Brian Brazeal workshop this past weekend

[Michael]

Just got back from a 3 day workshop at Augsburger Studios in Templeton, California. Brian Brazeal led a  free form group of 8 of us in tool making and forging.   Came home with a 3+ lb rounding hammer, a  top fuller, a hotcut, a rounding tool  and most of the sledge work done on a  punch.

 

Got there Friday morning after a pre dawn, 3+ hour drive, 12 lb straight peen sledge in hand. Brian started everyone out with a tapered shank hot cut, where I probably should have started, but I wanted to make a hammer in a cart-before-the-horse sort of way.

 

Messed up while punching the eye on the first 4 inch length of 4140 steel *That’ll make a good top tool* and tried again.  With Brian*s help was able to clean up the messy slug and move onto shaping the sides and faces.

 

Brian had a lot to say: “A 13 year old can make that in 2 heats”, referring to the Int'l Young Smiths, who apparently swung the 20 lb sledge all day; “Heat it, hold it, hit it”; "dont' listen to me, watch what your hammer does, look at where you just hit,"  and “it practically makes itself”, that last one became a mantra of sorts applied to both successes and failures.

 

Speaking of failures, an electric blower opens up all sorts of possiblities for your work migrating down to melt onto the clinker donut in the bottom of the forge (don't ask me how I know this)

 

There was a LOT more sledge hammer than I was expecting. Groups of 3 and even up to 5 sledges swinging at the same time, mostly getting the rounding tools started on the low, striking anvils.  Great fun getting 5 people striking, that part was over too fast IMHO

 

Not a lot of hand hammer work as it turns out.  My little 2 lb cross peen is never going to feel the same.

 

Great bunch of people attending the class, wonderful hosts, learned a lot, some of which I'm even aware of and much more that will come bubbling up through the brain/muscle connection when I get out to the little backyard smithy.

 

Funny how the aches, pains and fatigue of the prior days work, would vanish as you gripped a sledge and got a whiff of the coal smoke. But those poor, now gray towels in the Motel 6 shower are trash now.

 

[VaughnT]

Looks like you had a great time and came away with some great memories.  Can't ask for better than that..... unless you get some great tools out of the deal, too.  :D

[Chinobi]

Thats awesome Mike!  i was lobbying to get brian to put a stop in to Los Angeles but unfortunately the schedule didnt work :(

 

looks like you got some nice new tooling out of it and probably learned a lot too :)