Jerry W.

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.

They are two different programs. I did see American Choppers. More of a Soap Opera than a program about building motorcycles. I also saw the program with Jesse and Uri. I think it was on the History Channel. I have it on my DVR and can look and get the title also. Earlier this year Jesse was at a Brian Brazeal two day tool making class with Balcones Forge.

I have seen the Chile. Know several smiths that have one. Have not heard any complaints. They are made in Wimberle, Tx.

James allowed Balcones Forge to come out to his shop for their June meeting. The press and hammer that he built are really impressive. If you are going to be there when he is using the hammer, you better get your fillings tightened before you go. Could not believe how hard it would hit. He had a good display of items that he has made and did demo making one of his knives with a socketed handle. Great Demo. Thanks James

I use an angle grinder to grind a slot the width of the bandsaw blade. Then use the bandsaw to split the spike.
Jerry

The best way for me to keep my cords from getting tangled was to ask my wife to please not roll the up. Don't know what she does but, she can sure get them in knots.
When you roll your cords, keep both ends a little longer than the bundle and alternate the direction of each coil.
Stop by the local fire station. Any GOOD Truckman should be able to show you what I am talking about.
Jerry

I got there Wed. evening about 5:00. They were still working when I left close to 10:00 (which is the way it was every night I was there). Attended the Thursday and Friday tool making class and then the demo on Saturday and Sunday. It is amazing to see what Brian and Lyle can do with hot steel and a hammer. They have incredible power when they strike yet can take a good sized hammer and turn out something as small as a flower on a ring. Hope to be able to put this education to good use. Feel like I need about a weeks vacation to recover.
Lyle, tell your son good luck.

balconesforge.org
This would be a great place to start. Our summer demo will be April 2 & 3 with Brian Brazeal demonstrating. He will be teaching on the four days prior to the demo. It will be held in Marble Falls, Texas.

All this week, members will be demonstrating at Pioneer Museum in Fredericksburg. I am scheduled for Friday. Our monthly meeting will be Saturday, March 26, 2011 at Zilker Park in Austin. If you are willing to learn, I guarantee that if you show up there will be someone there more than willing to show you a thing or two. This is a great group that is dedicated to furthering their knowledge in Blacksmithing as well as that of the public.
Looks like it will be a busy month.
Jerry

Curtis,
Here is the link to the 4th Annual Valley Arts Alliance Art on Fire Iron Pour to be held in Wasilla on Saturday, June 25. If you go to the Art on Fire 2010 Archive page, Frosty is hammering in the picture in the top left corner of the page. Here is the link http://www.valleyartsalliance.com/
Hope this helps,
Jerry

Have ya'll met up with Frosty. He lives in Wasilla. We were up last June to visit my son in Anchorage and made a trip to see Frosty. Has a great shop and a wealth of knowledge. Not to mention, we had a nice Italian dinner up the road. Met up with him and his wife again at the Art on Fire event. Had never been to an iron pour before. They had several blacksmiths set up and forging at the event. Great group.
Jerry