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ripleycopa

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Posts posted by ripleycopa

  1. The Blacksmith Association of Missouri (BAM) will hold its 28th Annual Ozark Conference on May2-5, 2019 at the Missouri State Fairgrounds in Sedalia, Missouri. The Conference Book and Registration forms are attached.  Although BAM does not have funding available for paid advertisements I know that a number of ABANA affiliates and related organizations have newsletters and that the editors are always looking for copy to fill up the dead spaces, so I am sending these to your affiliate or organization for informational purposes.  If you think your group would be interested in our Ozark Conference, please feel free to publish all or any part of either file. We usually have a good crowd of 100-200 in attendance with a dozen vendors and lots of tailgate activity. We welcome the participation of members from other groups and can promise them good demonstrations, programs, and fellowship.

    If you have a web page, web calendar or a Facebook Page, putting a link to the above information would also be appreciated.

    28th Annual BAM Ozark Conference Cover Page.pdf

    2019 BAM Conference Book.pdf

  2. I spent four hours at the Tom Kennon Blacksmith Shop in Doniphan, MO on Saturday working on a new fire tool for the shop. I had a nice model to work from made by another smith that we received as a trade item at a BAM meeting several years ago but I wanted a different decorative handle and twist so I studied up on YouTube and completed my first Rubic or Cube Twist on the center of the shaft. I did not want to use that twist as a handle grip so I made the handle grip with a thorn twist. The entire piece was drawn out of a 25 inch long piece of 5/8 inch square stock. Although I left the working rake end unfinished, I did a power wire brushing and a brass brushing on the twists while at a black heat and then, when cool, applied a spray acrylic lacquer to protect the brass coating.

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  3. The Garden Gate that I am working on has lots of scroll work but I wanted to add a floral motif on each end. These two flower and leaf assemblies will be welded on each side next to the scrolls.  I used two 12 inch pieces of round stock and a pre-cut flower blank for each piece.  I first used a texturing hammer to break the surface of the stock. I then forged a leaf on both ends of one piece of stock with a tapered stem on each end. I did the standard technique for chiseling in the leaf veins and sinking the leaves into a wood block depression.  I then nicked the bar about 2/3 of the way down the piece of leaf stems and bent the two leaves together slightly off center. The other rod was cut down to 10 inches and a tenon was forged on one end using a Smithing Magician in order to affix the flower petal blank. I first textured the flower blank using the peen of my hammer and then used a ball peen hammer to rivet the tenon onto the stem rod.  The two pieces were then wired together with baling wire to hold them together for a forge weld. After the leaves and flower stems were welded together I heat the assembly to orange, clamp it in the post vise and use scrolling tongs to bend every piece into as naturalistic shape as I can manage. Each assembly is then power wire brushed and then brass brushed while hot to give the forging work brass highlights. I finish with a clear spray acrylic. 

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  4. One of the posts I received on the Blacksmith for Beginners Facebook page was that my "modified pineapple twist" was actually a "thorn twist".  I had not heard the term before but it seem appropriate. It is just a pineapple twist without scoring any lines with a chisel or hot cut.

  5. Every blacksmith needs a poker with which to tend the fire pot. It can be traditional or unadorned and merely practical. But I wanted one with character. So I forged out of a piece of 3/4 inch square stock a Dragon Headed, modified pineapple twist handled poker. It does the trick.

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  6. A new project in the Tom Kennon Blacksmith Shop last Saturday; one of a matched pair of shelf supports or individual hanging basket holders. A 1.25 inch by 1/4 inch base plate was fullered at the ends and drawn out into leaf motifs and textured. A 1 inch by 1/4 inch bar was textured, drawn out to a taper on one end and a fishtail scroll on the other end and bent through a 90 degree angle. A one inch by 3/ 16 inch bar was forged into a snub end "S" scroll using a scroll form. The three pieces were riveted together through drilled holes with copper rivets and the entire assembly power wire brushed. The fishtail and the leaves were brushed with a brass brush to highlight those areas and everything sprayed with a clear acrylic.

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  7. Actually, the blade was of secondary consideration to the handle twist. But the precise name was at best a guess; more of what it wasn't than any surety as to what it was in terms of medieval derivation. Probably from my vague memories of 50's swashbucklers where a swordsman would have a long foil or epee in one hand and something like what I forged in the less dominant hand.

     

  8. This Saturday in the Tom Kennon Blacksmith Shop I did an up scaled version of the naked pineapple twist that I used for the first time the Saturday before last when I made a letter opener out of 3/8 inch square stock. This week's project was a version of a short sword (stylistically a misericorde or stiletto) out of 3/4 inch square stock. It took a lot of hammer work to draw out and taper the conical blade to a point. Here are some pictures of the finished project along with some closeups of the handle and blade. The guard was 5/16 round stock inserted through a drilled hole in the handle and then forge welded. The twist was a standard pineapple twist without any chisel lines scored prior to twisting and reverse twisting.

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  9. Yes, the Tom Kennon Blacksmith Shop is open every Saturday morning by one or more of our local BAM members. Check out our website at:   www.doniphanmissouri.org/tom_kennon_blacksmith_shop 

    Sometimes there are enough of us to make a crowd and we trade off on forge time and sometimes it is just one or two of us.  Feel free to join us.  If you are coming a good distance you can call me to check on our status for any last minute changes. 573 996-4931

  10. Here is one of mine with a pineapple twist variation on the handle where I did the standard pineapple twist procedure without first scoring any lines so that the resulting diamond pattern is less distinct, but still noticeable.  I think it makes a great handle and I am going to try it on larger pieces. 

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  11. The Tom Kennon Blacksmith Shop was back up and running this weekend after our flooding disaster earlier this month. We had water five feet deep in the shop. Fortunately, we were able to move out most of the equipment to higher ground just before the water rose into the shop. It is all back in place now and I was able to do a small project.  It was a letter opener made out of 3/8 inch mild steel. I did a variation of a pineapple twist for the handle where I did not score the sides with a chisel as usual. I saw this at the BAM Conference last month and gave it a try and I really liked the result.  Here are pictures of our shop in flood along with this weekend's project.

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    Mod note:  This is a short video featuring the same shop.

     

  12. This Saturday in the Tom Kennon Blacksmith Shop my project was a flower, stem and leaf combination; suitable for an Easter bloom. A central stem of 3/8 inch round rod was drawn out and textured and a tenon was made on the end to hold the flower. The leaves were out of one 5/16 inch round rod with a leaf forged on each end. The leaf rod was asymetrically cut halfway through and folded back on itself and wired to the base of the flower stem. The stems were then forge welded together and bent into a pleasing set of curves with scrolling tongs. The sheet metal flower blanks were textured, heated and bent for insertion on the tenon of the main stem. When the flower was peened on the stem the entire assembly was wire brushed, with the leaves and flower petals brass brushed and then sprayed with a clear acrylic to prevent rust. Not a bad morning's work.

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  13. If you are thinking about attending the BAM Conference in Sedalia, MO on May 4-6, 2017 you need to start working on a piece of chain to submit for inclusion in the largest length of chain the membership can bring and forge weld up during the conference. Here is my seven link segment. Each link must be made out of a seven inch length of 3/8 inch round rod and forge welded together.

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  14. Thanks, Kevin. I had real trouble peening the tenon because I could not get it hot enough in the coal fire without burning up the flower petals; I should have used a torch. But I did not tack weld it; the hole in the flower petal got wallowed out from being too aggressive in my peening of the tenon and it still sits a little loosely on the stem. The clear acrylic spray pooled in the joint and hardened but it is not a secure joint. I just need to get more used to the torch for localized heating of the tenons to avoid things like that. 

  15. This Saturday's Project in the Tom Kennon Blacksmith Shop was to make the trade item for the next meeting of the Blacksmith's Association of Missouri on Sat. March 11th in St. Louis which is supposed to be a "flower, stem and leaf" project. I found a nice piece of burled wood upon which to mount my project. Sheet metal flower petals with 1/4 inch mild steel rods forge welded leaves and stem.

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  16. When it was 24 degrees Saturday and the slack tub had an inch of ice to break before lighting the forge it was just too cold to plan and complete a new fabrication project, I decided to refresh my skills with a variant of the ubiquitous railroad spike knife. Nothing too intricate; segment off an inch or so at the point for the blade mass using the Smithin Magician with fuller dies and then a long square taper to the spike head increasing the handle size to about twice the original length of the spike. A hot cut inscribed lines on each face of the handle and then a standard twist was completed (necessitating three heats to even up the final twist). The blade mass was then forged leaving a slight curve to the final blade shape. The handle was then re-heated and bent through a reverse curve for final shaping. The grinder and belt sander then shaped the edge and polished off the blade. No need to harden this low carbon steel so my re-heat was just to brass the handle. After cool down the piece was sprayed with a clear acrylic to protect against rust.

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  17. I have been making this style of Dragon Head for a few years, mostly out of 1/2 inch square stock, but this time I used 3/4 inch square stock. It was easier work in the sense of seeing the details better, but the metal did not want to move so it took almost twice as long as usual. But I liked the result so I decided to add it to a Bookend  and make it into something useful. The bookend was 1/4 inch x 4 inch flat stock 11 inches long. I marked a line four inches from one end and used a fairly sharp fuller (or a dull hot cut) to indent the line half way through the plate. I then hand hammer textured the opposite side with my rounding hammer and drilled a 3/8" hole in the short side to accept the tenon on my dragon head.  The plate was then bent through an angle of 90 degrees with the textured side up. After that it was just a matter of inserting the tenon from the dragon head from the textured side, clamping it up and heating the tenon with a torch and peening it until the tenon mushroomed into the hole. To keep it from spinning in the hole I used a square punch to punch a square shape in the back of the hole so that the mushrooming tenon would lock into place. The entire assembly was then power wire brushed and highlighted by brass brushing the edges and dragon head. A clear acrylic spray was use to protect the brassing.

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  18. This is my typical letter opener project. A 9 inch or thereabouts piece of 3/8" round rod of mild steel is tapered at one end to a leaf with the blade on the other end formed on the horn of the anvil. I generally grind the edge of each side of the blade and true up the point. Then just bend, do a small twist on the leaf stem and wire brush.  Although I sometimes vary the style of leaf, this is the basic project. I brass brush the leaf and finish with a clear acrylic spray.  I can do one of these in less than a half hour and can sell them for $15.00 each.

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  19. I like your rubik twist and the inset in the wood on the door certainly gives is a custom look.  I forged a very similar looking project as a door handle for a cathedral or castle but can't find the right door to use it on as a handle.  Using it as a central decorative piece on a door is a great idea. Good work in both crafts.

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  20. This was a project completed at the Tom Kennon Blacksmith Shop which is a partner property of the Current River Heritage Museum in Doniphan, Missouri. ( www.doniphanmissouri.org )  The goal was a Basket Hanger for the front door of the Museum and, after completion of the first Hanger, it became obvious that one on each side of the door would be more symmetrical and pleasing, so I made another to match. The design was centered around a half penny scroll brace for the L bracket which would be decorated with a fishtail scroll and affixed to the wall bracket with a leaf motif at each end. All of the stock was 1/4 inch bar; the part attached to the wall was 1.5 inches wide and 32 inches long; the hanger and half penny scroll were 1 inch wide and about 30 inches long.  The scrolls were done first, then the L bracket and finally the wall plate.  All were first textured cold with a rounding hammer with the edges broken before the forging. After forging and chisel work the fishtail scroll and the chiseled leaves were brushed whileIMG_7675.thumb.JPG.58a899a61efcf6f64a5d1IMG_7674.thumb.JPG.4090650111b41c82d972bIMG_7673.thumb.JPG.f18f97b6d1348898ea2b8IMG_7672.thumb.JPG.1f67e117b86aa7bbe5475 hot to impart a brass patina.  The pieces were then drilled for fabrication and assembled using 1/4 inch copper rivets. The entire finished assembly was wire brushed and sprayed with a clear gloss acrylic.  The Hangers were affixed to the wall with pyramid head wood screws.

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