Wim

Good to see Vuka gets some publicity, I will go and get myself a few copies of the "Drum" Magazine. Please give my congrats to Duduzile. We are all very proud of her. Regards, Wim.

Nice to hear from you, I like your avatar, reminds me of King Arthur sword, he pulled out of the anvil. Very appropriate. When you're visit SA please come by for some heavy metal beating. Blacksmith greetings, Wim.

I really like this thread, as we are talking about values that go much deeper than the basic blacksmithing knowledge. It is about the relationship of one generation with the next. It is also about attitudes between craftsman and apprentice, between enthousiast and newbie. I suppose, like Rich mentioned at the start, that everybody has his or her own learning process that works for them. If I think of my own personal learning process, it always starts with a passionate interest in something, be it a technique, a trade, a new skill, an animal, whatever. I want to read everything that there is to know about the subject, and if possible talk to as many people that know as I can. And being a lone smith most of the year, the internet is the best source for me. For our young friends, most of them far better equipped to surf then what I am, the Internet has become an endless source of communication. Maybe that contributes to the attitude of "I know it all", meaning only "I know where to find it". Even though the "how to" information is an important part of the learning process, the most important and the most gratifying part is the to do part. Then you learn the skills you need for the task, and you discover, why a certain sequence was explained. And only then the thing becomes part of you. It would be great if I could hand some skills and ideas to young people, I think you grow into a better understanding of what you do, when you explain the process to someone else, but yes it requires an open ear and an open heart on the recipient's side. The problem is maybe the current transition from Industrial Age to Information Age, that's why young people are developing their communication and computer skills.

Lukas, Nee, ons gaan nog aan hoor. Ek kry net baie min kans om te kuier, hierso. Hoe gaan dit met die kleintjie. Hoop alles daarom goed? Ons gaan weer in September die Wheels naweek he, eerste naweek in September, hou solank die datunm oop. Howzit, Lukas, Sorry, not much time to visit IFI these days. All well with the family? Wheels on the Vaal will be on again first weekend of September as usual. Groetnis, Wim.

Hylton, Sorry that you missed the forge in at Coenraad, last Saturday. I was looking forward to meeting you there. Maybe we can get together some time, you can always call me at 083 263 7325. Greetings, Wim

Hi Rex, Welcome to the family. I am from Kempton Park, and have a forge in my backyard, right under the wings of OR Tambo. If you want, you can come and visit me. We can do some steel bashing together. Call me at 083 263 7325. I have bought most of my tools at Pawnshops: Old chisels, hammers, punches, sometimes you find a pair of tongs below a heap of rusted spanners, remember, the hunt is as much fun as the result. Also scrapyards are a great source, for tools, but also for raw materials, and you only pay a 1/4 of the normal steel price. Looking forward to hearing from you, Wim

Yes finally something to look foreward to the Ystervegter Forge in at Coenraad Vegter's place. Coenraad is organising a forging competition, and also a bar stretching competition, you get 3 heats to stretch a piece of sqbar as long as possible without breaking it. Coenraad wants to get T-shirts printed of the event. White with black printing. You must call Coenraad to order as soon as possible, they are R70 each. give your size with the order. Coenraads number is 082 960 8853. More details on the Forge in will follow. If you are coming, please phone Coenraad direct, than he can cater for the number of people that are going to come. Address is Plot 136, 6th Avenue in Akasia, Pretoria. In Pretoria find DF Malan Drive North. You pass PPC Cement, shortly after that you take the R80 Left to Shoshanguve. Follow the road through the 270deg loop, and take the Akasia/ Brits turnoff. Turn Right towards Akasia, pass the first robot which is Sylvia street, straight after that turn right into Main. Main runs into a Tee with 6th Avenue, turn left here, pass a few plots on your right hand side, until you see Vegter sign, decorated with rocks and aloes. Turn right into the plot. Park your car opposite the first house, and walk up to the smithy to meet us.Blacksmith greetings, Wim.

Middelburg Mpumalanga, Johan, I was there 2 years ago, and bought my cross peen hammer there, 2 pound. Since then I made my own smithing cross peen from an old 4lbs hammerhead, its weight is now exactly 3,5 lbs and it fits me perfectly. My advise look around go to pawnshops and antique shops, and let as many people as possible know you're looking for balcksmith stuff. The hunting is as satisfying as the eating, Wim

Baie welkom op ons Suid Afrikaanse forum. Jy sal baie tuisvoel, hier is 'n menigte kennis en praktiese raad, waarmee mens baie ver kom. Jy 's die eerste blacksmith in die Ooskaap van wie ek hoor. Ek hoop jy gaan verder experimenteer as net bladesmithing, daar is baie goed wat jy kan maak met goeie smeetegnieke as net messe en swaarde. Ek kan vir jou 'n tekening mail van die forge wat ek gemaak het. Ons gaan hier weer in februari 'n forge in hou, op Coenraad Vegter se plot, as jy belangstel, kan jy oorkom, ons sal jou akkomodeer en rondry, daar's altyd genoeg slaapplek. en dis die moeite werd om ander ouens te ontmoet met dieselfde belangstelling. Jy kan my bel by 083 263 7325. Translated: welcome to our South African forum. You'll feel at home here, there's a wealth of knowledge and council here, that goes a looong way. You are the first blacksmith in the eastern cape that I heard of. I hope you experiment further than just bladsmithing, there is a lot you can make, other than knives and swords, once you acquired some smithing skills. I can send you a drawing of the forge I built for myself. We will have a forge in at Coenraad Vegter again in februari, you are invited and transport and accomodation can be arranged, always room for a friend. It is worth a lot meeting guys with the same interest. Phone me on 083 263 7325 Cheers, Wim.

Ouens (Guys) Dis altyd lekker om met mekaar in gewoon lekker Afrikaans te kuier. Daar is niks mee verkeerd nie, ons is 'n hele klomp Boere, en meeste Smede in Suid Afrika is maar Afrikaanssprekend. Onthou net, ons het baie belangstelling van die oorseese ouens, wat baie oulik is. Sit onder jou Afrikaanse insit 'n kort Engelse samevatting van wat jy min of meer gese het, sodat hulle darem die inhoud van ons forum 'n bietjie kan volg. En onthou ons is 'n familievriendelike site, dus geen growwe taal, asb. Ek sal ongerymdhede aan die Webmaster raporteer. Baie dankie vir die moeite, lekker kuier! Wim. English: It is nice to be able to hang loose and speak our own language, and since most of the South African Balcksmiths are Afrikaans it is the natural thing. Just remember we get a lot of interest from the overseas guys, which is great. Put a brief English synopsis under your posts, so they can also follow the thread. And remember we are a family friendly site so no course language please. I will report inappropriate posts to the Webmaster. Thanks very much, enjoy visiting here! Wim

Nice om van jou te hoor, hoelank doen jy al smeewerk, Het jy al 'n werksplek ingerig enso, forge gebou? Enige foto's van jou werk sover? Sal oulik wees om 'n bietjie te sien wat jy al gemaak het. Ek het so 2 jaar gelede begin met hierdie stokperdjie, en intussen al heel wat ouens ontmoet, so 15 min of meer. Laat weet as jy kontakte soek, jy kan my mail op wim@pfe-online.co.za of bel op 083 263 7325. Sal nice wees om van jou te hoor, Slat hom met 'n yster lat hy luister! Wim

Nice to know about you. Yes I know a couple of blacksmiths around Cape Town ( mostly from online) and we had my friend Volker (also German) visiting Johannesburg for the Wheels on the Vaal blacksmithing event this last weekend. If you send me your contact details I can ask him to contact you. By the way we had a great time at Wheels this year, working together on a friendship gate. Anyway, I hope to see some input from the Cape Guys to this forum as well. It would be nice if we could broaden our base and create a meaningfull blacksmithing community in our country. Welcome, Frank. Wim

Hi to all Time is getting closer. (5 to 7 Sept) Abie has done some great work with the desing of the door. See attachwd doc. Roto sponsor the plate for us, but we will have to bring material for our panels. We need to make arrangment for tools and who will bring what. This ruffly what we need. The university will put up a tent for us and promised meal tickets for lunch. I will bring 4 or 5 forges and 2 or 3 anvils plus selection of hand tools. I will bring coal and some fire wood, but we will need more fire wood. I will try to arrange gas with someone at the Vaal Abie will bring 1 anvil. We need 1 or 2 more. I will bring a legvice or 2, but we may need one more Extention leads and multi plugs. Welding machine (electronic) will be best. Electric drill and angle grinder Water buckets and containers Table and chairs I will bring the basics for coffie and tea plus some oros. The rest to eat and drink is self catering. If there are others things that you can think of let us know or just bring it along. Please let us know what you can help bringing. I was hoping that some of us can start on friday afternoon (13:00) to set up the work area and finish the the chair. Then we can have it on display for the show. On Saterday night we can draw strings to see who will be the lucky owner of the chair. I hope you are all as excited as I am. Please reply to all to keep everyone informed. Blacksmith greetings Coenraad

Hi Everyone, Since you need to bring your own material it may be useful to know what to plan for. Firstly as you can see we are now working on a door

Hi Everyone, Since you need to bring your own material it may be useful to know what to plan for. Firstly as you can see we are now working on a door door_with_people.pdf

Lucas, That's wonderfull news, baie geluk, julle. Ons bid en vertrou dat alles goed gaan met die swangerskap. Ons sal aan julle dink daar by wheels. Groete, Wim

Hi Guys, Just to answer some of Wim’s questions below: Size of the plate: 1300 (h) x 700 (w) In terms of a frame – not if we can avoid it. The original thinking is that we do not build a structure – it is a lot of hard work with many dependencies. We start with a plate (thickness to be determined still) with the windows done and ready on arrival. This allows every individual to start working and do their thing! Maybe flat bar all around for purposes of safety (and rigidity) – not to be ripped apart when squeezing through the gate opening. In this design I want the plate to stay clean (focus remains on the pieces inside) and it will be quite busy! We can add decorative rivets or other decorative blops on the plate as well – let’s see how the juices flow on the day. Hinges, latch, post – Hmm. One could add a ring somewhere and mount the plate to a wall with an aloe or some plant in the ring. But it looks like it the leaning is towards gate now. In that case the hinges must be small – but I would like to keep a low profile on the decision until we have seen more of the content. It looks like we have a lot of enthusiasm going which is great! Wim when I look at your design I think we should allocate one of the horizontal windows to you. See the link below – look for ‘Pillar of Friendship’ – I quoted it as Tower of friendship. We have not specified a theme – If you want one: ‘forms and patterns’ ------------------------------------------------------------------ I think this may be the image that is being discussed ---->click here ------------------------------------------------------------------ http://images.google.co.za/imgres?imgurl=http://www.artmetal.com/files/images/BABA-AGM-2007-Ironbridge.-0.thumbnail.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.artmetal.com/brambush/forum/bramyak3/messages/808.html&h=144&w=108&sz=6&hl=en&start=10&tbnid=LtE36zd2xOrrpM:&tbnh=94&tbnw=71&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpillar%2Bof%2Bfriendship%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG Maybe the link above will help to give you a better feel for it. I am sure you should find more images for ‘pillar of friendship’ if you google it. Ting tong cheers Abie

Hi guys, The idea is very nice, I have included a sample of what I would like to make in one of the windows. I could certainly use some help, off course. Abie, just some question on what you had in mind. How big is the complete gate going to be? Do you want a forged outer frame? Do we make the plate from 3 mm mildsteel and give some nice texture accents? Or maybe we can have a crisscross network of flatbars overlapping, joined with rivets that form the windows to be filled? Hinges, latch and post or just the plate?

Hi Everyone, I have an idea (inspiration from the BABA tower of friendship) of a garden gate (or maybe just a wall mount) for our communal project. It consists of steel plate with various size cut-outs (Windows) that needs to be filled in with creative patterns, objects, etc. These get mounted to the plate with riveted joints. The advantage of this approach is that we do not need to worry about a support structure and enabling everyone to work on their

Hi to all Wheels at the Vaal is coming up on the weekend of 5 to 7 Sept. We have to finish chair from last year first. I don't think that will take to much time as it is only assembly work. Nico and I will sort out the snag we had under the powerhammer. After that... your ideas please. I like the idea that we work together on one project and that different people take charge of the project each year. Hope to hear from all Have go hammering Coenraad

Hi everybody, here is how to get there. From all direction you travel towards OR Tambo International airport. From Pretoria (you are on the R21 south), before the airport you take Atlas Road turn-off, from the south you pass the airport and Kempton Park, and take the Atlasroad turnoff. When you reach the first robot you turn left to Benoni, next robot turn right towards Benoni. Skip one robot, second robot turn Right into Ascolana Drive, Oranjehof Old age home is on your lefthand side, the second plot. Follow instructions of the Parking attendants, once you've parked, follow the smell and smoke of burning coal. See you there, bring a hammer and safety glasses !!!! :cool: Wim. If you can't find it give me a call on 083 263 7325

Darryn, Nice to hear from you. I don't know of any smiths in Durban but you. The closest ones from you that I know, are in Bethlehem, Job and Wena van Eden. They are a wonderfull couple, and are fulltime art metalwork designers and manufacturers. I can put you in touch with them if you want to. It would be nice if you could come up to Joburg to attend one of the events. We have the Dutch market coming up, maybe we can accomodate you, for a sleepover. Let me know, Blacksmith greetings, Wim