Dallas de Marr

Just curious about what you all think about someone changing their legal name. I'm for it (in fact, I hope to eventually do it), but I'm interested in how everyone else sees it.

Well, those of you who know me know that my real name is Dallas de Marr. However, I do wish to change my first name to Vladimir-- not to be cool or anything, but I just 'feel' like a Vladimir, if that makes any sense. I am just waiting on the extra money to do so. All of the people who know me online know me as Vlad, unless I've spoken to them in person (or they insist on calling me by the name they see on my WRABA ID card, Richard! ). Marenus is actually the first name of a Hero from a fictional Sci-fi universe, and it sounded good with Vladimir. :P

Alfonso, what is a good steel supplier in NE Ohio? I'd rather not order my stock online, if I can avoid it.

Thanks for all the encouragement. You're right about the one thing starting a bug growing... I'm finding my thoughts turning to the hammer more often than not, now.

Heh, thanks for asking, stonetrooper. I've wondered it myself, but been too embarrassed to ask. :)

Dang it, Nett, you snuck that post right in. Thank you, though.

Also- any ideas on how to fill the space between the Hardy and the Hardy hole?

Also, some more random pictures, since I got around to taking them, but don't have enough to say about them for their own thread. : )

So, yeah. It was supposed to be a dual-pronged hot-dog holder, but I didn't quite have the hammer control I wanted, to say the least. I almost broke off one prong hitting the hot-cut crooked (My hole isn't exactly .5" as it turns out, it's just slightly larger so that the hot-cut spins when I hit it. >.<), so I decided to abandon my hot-dog related fantasies. I curled the almost-broken prong over the horn of my anvil, and made a fire poker for my forge. There are a whole bunch of things wrong with it, but hey-- the first piece you ever make is cherished, right??????

Keep in mind that some of the WRABA site (photos and bulletin board) are a bit behind, but the rest of it should be current. It's a great group of guys (I'm a member), and they're very helpful to newbies (if you can track them down long enough!). The Calendar is updated, so just see what event is next, and show up! That's what I did.

An easier forge is the 55 Forge. It's fairly simple to build, and easy to use / modify for your own purposes. I also recommend searching out some of the blacksmiths in the chat as well, if you're around (mostly) in the evenings. Also:

Go to the top of the forum and click on user cp
click on display your profile
enter your location and save

We would like to know where in Canada you are! Or, if you aren't in Canada, where else in the world you are.

The website hasn't been updated in quite some time (the last BB announcement was in July 2007), except for the Upcoming Events page, but I suppose it's worth a shot to submit it. :)

Those both sound like awesome events, and I may just show up to one of them. ...but that wasn't the intent of my original request. I have no problem with WRABA's hammer-ins, I think they're awesome and I do gather a lot of information there (albeit some that I don't understand). I was more wondering if anyone had time for some one-on-one work, call it 'remedial blacksmithing', if you will.

I didn't intend for it to sound like WRABA wasn't meeting my needs as a club, it's just tracking people down outside of 'club-time' that is my issue.

I know them... they are all busy. That sounds ridiculous, but it's true. I'm actually a member of WRABA. I've tried to hook up with them outside of the demos, but I can't seem to find one with a moment to spare.

...Grafton, Ohio? I am finding myself limited in that I've got no one to learn from. I can piece together some things on my own, watch YouTube videos and read books, but I think we all know that those things only take you so far. In my case, they don't take me far at all. I am a person who learns by observation and visualization, more than imagination and intuition. It's a problem that I'm sure will resolve itself, once I learn the basics (hard to imagine something you have no concept of).

Anyway, before I get off on too much of a rant, I was wondering if anyone lived nearby that wouldn't mind just allowing me to hammer with them, showing me some of the basics. I've got my own (meager) setup, though my forge is not so portable (my anvil and tools are!), and I would be more than willing to pay for your time, and even for your stock if we were to actually create anything we set out to.

Let me know! Either respond here, or feel free to zip me a PM.

You know, I move away from Maryland and suddenly find all these Smiths there. Welcome to the site!

Oops, forgot that small detail. That would be Ohio.

If only I had someone to teach me when I was that young... keep it up, Mikey! Good show, we hope to see more from you!

Well, I went to my first Hammer-In on Saturday, where I joined the Western Reserve Artist's Blacksmithing Association. Well, this was the first time I'd ever put hammer to steel, and I loved it! All of the members that showed up were excited that they had a 'young-blood' in the group (I'm 21, and the next youngest member is in their late forties, I think). This Hammer-In was at the shop of one of the members-- he is a full-time fabricator / welder, so his shop was massive. The group is based in Burton, Ohio, in their Century Village (a restored village), and they had taken on the job of replacing the stair railings for the church, and making them look authentic to the period.

Being the absolute beginner I am, I wasn't allowed to do any of the heavy work, but what they did allow me to do was heat up all the metal they used (with a portable gas forge someone brought to the shop) and bang out the corners of the square stock a bit, since perfectly-shaped stock wasn't really authentic. Depending on which bar I was dinging up, I alternated between a 4-pound sledge and a 2.5-pound diagonal peen hammer. I think 2.5- or 3- pound is my good hammer size, judging from how it felt to me, and how accurate I was.

Needless to say, it was a great experience, and now I can say for sure that I'm definitely interested in continuing this hobby, and hopefully in the future making contributions to the forums as I learn. Once I get past the 'Absolute Beginner' stages into 'Novice', I'll definitely be there to cheer on the (slightly) newer folks.

As it stands, I still have no tools and no equipment, but I've definitely got a fire under my bum now... planning to go scour scrapyards in the coming days and hopefully buy the materials for a 55 Forge.

Attached is a photo of my membership card, because I'm just that proud to have taken the first step.

PS- I am sorry if this isn't the proper forum for this, but it seemed the most appropriate.