! Lunch will be available and funded entirely by Iron in the Hat at LAMA meetings. Bring a donation item and/or participate in the raffle. This months Show and Tell theme will of course be blades. Knife, axe or bush hog blade, everything is welcome at Show and Tell. Please bring something you have forged and be prepared to discuss the process you used to those willing to learn. This will also be an excellent meeting for tailgating. Bring those items you have been trying to sell and keep an eye out for that special tool you have been looking for. While this is our last meeting this year, it doesn't have to be our last chance to forge together. There are upcoming events around the area, LAMA has a meeting in December and inviting someone to your forge or visiting someone else's is always a fun time. Keep the fire lit! See you Saturday November 8th at Ed Lancaster's shop, 23218 Jarrell Street, Abita Springs Louisiana

Thank you for the welcome. Our home shop is in Covington Louisiana, the East side of the state.. Usually we meet there on the 4th Saturday each month. Our November 2014 meeting has been moved to this Saturday, November 8th at Ed Lancasters shop in Abita Springs, Louisiana. It is a joint meeting with LAMA and our featured demonstrator will be Bladesmith, Chris Marks. Everyone is welcomed to attend.

Blacksmiths from Alaska to England have advised you to look up Brian Brazeal. Try the advice you are getting from them. There is a reason for every step of the hammer. Chuck

Gulf Coast Blacksmith Association is having a meeting Saturday February 22 in Covington La. This is a short drive for you to meet 25-40 local blacksmiths. We have a short business meeting at 10am followed by a demonstration at the main forge. There are seven forges set up for members to use the rest of the day. Even if you don't join you are welcome to stay and learn as much as you can. Look me up if you visit and I will show you around. Chuck Averett www.gulfcoastblacksmith.com

Welcome to the site. What a great way to start this journey!

Heat it up, put it in the hardy hole then use a smooth jaw twisting wrench to twist it where you want it. It looks good to me

Welcome, you have found a great place to start. Almost every question you will have has been addressed and with a little searching you can get answers fast. We like to share photos so show your forge build and then some of your projects. Most of all enjoy the site. Chuck

The above mentioned books are all good sources for general information but a hands on.class will bring you up to speed faster. Contact Alec Steele in the UK and get in one of his classes. You can PM him here in IFI, YouTube or under International Young Smiths on Facebook. Enjoy your journey. Chuck

I started making tools to work the fire and then in logical sequence other items needed to make a complete shop. If you are not careful you will end up starting a project you are not equipped to complete. You mentioned tongs, you need a punch and drift so make them. At the end of the day you will have a punch, drift and tongs. Your next set of tongs will go faster because you already have the tools you need. Do this with each project and watch your tool inventory grow. Chuck

Sletteng, I will forge you a 2lb or less hammer of your design for a large pair bolt tongs that you forge. Send a PM if you like this trade. Chuck

Dave, I doubt that you can find a coverage for a single day. You can get a Business Liability policy from any major insurance company for around $400 or $500 per year. This will cover you, anyone working with you, spectators and damages to premises rented to you, up to a fixed dollar amount. This can be billed yearly or monthly. Their insurance should cover you in the same manner. There is a problem if it doesn't. However if they are paying for your demo it is fair to ask you to provide your own insurance. If you do more than one demo per year or invite people to your forge it is in your best intrest to have this insurance for piece of mind. If this is the only time you light the forge around others then it may be better to sit this one out. Chuck

No, it will not meet all of your needs. It will get you started. On end and in concrete will provide good results for most of the projects you have mentioned. The swords and armor will require additional tooling later on. Relive all the edges a bit with a file or grinder and actually radius a near and far edge where you can. As mentioned above a vise can hold hardy tools for now. Try to join a blacksmith group to learn basic skills and to network. You may find an anvil and other tools for less than you think at these meetings. Better yet you will meet people who are willing to help you learn this craft.

I just completed the five day Brian Brazeal class and can report that you will not be disapointed with this decision. It surpassed all that I had read about it. Brian and Karen are great and the forge skills taught go way beyond all the tools you will leave with. Enjoy your trip and keep us posted.

Levi, you can get the leather from a hobby or craft store along with the the needles and thread to put it together. It does not have to be super tight to work either. Changes in air temp will produce a lot of slack in the belt at times, but it will still work. When stiching the belt together carve groves in the working side of the belt to allow the thread to lay below the surface, this will keep the belt from walking off the flywheel. I use these type of forges alot with no clay liner. With plenty of fuel in the pan there has never been a problem with the localized heat on the cast for me. I worry more about water than fire. Always have plenty of fuel in the bottom of the pan prior to using water to control the fire and never leave wet coal in the pan when you stop work or store the forge. Wet coal will rust it out faster than salt water. This has always been my concern with the clay liner, water and coal dust would eventually get between the liner and the pan and remain trapped there. Besides I have three of these forges and have seen many others and none show signs of ever having a clay liner. The first one I bought about six years ago gets alot of use between demos and my kids forgeing all the time. It shows no signs of wear and it still has the first belt I made for it. Get yours together and start forging. Chuck

If you are that "new to smithing" just slow down. Focus on technique rather than projects. Until you can execute a procedure efficiently you will not be satisfied with your results. It sounds like your time is limited so if it takes 1/2 hour to draw a taper or punch a hole it can become frustrating. Once you master these and other techniques you will accomplish much more in your allotted time. The Planning stage has been mentioned one way or another in all the above post! Listen to those who are trying to help. Draw out what you want to forge. This should even be done if you are just punching a hole in flat-bar ( for now ). Think about the tools you will need and have them ready prior to lighting the forge. Practice what you are going to do with the material cold, go from fire pot to anvil to vise and back to fire pot. With your drawing in view, tools in place and enough room to do the job, light the fire.

Hey Dylan, I may have seen this post to late to add my input. On the side draft forge the smoke shelf is the key to the draw. Do your math and you can see the smoke pull sideways. You need about a 20% reduction at the throat and the chimney should be 10% or more larger than the finished forge opening. This is easily done in square inches. The old fireplace rule of, two feet above the ridge line or ten feet away, is good to follow but the chimney being larger than the opening is more important. The smoke rapidly expanding into a large area after the smoke shelf is the true mechanics of the system, the "draw". I never studied the Super Sucker and don't know what it does, however I have built brick side drafts that work well with the above formula. I am convinced there are thousands of formulas out there, I am only offering the one that I personally find success with. Chuck

Those gifts should make everyone happy! Do I see some inspiration from Ms Lorelei Sims in the photo?

Good tip seldom. But next time try a hot cut hardie on the anvil, its easier than you may think.