Dallas de Marr

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!

Hey there! I'm from Grafton, Ohio! If you ever want to get together to do some blacksmithing, shoot me a PM here on the forums or email me- Anarchal.Dictatorship@gmail.com

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.