NEB Spring meet June 6,7,8th in Brentwwod NH!

[Crazy Ivan]

First, I want to specify that I am not a board member of NEB, just a member.  I am copy and pasting this information from our news letter for all interested folks out there who may be interested in attending/participating. 

 

"The Brentwood Committee and the Board of Directors are proud to present the Blacksmith's Totem, a 

working style Meet, June 6-7-8 in Brentwood NH. 

This Meet will be creating a public art sculpture to better define the nature and mission of New England 

Blacksmiths. It will be installed near the Teaching Center, clearly visible to all the visitors of the 

Brentwood recreation site and from NH route 125. 

!

The basic structure of the Totem will be six 24" square cubes, stacked vertically, and rotated respective to 

one another to form a twisted cube shape. This will be mounted on a concrete base and at the interface 

between the sculpture and the concrete there will be a bearing surface that will allow the entire structure 

to be hand rotated. There will be twenty four, 4 sq. ft. surfaces presented that will be embellished with 

Smith created grills showcasing the talent so many in NEB have. 

!

There will be 2 main working areas set up through the Meet. There will be members of NEB who are 

professional welders, manning and guiding the fabrication of the main Cor-ten steel Totem structure. This 

is an opportunity to learn quite a bit about many fab techniques from guys like Bob Lavoie, Ralph Sproul, 

Steve Melady, Charlie Sedell, Tony Millham, Ed Cannon, 

and Mike Bishop. We will have fitting and tacking 

stations, welding stations, and finishing stations set up near 

the Teaching Center. If this is an area you always wanted 

to have more experience with, then volunteer with the Fab 

Group and get your hands dirty. 

!

The second main working area will be 12 forging stations 

set up at the pavilion creating grills that will be then 

mounted to the Totem faces. We have 9 talented Forge 

Masters that will guide volunteer teams through their own 

designs creating these grills. This group includes, Ray 

Ceimny, Dereck Glaser, Joel Wentworth, John D'Abate, 

Russell Pope, Kyle Connelly, Justin Morrell, Nick 

Downing, and Judson Yaggy. A lot of traditional forging 

will be taking place here. Looking to get a different 

forging experience? Get involved with a Forge Team. 

!

While we hope you will join a team and do some forging, 

it is not necessary to be a working participant in this Meet. 

There will be interesting demonstrations going on all 

around. Spectating and note taking is strongly encouraged. 

!

Also this is still an NEB Meet with all that implies. 

Tailgating, Iron in the Hat, all the great food, lots of talk 

about current projects, and general Blacksmith fellowship. 

! !

!

Pictured are some of the grill designs that will be created at the meet and the sculpture base the fab team 

will be welding up! There will be a Friday evening talk by team leaders about their designs. 

Safety glasses required in all work areas! "

 

You can find all the rest of the information at the link posted below. It sounds like a great time with a very interesting project! The link will give more details, directions, contact info etc. I hope to see some of you there.

http://www.newenglandblacksmiths.org/NebSpringFlierFinal.pdf

-Crazy Ivan