Junksmith Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 If you're ever in Virginia and have the chance to visit, it's well worth the trip. Some of the best colonial period blacksmiths in the country work in residence there and it's worth watching them in action even if they're only making a ladle. I think that given the opportunity, I would have talked the ears off those smiths until they ejected me forcibly. Still, I got some good info and some words of encouragement. I also took a few pics along the way of items that might be worth trying to reproduce for craft fairs. Check 'em out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 English colonial; not spanish colonial---our town here was named in 1598; Jamestown was founded in 1607 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junksmith Posted June 17, 2011 Author Share Posted June 17, 2011 Yes, English colonial :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 Great place, but the shop isn't what it used to be. Then again wait until you see the proposed new one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timothy Miller Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 Yes but the English did a lot more with what they had. Spanish stuff is super rare because they were constantly running short of iron from what I have read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lordcaradoc Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 Joe, that's great. I got to go to Colonial Williamsburg when I was in 9th grade as part of a trip to Washington DC. I was fascinated with the woodworking and the smithy, but didn't really get into blacksmithing until I was in my twentys and thirties. I'd love to visit again. Randy, So, was there a fire, or did they demolish the smithy to make room for the new one? And I'll express an opinion. In the spirit of Colonial Williamsburg, they should have taken the building down the old way, one board at a time. I don't think they had heavy equipment to do the job back then. Regards, Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 We lived in VA near DC during the 1960's. I still have my tiny horseshoe with my name stamped in it from Williamsburg from back then! (They got a lot better!) Haven't been in years though, too far away now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MLMartin Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 I can assure you the smiths had no say in how the building came down, I know they don't like to see modern equipment come into there historical town. They are not Luddites, just serious about portraying there historical time frame. The building on site that came down was not quit historically right, also was vary rotten. The new building will be much nicer and most closer to the original building. A large amount of research has be done by Ken Shworts, the master of the shop on what the original building was like. Also a tinsmiths shop will be built next door! I am vary excited about the new shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Einhorn Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 Here is a press release .pdf on their reconstruction. http://www.history.org/Foundation/newsroom/2011PressKit/pdf/Anderson%20Armory%20backgrounder.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grant Posted June 18, 2011 Share Posted June 18, 2011 Good morning all. What be these? -tks grant Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MLMartin Posted June 18, 2011 Share Posted June 18, 2011 those are scribes for wood worker, I see the fellows in the timber framing shop next door using them a lot mark beams Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lordcaradoc Posted June 18, 2011 Share Posted June 18, 2011 I can assure you the smiths had no say in how the building came down, I know they don't like to see modern equipment come into there historical town. They are not Luddites, just serious about portraying there historical time frame. The building on site that came down was not quit historically right, also was vary rotten. The new building will be much nicer and most closer to the original building. A large amount of research has be done by Ken Shworts, the master of the shop on what the original building was like. Also a tinsmiths shop will be built next door! I am vary exsited about the new shop. Here is a press release .pdf on their reconstruction. http://www.history.org/Foundation/newsroom/2011PressKit/pdf/Anderson%20Armory%20backgrounder.pdf OK, I can see the need and at least they are doing the reconstruction with 18th C methods utilizing the craftsmen there. Regards, Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fciron Posted June 18, 2011 Share Posted June 18, 2011 Those carpenter's marking knives/scribes are very nearly the same thing I made in shop class at age 16. My introduction to blacksmithing and probably what corrupted the rest of my life. B) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viking-sword Posted June 18, 2011 Share Posted June 18, 2011 OH but don't ya know they scraped the building for the nails Actually, I hope they did save those nails(probably not). Wes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lordcaradoc Posted June 18, 2011 Share Posted June 18, 2011 OH but don't ya know they scraped the building for the nails Actually, I hope they did save those nails(probably not). Wes That was kinda my point on how it was done in the 18th C, that everything salvageable would have been kept for the next building. Nails were expensive when you had to make them one by one. I remember hearing about (and this is decades later) Thomas Jefferson's smithy at Monticello how apprentices spent lots of time doing nothing but drawing out wire and making nails at one point. Regards, Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junksmith Posted June 20, 2011 Author Share Posted June 20, 2011 those are scribes for wood worker, I see the fellows in the timber framing shop next door using them a lot mark beams I made one yesterday in about 10 minutes. I don't know if anybody at craft fairs will be interested, but I'm going to make a few and try them out. I've been looking for a while for an historic but potentially still useful iron tool that I can produce easily. Not for everybody, but I'm hoping weekend woodworkers and those buying gifts for them will be interested. I'll make a few and find out. I can sure do it for less than $48.00! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWHII Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 Ejected you forcibly? I hope they were closing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 Those items are *exactly* what the label says they are "Carpenters striking knives". Very common before cheap pencils abounded and actually make a great line for many projects as you are actually starting the cut right on the line. Many old items will still bear witness to their use in places not generally visible to the owner. Remember that burning the building to collect the nails was outlawed in VA IIRC. TJ's smithy: You may be confusing this with Thomas Jefferson's Nailery; where some of his slaves produced nails for sale. He wrote up a complete business plan for it that is still included in his collected writings including how many nails of what types which slaves could be expected to produce. It's a valuable resource on the economics of period nail making! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lordcaradoc Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 Those items are *exactly* what the label says they are "Carpenters striking knives". Very common before cheap pencils abounded and actually make a great line for many projects as you are actually starting the cut right on the line. Many old items will still bear witness to their use in places not generally visible to the owner. Remember that burning the building to collect the nails was outlawed in VA IIRC. TJ's smithy: You may be confusing this with Thomas Jefferson's Nailery; where some of his slaves produced nails for sale. He wrote up a complete business plan for it that is still included in his collected writings including how many nails of what types which slaves could be expected to produce. It's a valuable resource on the economics of period nail making! It may be. On more thought, I think it was an episode of Woodwrights shop and he showed one of the nail header anvils used. Maybe he was mixing the information? I love Jeffersonian history, but I hadn't heard about him writing up a business plan using slaves to make nails. I guess that would have helped make such a labor intensive process cost effective. Regards, Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KST1-Derek Fultz Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 Jefferson also had kegs of "nail rod" imported from France for his nail making operation. They have some of it there at Monticello. No drawing down stock as it was the correct deminsion already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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