Jerry W.

Dustin, I am fortunate to have plenty of room to forge when I want to and as late as I want to. Though it may be tempting to forge on your balcony, don't do it. It is a violation of fire code to even barbeque on an apartment balcony due to the hazards involved. Good luck and Stay Safe. Jerry

Sorry, there are two more events that need to be mentioned. February 2013 we will again have a joint meeting with Houston Area Blacksmith Association (HABA). It will be held at the shop of the Lee Brothers, Steephollow Forge Works. They put on one heck of a demonstration. March 2013 is our Bluebonnet Demo. It will be held just out of Marble Falls, Texas and we have Mark Aspery scheduled to demo for us. These are two more events that you do not want to miss.

We have big things planned for Balcones Forge. Our July meeting will be on the 28th at the Boerne Ag Museum. Joe Travieso and David Walden will have the forges fired up and will demonstrate making a damascus billet. They will be using the hydraulic press that Joe has made out of a hydraulic log splitter. In an attempt to beat the heat, they have requested that we start at 9:00am. July is July, I don't care what time we start. We will be having a "Judged Item" rather than a "Trade Item". We are making a SAWTOOTH TRAMMEL. We will have a prize for the best one. Because of the heat, we will not have a meeting in August. September will be at the Blacksmith Shop at Conservation Plaza in New Braunfels, Texas. I am not sure about the Trade Item. October will be at my shop in Devine, Texas. The Trade Item is a forged bottle opener. I have not demonstrated before but, I will be practicing my bottle opener to demo at this meeting. We are planning barbeque with all of the trimmings. I have plenty of forges but, we will need anvils. We can make this an all day event. Gary Hilton is planning to host the November meeting. Trade Item (I think it is another Judged Item. Should be a Goffering Iron). We are open for suggestions for December. We have a great group with very talented smiths. Many are very willing to share their knowledge. Our website can be found at balconesforge.org and we are also on Facebook. We look forward to seeing you there....... Jerry W.

Hope y'all get back to normal soon. Glad everyone is alright. On March 9th we watched one from our back porch. The second was about as close but out front. It was dark and we did not see that one. There was a third that went across farther north. I have seen a lot of things but, this is my first tornado, hopefully the last.

After I get my fire going good, I bank up the coal around to get it to coke up. I take the fines later and pour them around the outside and wet them down. It will coke up and burns well. With some of the coal that I have purchased, if I did not use the fines, I could have been down 1/4 bag. Around here, we pretty much have to take what we can get.

You can have CO without having smoke. CO is colorless and odorless. The only way to know is to have a monitor or a detector. Something to remember is that due to weather conditions or wind direction today it may draw fine. If any of those change it is possible that it could effect the draw. I would get a detector and err on the side of safety.

AndersMJ, Your major concern is the carbon monoxide. You do not have to have smoke to have CO. CO combines with the hemoglobin (the oxygen carrying constituent of the blood) 210 time more readily than oxygen. A small amount of carbon monoxide over a long period of time can still cause major problems. A CO detector is highly recommended as it will alarm before you have a major problem. As a firefigter, over the years I have responded to many of these in peoples residence. They can be a real lifesaver. Jerry

Alan, Very sorry to hear about the fire and loss. Where are you located? Are there any blacksmith groups in your area? I am working on a talk for a retreat this July. "Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous and strong". We will keep you in our prayers. Jerry

Good job Colton. What a great way to spend the summer, for all parties involved. Enjoy!

Gordon Williams, hige energy and he goes like the energizer bunny.

I have been wanting a treadle hammer for awhile. Has anyone seen or tried the Mark In-Line Treadle Hammer. I am not interested in the Power Pack. Any help that you can offer is greatly appreciated. Jerry

Tim, We are sending prayers from South Texas. Jerry

Thank you all for the thoughts and prayers. He is doing well and is set for a CT Scan in a couple of weeks. We are thinking the shunt will need some adjusting. Frosty, Jim, Katie & Slade are on their way north. They should end up in Haines for a while and plan to get back to Anchorage. Quite a drive from South Texas.

Prayers sent from South Texas

We will definately send prayers from South Texas. Jerry & Marsha

Garrett is out of surgery. Doc said all went well. He is now in the PICU and we can visit. He is awake but hurting. Thank you for the prayers and please keep them coming. Jerry

Eric, We have a lot of Balcones Forge members in your area. Austin Community College has blacksmithing courses that get a lot of praise.

Eric, Where in Texas are you. I am in South Texas. There are some great Blacksmith groups that will take good care of you. Balconies Forge will be working the forge the week of spring break with our meeting on Saturday March 17. We will. Have our big demo in. Early May with Elizabeth Brim to demo. This will be a good one. Jerry

My Grandson, Garrett Stewart will be 5 this Sunday. He is getting a CT Scan at this moment in preparation for surgery tomorrow. He has a shunt due to having hydrocephalus. The shunt will have to be branched and extended to a pocket of fluid in the back of his head. This pocket of fluid is close to his brain stem. Your prayers for the surgical team and Garrett would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, Jerry

John, I agree. I have been a public servant here for going on 33 years. It continues to amaze me that so many people are unwilling and unable to take care of themselves. That was a great video. Makes me want to get out there and fire up the forge. Thanks, Jerry

I have been working on blacksmithing for going on 7 years now. It is something that I had been interested in for a very long time and just did not put the effort into getting started. Wow, to think of what I could do today if I started at 15 (38 years ago). I came across a familiar last name while browsing the internet. After a few weeks, it got the best of me and I called him. He is the older brother of two men that I had worked with and around for the previous 25 years. He has been a great mentor and friend. I won't have 25 tools/resources but I will give a start of what I feel is important. I would not even count the PPE. That is a given. Eye protection, hearing protection, gloves...... First, she will have to have the desire. Turning out nice work does not just happen, it takes work to polish your skills. Some take to it much faster than others. As for me, it takes a lot of work. Second, I would recommend a mentor. Someone that will point her in the right direction and get her going, that will constructively critique her work and work with her to improve. Very talented blacksmiths very willing to share their knowledge of the craft can usually be found at your local association. Third, someting to hammer on (an anvil would be best but, doesn't have to be) Fourth, something to hammer with Fifth, Tongs - Sixth, books and reference material. Somewhere in here, she will want a forge of her own. Once she has worked in a few, she can make an educated decision as to what would work best for her. I am sure she will need a wire brush, a hot cut, maybe a hacksaw, a file (old farriers rasp). I could go on but I time is limited today. Good luck, Jerry

As I still have so much to learn about the blacksmith craft, I usually do not respond on a request for a critique but, when I saw this I was touched. What an awsome piece. Great job. I can only hope that someday I will be capable of work this nice. Jerry

James, Balcones Forge is a Central Blacksmith Association. This is a great group of Artist / Blacksmiths with many of them very willing to share what they have learned over the years. They can be found at http://balconesforge.org/. We usually meet on the last Saturday of the month. For our big demo this year we have Elizabeth Brim to demo on May 5th & 6th just out of Marble Falls, Texas. January 28 - We will meet at the Gunter Hotel in downtown San Antonio at the ABS Expo. February 18 - Steephollow Forge in Bryan Texas - This is one I sure do not want to miss. March 31 - Zilker Park in Austin Texas Austin Community College has great Metal Working / Blacksmithing classes. Many of our members have or do attend. It would be nice to meet you and help where we can, Jerry W.

If you are up to traveling, Balcones Forge and Houston Area Blacksmith Assoc. (HABA) will be having a joint meeting in Bryan, Texas on February 18th. The Lee Brothers will be demonstrating at their shop. I will be making the trip from Devine (south of San Antonio). Well worth the time and gas. You can check the Balcones or HABA website for details. Jerry

More forge time which I will start in about 5 minutes. I plan to spend some time on tooling and invest some time in learning new techniques. My wife and daughter asked why they are never invited out to forge. I have always thought a couple of strikers would be nice to have. I will set up another anvil to see if they are serious. Happy New Year!!! Jerry W.