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Hey Gang!

 

Heres a heads up that program information and registration is now live for the upcoming CBA/NWBA Spring Conference/Western States Conference!

 

I have gotten a few emails pertaining to registration in the last week or so but I haven't seen it posted up here, so im kinda going rogue and sharing the excitement :)

 

Here is the website for the event

http://www.westernstatesconference.com/

 

Registration can be chased down via the CBA website.  Please make sure you are looking at the 2015 event info and not the archived/related 2014 info!

http://www.calsmith.org/news/2015/01/28/western-states-online-registration-form/

 

Additional info can be had on the NWBA site

http://blacksmith.org/events/forging-on-the-faultline/

 

Event dates are April 23-26, 2015

it will be held at the San Benito County Fairgrounds (AKA Bolado Park) in Hollister, California.

 

Abbreviated details:

Featured Demonstrators:
Alfred Bullerman – Germany
Assisted by Scott Lankton – Michigan
Leonard Urso – Large Copper Sculpture -Rochester Inst. of Technology – Rochester, NY
Dean Mook – North West Design – Seattle, Washington
Kirk McNeill – Sculpture – Freedom Forge – Santa Cruz, California
Megan Crowley – Pipe Forming – Dolores, CO
Daryl Meier – Meiersteel, Knife Making – Illinois
Phil Baldwin – Knife Making – Washington State

Power Hammer Workshops(beginners & advanced smiths):
Mark Krause – California
Frank Trousil – California

Hands-On Workshops by:
Mark Aspery – Everywhere
Darrel Nelson – Washington State
John Mclellan – California

 

Sign up early for a discounted rate!

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Just a note on process ... if you are a CBA member please renew your membership prior to registering. If your e-mail address is not recognized please e-mail me with the up-to-date e-mail address and I will fix the issue. Then you can register.

Also if you are an ABANA affilaiate member you do not have to join CBA for a full year to attend the conference, $15 will purchace a conference membership so you can attend ...

 

My e-mail address is [email protected]

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  • 1 month later...

Hi All, 

Just completed the registration!

I'm a second year member of CBA but this will be my first CBA event.  I've read everything on the website, but still have some questions.

As a non-demonstrator or volunteer, what should I be bringing in addition to my PPE?  Should I bring my hammers, tongs and hand tools?  

I see there is a forging contest to be held, has the theme been decided yet? 

I'm planning on dry camping in a tent, is there enough shaded areas for this? Or should I bring tarps to create shade?

Are wood fires allowed in the camping area?

Thanks. See you there! 

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I'm not familiar with the location, so apply salt as necessary here :)

they typically provide tools as much as they are able, but if you have a simple kit of tools you can bring along with you, you won't need to borrow anything or work with unfamiliar gear.  Plus if tools are short relative to attendance and you BYO, then someone who is less well equipped can use the house gear instead.

 

as for heavy gear, anvils, forges, and vises, you can try contacting the organizers and offering to bring them if needed.

 

i did read that there will be a forging competition(s), and the theme/task will be revealed about a month in advance, so stay tuned :)

 

cant help ya on the camping stuff though, sorry, were it me and it wasn't a space issue I would just bring the tarps anyway, and if they stay I the car then it's one less thing to take down and pack away afterwards!  I'd call the venue/grounds and ask about the fire situation.

 

please take lots of pictures of the demos and happenings, I'm going to have to live this vicariously through you guys!

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  • 3 weeks later...

Here is the camping information:

CAMPING
San Benito County Fair grounds ...
Charged by the event center for camping:
RV Camping with full hookup is $35/day
RV Camping with partial hookup $30/day
RV Camping with no hookup and dry camping $25/day

Edited by Herb Upham
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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi All, 

Just completed the registration!

I'm a second year member of CBA but this will be my first CBA event.  I've read everything on the website, but still have some questions.

As a non-demonstrator or volunteer, what should I be bringing in addition to my PPE?  Should I bring my hammers, tongs and hand tools?  

I see there is a forging contest to be held, has the theme been decided yet? 

I'm planning on dry camping in a tent, is there enough shaded areas for this? Or should I bring tarps to create shade?

Are wood fires allowed in the camping area?

Thanks. See you there! 

​Yuriy,

I am helping the conference coordinators with the conference program, and can answer some of these (if you haven't gotten what you need from the websites):

* kirk mcneill told me to bring hammer(s), tongs, hot chisel, and hot punch.  beyond that basic set, it's up to you.  i'm bringing a 2 lb flat/rounding hammer, plus a ball pein, the one pair of tongs i've made (wolf's jaw) and a hot chisel and hot punch.

* the theme of the forging contest is "plasticity".  individuals or teams have 3 hours to make a piece, which will be judged and announced before the auction (all pieces will be up for auction).

* there are a bunch of trees, scattered around the perimeter of the main grassy area and up at the north end of the park near gate 1.  there *should* be enough trees, but i am planning on bringing a 10' square sun shade just in case.

* as far as i know, you'd have to bring a firepit, i can't find any information about fires or whether they're allowed in the park.  i'd err on the side of caution.

best,

bill

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I'm bringing a couple of my main shop anvils and vises for people to use at this event along with a truck and trailer load of equipment for tailgating. Mostly german anvils and vises. The two vises on stands are the loaners. 

I will also have a bunch of hammers, tongs and hardy tools in the truck.

I am at nearly 6,000 pounds now on the trailer, any requests for additional anvils? I still have at home a Austrian style church window, another small Peddinghuas (under 200#), various S&H's and some large 600 pound plus north German style double horns.

I had to preload for this event since I'm in Anahiem at the Star Wars Celebration convention till Monday.

 

image.thumb.jpg.11535951fdeaffef2214592c

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lawn jockey, i will try to get an answer to that question about arriving wednesday night.  there will still be a lot of setup going on, and i don't know whether that's being accounted for or not.

bill

​i just talked with kirk mcneill, and he says people can show up any time after monday for the conference.  there will be hella setup going on tuesday and wednesday, and the show begins thursday morning.

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* as far as i know, you'd have to bring a firepit, i can't find any information about fires or whether they're allowed in the park.  i'd err on the side of caution.

best,

bill

yuriy, you'll have to bring a firepit to have fire at your campsite, though apparently some of the campsites in the trees (near the picnic areas at the north end) and near the beer garden at the south end (no campsites near there) have some of those bbqs on stands with the flip up grills.  no wood is available onsite...but it appears fires are allowed in controlled containers.​

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Nice trailer, looks to have it's 'front full' though 

You're right, the darned "dove tail" rear end of the trailer is to steep to load this type of equipment. Wish I had bought a straight flat bed years ago versus this car trailer. I have shifted some back towards the axles.

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Madwing, thanks for the info.  I am going to head down Thursday morning.  If there is a need for firewood I have a pile I was going to haul to the dump since I am getting ready to move.  The wood is a mix of unsplit chunks of tree trunk and constrution waste, pallets, etc.  If there is interest I can cut it down to useable sizes and load the back of my truck.

Edited by LawnJockey
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Lawn Jockey, to get rid of wood all you need is a freebie listing on Craigslist, it will always go.

My only concern is fire hazard with the drought in CA. When I lived there there were times that no open fires were allowed due to  conditions making everything too dry. 

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On the firewood I don't care one way or the other.  The offer was made due to the discussion above.  Pinnacles National Park which is near by does have fire restrictions in place so it might be worth while to check with the local fire officials regarding fires.

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I've been keeping an eye on the weather forecasts and there's a chance of rain each day. Low chances right now at 10-20%. The last two CA conferences I've been to it has rained. I guess we need to schedule a whole bunch of them to help out with the drought! 

For those camping out, be prepared! Remember the thunderstorm that hit Vista last year? Chance of thunderstorms this week too throughout central CA and Sierra foothills.

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yuriy, you'll have to bring a firepit to have fire at your campsite, though apparently some of the campsites in the trees (near the picnic areas at the north end) and near the beer garden at the south end (no campsites near there) have some of those bbqs on stands with the flip up grills.  no wood is available onsite...but it appears fires are allowed in controlled containers.​

​Thanks for looking into this.  I'll just bring a gas stove to play it safe. 

 

I am at nearly 6,000 pounds now on the trailer, any requests for additional anvils? I still have at home a Austrian style church window, another small Peddinghuas (under 200#), various S&H's and some large 600 pound plus north German style double horns.

 

That sounds great Jake, i'll definitely be on the lookout for a sub 200# Peddinghaus to buy !  

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I'm not familiar with the location, so apply salt as necessary here

they typically provide tools as much as they are able, but if you have a simple kit of tools you can bring along with you, you won't need to borrow anything or work with unfamiliar gear.  Plus if tools are short relative to attendance and you BYO, then someone who is less well equipped can use the house gear instead.

 

as for heavy gear, anvils, forges, and vises, you can try contacting the organizers and offering to bring them if needed.

 

i did read that there will be a forging competition(s), and the theme/task will be revealed about a month in advance, so stay tuned

 

cant help ya on the camping stuff though, sorry, were it me and it wasn't a space issue I would just bring the tarps anyway, and if they stay I the car then it's one less thing to take down and pack away afterwards!  I'd call the venue/grounds and ask about the fire situation.

 

please take lots of pictures of the demos and happenings, I'm going to have to live this vicariously through you guys!

Here's some pics I took. I have mostly videos but don't know how to upload those.

IMG_20150425_170613_707.jpg

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IMG_20150424_114029_442.jpg

IMG_20150424_242704_848.jpg

IMG_20150423_143050_727.jpg

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great shots, orion.  don't know how to tell you to share videos here, but you can do so at the cba facebook page...

what a great conference for a first timer.  i didn't know what to expect, and i am so glad i went.  mark aspery, mark krause, kirk mcneill, frank trousil, alfred bullerman...all approachable as hell, all willing to share...

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