ABANA conference 2024

[ClevelandGuy]

My wife and I were planning to attend this year (first time), and I was looking at the registration and they don't list the cost for members.  An ABANA membership costs $90/year, so I'm trying to see if it's worth it to join to get the member discount for the conference.  Does anyone know the member price for the conference?

 

Any other comments or advice regarding attending the conference would be appreciated.  The only other event we've attended has been SOFA's Quadstate, which we've enjoyed, although it took us several years to realize that if we wanted to actually buy anything, we needed to show up 3 days before the event officially starts or it would all be picked over and gone...

[jlpservicesinc]

I have gone to several ABANA conferences..   

The last few I have been a demonstrator/teacher. 

The conferences at the Gas light park are close together..  each person/demonstrator is in pretty tight areas..  This is great because you don't have to walk 5 miles between demos. 

The conference has a list of demos so if you want to catch a particular demo it's possible several times usually depending on the demo. 

I'll be doing "Hinges"..  Strap, H and butterfly and in-depth look.   This will have all the steps needed to make amazing hinge barrels with fit and finish. 

Over the years I have a much higher value and appreciation for education involving smithing. 

Just taught a 4 day class on forge welding which they made blacksmith basket twist handled pokers, chain and  treble herb hook.. 

Best to reach out to abana.. 
 

[jlpservicesinc]

Well the Conference has come and gone.   

I had one of the best times of my life there...   The environment was ripe for learning, sharing and greeting..  

I offered a class/demo on "welded Hinge barrels and in-depth look"..     The demonstration area was full on each demo and had assorted individuals from Beginner to seasoned professionals..  and was a treat to have some smiths from Colonial Williamsburg in the audience. 

I run it as a very loose classroom with Q&A as things are explained and shown and the most important part of the demo..    The questions and discussions were top-notch and often talked about techniques, little items often overlooked, and even different types of processes as most were shown or came to learn. 

It was super cool because there were some long-time smiths (50+ year professionals)  who were asking questions about the concepts I was demonstrating..  

It was interesting that the long term smiths would often ask questions before getting to a point that was maybe 1 or 2 steps away as they were trying to reason out what, why, how.   I use a mandrel system where the hinge body gets welded around; this was one of the techniques that raised some of the most questions. 

I forged a new mandrel for larger pin sizes which modern smiths seem to prefer..     Funny though when I asked the people which pin size they wanted to see (small/traditional or (larger/modern).    I left it up to vote.    So Friday (day2) was H hinge (large pin) and day 3 was Butterfly (small pin) I saved the hardest for last which was silly since I was pretty tired. 


A few of the members here George G,  Shaina R and Latticino I bumped into and I know some of the demo was caught by them. Was so nice meeting them in person.  I was so busy I did not get to spend much quality time though..  

Thursday demo was at 2pm.  I wanted to check in with the BB group and Rob H about forging a rounding hammer.  I came back friday and they had already forged it..  Which was ok since i had (3 full on forging sessions ). 


Thursday demo was Strap hinges,  How to size the barrel easily, and preform it and then drift to size to get the right inside upset.  Also discussed how long the scarf should be for proper support. 

Friday morning I was in the "4 person competition"  and we completed the sculpture about 20 min early and it was like watching a ballet..  2 of our most import punches snapped from all the abuse from the previous training sessions,  It came out amazing..  We took a 3rd place finish..   

Then I went and demonstrated H hinges and the use of special swages and how to create a perfect hinge joint with no light shine thru..    This was a really fun demo, since I had to make a new swage for the larger modern pin sizes and the pins were tighter then supposed to be..  ( add in 4hrs of information here)...   But was able to get the pins out and fitted and it was really nice joint.   

The "  Forging competition for overall length" was canceled by ABANA from the start..  But, I rangled one of the ABANA peeps and we found some 1/2" sq bar stock..   I asked a few people so they helped me prep stock (1/2Sqx10")for the comp..  Make it as long as possible in 10min..  Hand hammer only. 

Hit up a bunch of the BB group and a few others and had about 20 people compete.  A young gentleman named Peter left us all in the dust at just over 24"..     The group would only let me use a 9" bar vs the 10" long bar everyone else got to use as a handicap from my win a few years back.. 

The longest bar was 24.125" IIRC..   Next was about 23" and 4 at about 22" +/-..  Then a slew everywhere in-between..    That was super fun..   Finished up about 1030pm after clean up.. 

Saturday was Butterfly hinges and the vote for which pin was traditional or the smaller pin..  This was also done on the mandrel or pin in welding method and was great because it was an extension on technique from the previous day.  I took the morning to visit with some people and talk with a few about different hinge designs. 

The ABANA guy who helped locate the 1/2sq stock for the competition,  has some strap hinges to make and he was not able to catch the demo on Thursday so the group who came to watch the butterfly hinge demo were ok with going over the strap hinge demo again but with a little faster session.  (so everyone got a 2 demo slot on Saturday) The abana guy got the full demo on it and we then moved onto the Butterfly hinge..  

I have to confess at this point I was pretty tired..  But pushed on and it was crazy good..     The butterfly hinges were not the same length because I bent 1 the wrong way.. The vises jaws did not shut all the way and this complicated things some.    But this demo showed 2 different methods of prepping the sheet..  Shearing in the vise and then shearing on the anvil and the difference in finish. 

I showed the ideal hinge barrel spacing and asked the Williamsburg smiths what they use as standard and it was greater than the 1/4,1/2,1/4 I typically use or suggest as a starting point.  

Again keep in mind this "demonstration/teaching" session is about discussion so there were thousands of Q&A going on all the time.  

Once the hinge barrels were laid out I then cut them with the hacksaw and then explained how to achieve the bevelled chisel cut so there is not much finish work. 

Once the barrels were cut and I pulled the extra material, I passed along both hinges so the people could look at what I had done. 

Was funny because I did not check to see if they  would fit.  

When the hinge made it all the way back to me, the hinges were fitted together with no pin..    I asked who pushed them together.. Zack R spoke up 

Said " I pushed them together"..   LOL..   I said " Ah, that was supposed to be my magic trick after they were passed around"..  (yes you had to be there I guess)
We both laughed..    I then stuffed the pin in and the hinge needed no further adjustment.   NO light and perfect fit, so I then made a proper pin and fitted it. 

Saturday had a bunch of Auctions, iron in the hat, and other venue-type things..   I was so dirty after the day I just took a walk through the gallery and because of all the noise, I had to get out of there..  So went and ate supper in prep for going and hanging with the Indiana group..   I hung out with these guys until 12:01 am and then called it a day. 

Got home safely and had one of the best times of my life.   

The demos and interactions were just stunning..  

I had plenty of sleep at 4hrs for the 4days..     I'm going to sleep well tonight.. 



 

[Latticino]

I caught Jen's first demo on the strap hinges.  Inspired me enough that I had to get into the training tent myself and bang on some steel. She gives a very comprehensive and well thought out demo.  At each step I found myself saying things like: "oh of course, now it seems obvious".  Have to see if I can get to a coal forge and try it myself.  Unfortunately couldn't get to her other two demos, but there is just so much to do at these and you can't catch it all.

Got to study with Mark Aspery, and learned some finesse tricks to help with improving my quality of forge welds as well as success with drop tong welding.  Didn't quite have the social experience that Jen did at the event, and wish I had known about the evening events, at least the informal forging competition (but probably was too tired from working bent over at the short forges and anvils they had there).

Learned a lot more about induction forges.  Guess they are good for things other than subcritical annealing on knife tangs to allow drilling after the blade has been heat treated.

[CrazyGoatLady]

Jen, that looks like a great time was had by all. Have I ever told you how awesome you are?!

[George Geist]

Our own Miss Jennifer at Johnstown.

George 

[jlpservicesinc]

CGL thanks..    I love this kind of thing..  I'm thankful to the person who requested me to attend ABANA as a demonstrator 6 or so years ago after attending the Fitchburg Forge in Competition..   And to Mark Aspery who saw my forging of the trident fork at the 2018 ABANA conference and reached out for me to be on his team at the 2020 conference which did not happen.  Mark has reached out often to include me at ABANA and the national curriculum sadly my time has been limited but do plan on finishing my grill project. 

This person I'll reference as LM opened the door to be involved at this level and it's incredible and humbling to think I was a demonstrator/teacher at ABANA's 50th Anniversary..  I never for the life of me thought this would ever occur..  

I was blessed during the event/lecture/demo to be surrounded by inquisitive people and once they knew to ask questions and it was encouraged it opened up everyone to relax and question and learn.  I learned some things too..   Some things are overlooked even though I try to show all the little nuances..  So was great having people who would question about these little things as they were being picked up on. 

Something that I don't usually mention is the gas vapor of flux.. Of which I demonstrated separately..  The number one question by everyone is how come the pin does not weld into the hinge barrel..  

George, it was so nice to finally meet you..   Thank you for the photos and for stopping me to say 'Hello"..   I was pretty much like a chicken with my head cut off..  LOL..  Running from here to there..   I really packed a lot in.. 

John H. was nice enough to send over these photos of the H hinge demo..   The person I'm talking to with the Tomahawk is Wally Yater..  He was responsible for making swage blocks and Mandrel cones back in the 70's and 80's when there was no source..  He is an excellent smith and even he was like " You weld your hinges with a pin in them"????  How do you keep it from welding???     

There were so many discussions on facets of smithing hinges,  traditional smiths vs modern, metals, historical accuracy, etc, etc.  Because it was an open floor and there were so many varied talented smiths it was great to compare notes with 40 others. 

There were a couple of snaffoohs with the H hinges as I was using a new swage and I discovered after the fact that it indeed has a tight spot..  So it took a little bit for the hinge barrel to let go of the hinge pin..    I started asking if anyone wanted to bet the mandrel would indeed be welded forever vs coming out..     no takers but it was interesting..  Seemed to take forever to get it loose.. 

On the butterfly hinges which are technically more challenging the pins just came right out, but I was also using my original swage made back in the late 80's . 

I pass around the items as each process is done and John was nice enough to get great photos.. 

I gave the tomahawk to the Youngster who forged my BB style rounding hammer.  Hammer still needs to be heat treated and hafted. 

[jlpservicesinc]

Here are the examples made in the demos finished.  I finished them up just a little while ago.  I put them on end for weld photos and metal thicknesses.. 

Rob H. of the BB group donated one of his striking anvils to the school..  What a nice item..  it's extremely well made. 

[Frosty]

WOW! With a photo spread like that I don't need to go to a conference. 

I love your safety glasses Jennifer, are they prescription or just space age cool?

Frosty The Lucky.

[jlpservicesinc]

Frosty, they are called Clic goggles..    Clic stopped making the goggles  a few years ago..   They last a long time and take replaceable lenses. 

I'm eventually going to get some real glass lenses made for them since finding the replacement clear lenses are getting harder. 


 

[Goods]

The youngster you gave the hawk to wouldn’t happen to have been Noah, who hangs with Kurt and Rod? 

Keep it fun,

David

[jlpservicesinc]

Sorry, no..  I believe Caleb is His  name..  Hes hidden behind someones hand in the forging comp photos.   Noah, is the little, little dude..    I'm a little confused as to who is who's..  

The last photo on the first new post.. Standing next to Kurt. 

[George Geist]

1 hour ago, Frosty said:

WOW! With a photo spread like that I don't need to go to a conference. 

 

Well, you know.....

Being semi retired is a great thing. Anybody wanna meet up at the next Caniron?

George 

[jlpservicesinc]

That is a good point.. YOu might be able to see it in person..   

[Daswulf]

Nice work and job Jennifer. 

While I am sorry I couldn't make it and need you and others, I'm glad to see photos of some of what you did. 

[jlpservicesinc]

Das, it would have been great to see you..   

Nothing like being there in person, but yes.. Some photos help.. 

Something I have noticed about events like this for me, is this..  It's hard to visit with people for any length of time. 

Breakfast, lunch and dinner are primary visiting times..  But sadly I'm gluten-free and don't eat meat..  This cuts into going out to eat at restaurants..   Well unless I want a salad..  LOL.. 

So it's great when the meals are at the event or there is a place to prep food with the group.. Then I can prep, and sit with people for the visit. 

It was a blast for sure..   Thanks

[Daswulf]

It's tough getting out to events with everything going on. I'd love to meet so many in person. As usual, maybe next year. I'm lucky to get out to a few local events with the PAABA. Next one I can make it to is the Compass Inn museum meet where we set up our demo forges and make items to donate for the museum gift shop. There is usually a brass pour as well to watch. It is always a good time with lunch provided to volunteers. Every time I seem to get volunteered to lift and carry something heavy up some awkward stairs lol. 

I'm actually missing my work golf outing where we have a lot of fun and then eat too much but I just cant help but love blacksmithing  more even if I have to move load and haul a bunch of heavy stuff. More fun and rewarding to me than riding around in a golf cart drinking cold beverages and playing badly at golf. Tho the golf outing is always a blast. I chose my hammer and anvil this year since they were the same day. 

[Shainarue]

On 6/9/2024 at 6:54 PM, jlpservicesinc said:

I asked who pushed them together

Funny thing, they were pushed together when they got around to me (after Zach) but I separated them because I wanted to see the shearing bevels. I assumed you had put them together so I made sure to reassemble before passing them on, lol

I have a bunch of pics as well but most regarding your demo are basically the same as what's been shared. Except this one. It's hard to get a pic of demonstrators not looking serious so I was glad to have gotten this candid pic. 

I also got this video of the butterfly hinge just before the cuts were made to the barrel. https://youtube.com/shorts/nABewk6Rd58?si=tb7KnK-Sw56cqySn

I had a blast and it was awesome meeting so many amazing smiths and soaking up all the knowledge and stories they were sharing. 

Like Latticino, I was unaware of the informal forging that was going on after the event. I had even come back to that area at 6 on Friday to retrieve the water thermos I had left behind but the place seemed empty other than a few people in the training tent having a conversation. So I went back to the park, got some ice cream and listened to live music before heading to the hotel for a fairly early bedtime, mostly because I was bored, lol

Thankfully though, I got the heads up from Jennifer on Saturday afternoon that I should hang out with the Indiana crew and that they have people forging stuff pretty much constantly. So that's what I did. And wow, what a crew those guys are! It was inspiring to watch everything they had done and were doing. Then the Colonial Williamsburg guys start making a trowel at like 11 o'clock at night. Just wild. I was in my element and loving every minute of it.

Here's a video of the rotating swage wheel made by Kurt F and Paul K did Friday night (I think): https://youtube.com/shorts/BLT-rLTuH3U?si=W26IrT6FwYfHWzrO

Saturday night was the chef's kiss to top off what was already a great experience.

Here's a few other pics from the conference Friday and Saturday.

The Forging Competition teams (two exceptions are the pic of the 50 inside a ring which was done by a Thursday team and is actually what took first place - and the orbital looking sculpture which was also done by a Thursday team).

Artem Marshek's assembly on Saturday of the insane sculpture he started on Friday.

 

This tree full of nails holding business cards was fun to look at. Quite a few normal and giant nails but also a lot of artistic nails. I particularly liked this one:

 

 

Demo by Becky Schimpff on collars

And a few pieces from the gallery. And a few videos from the gallery as well. 

 

 

 

I also met Mark Aspery and thanks to my awkwardness, I came out with a pretty funny story to remember that moment 

[jlpservicesinc]

Shaina, great collection of photos and info... And thanks for the totally wonderful chat on the way home. 

 

Made the miles pass by quickly and quietly.

[Shainarue]

Call and chat anytime!