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Amazing Time Capsule - Iowa Blacksmith Shop


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While visiting family for the Memorial Day weekend, I had the good fortune of being able to visit the amazing Matthew Edel Blacksmith Shop in the small town of Haverhill, Iowa.  The shop was started in 1883 and actively worked until the death of the proprietor in 1940.  At that time the family closed the doors but left the shop and contents largely intact for many decades until they decided to donate the property to the Iowa Historical Society in 1986.  It was absolutely amazing to be able to this place, and even more amazing that it was preserved (largely through benign neglect) to give this window into the past.  I took nearly sixty photos inside the shop, but below are a few of the highlights.  The anvil was a 146 lb Peter Wright.  The largest post vise in the shop had 8 1/4" wide jaws.  Much of the mechanized shop machinery was operated with a belt-drive system powered by a gasoline engine, including a homemade trip hammer.

If you ever get a chance to stop and see this place, it is well worth your time.  The property is operated by the Iowa Historical Society and futher information about it is available here:

http://www.iowahistory.org/historic-sites/edel-blacksmith-shop/site-history.html

Enjoy:

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Very cool, would love to work in such a shop!

I work in a vaguely similar shop, except it's 150-200 years older. Layout is a nightmare as there is not a single flat surface in the place.

It is atmospheric, though. You never feel alone, in a good way.

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I work in a vaguely similar shop, except it's 150-200 years older. Layout is a nightmare as there is not a single flat surface in the place.

It is atmospheric, though. You never feel alone, in a good way.

​Pictures please. Possible?

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He must have make a LOT of carriage or runner bolts, he almost has more headers than other tools on his anvil stand. Lots of punches, many square tells me he made a lot of bolt plates as well. Makes sense if he made sets say large barn door hinges and latches with custom made carriage bolts and backing plates.

His swage block looks like it lived a lot of it's life with the round swages on top. I'll bet there was a rack with matching top swages close by. The I'd guess, hinge bale on the block would have had a matching fuller to get the ID right without having to drift. I'd be willing to bet the fuller is within reach.

I'd love to spend time standing in the various working positions just to get a feel for how he laid out his tools and worked.

Great photo spread, thank you.

Dan: Where is the photo spread of the shop you WORK in?!

Frosty The Lucky.

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I will take and post some photos soon.

Need to give the place a tidy up first!

No, no, NO! We wanna see it in normal operating condition. Not museum spiffy. :)

Edited by LastRonin
Autocorrect! Need I say more. :(
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He must have make a LOT of carriage or runner bolts, he almost has more headers than other tools on his anvil stand. Lots of punches, many square tells me he made a lot of bolt plates as well. Makes sense if he made sets say large barn door hinges and latches with custom made carriage bolts and backing plates.

His swage block looks like it lived a lot of it's life with the round swages on top. I'll bet there was a rack with matching top swages close by. The I'd guess, hinge bale on the block would have had a matching fuller to get the ID right without having to drift. I'd be willing to bet the fuller is within reach.

I'd love to spend time standing in the various working positions just to get a feel for how he laid out his tools and worked.

Great photo spread, thank you.

Dan: Where is the photo spread of the shop you WORK in?!

Frosty The Lucky.

​Labor used to be a lot cheaper than materials - wonder if he purchased raw bar stock and made all his bolts to fit?  A practiced man who was intent on the task could probably make a big carriage bolt for less than he could buy at the time - and it would be the right size every time.

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​Labor used to be a lot cheaper than materials - wonder if he purchased raw bar stock and made all his bolts to fit?  A practiced man who was intent on the task could probably make a big carriage bolt for less than he could buy at the time - and it would be the right size every time.

​That's the feeling I get Harold.

Frosty The Lucky.

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​Labor used to be a lot cheaper than materials - wonder if he purchased raw bar stock and made all his bolts to fit?  A practiced man who was intent on the task could probably make a big carriage bolt for less than he could buy at the time - and it would be the right size every time.

​Take into account that for the vast majority of blacksmithing history there was no such thing as scrap, only pieces of iron awaiting a purpose.

Having said that, my initial thought was that all the headers had been put there by some museum-y people.

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Good Morning,

I have had the pleasure of looking through the windows. Imagination times 10, might come close. The Blacksmith Shop was closed by the father because all the boys got jobs at the Factory. Which Factory? Probably John Deere in nearby Des Moines. (just a thought)

The Blacksmith Shop is just a couple blocks away from where one of the Studebaker boys live.

A definite example of what our lives would be like without a Hardware Store nearby.:):)

Neil

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​So as not to bog down this thread with nearly sixty images, I have decided to post a link to my Photobucket album where all of the pictures that I took can be viewed.  There is even a short (27 second) video of a portion of the shop.
 
I wish there was a way for me to have captured the smell of the place in these pictures.  It was unforgettable; sort of mixture of musty wood, earth, soot and old iron.

Enjoy!

Blacksmith Shop Haverhill IA 5-25-2015?sort=3&page=1&_suid=143273325492608367677414147294

 

Edited by TheCopilot
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That looks like an interesting helve hammer, anymore pics of it?

​Unfortunately, the pic posted above was one of the better ones I got of that trip hammer.  The hammer was in one of the darkest parts of the shop and getting a good image of it was tough.

Here is another shot taken from further back of the whole trip hammer apparatus:

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As you can see, there is a leaf spring on top of the arm to store energy and return it with the downward stroke of the hammer.

Feel free to look at the rest of the photos at the link listed above. It may show up in the background of some of the other images.

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