November 19, 200817 yr I recently moved out to cali( about 3 months ago). My dad is still living in canada till he can get his vise to come down with all of his stuff. This means my coal forge, coal, anvil,tools and ect are all still there. I have setup a small charcoal forge and a sledge head in a bow of concrete till i get my smithy down. I am only 13 but was wondering if there was someone near me that i could go to your smithy sometime and get some tips and pointers...i have been forging since May 2008... I have no probs with it its just i dont know any other smiths arround. I live in southern california, costa mesa.
November 19, 200817 yr I am in Cali, but about 600 miles north. One bad problem in California is finding coal. I drive to Sacramento to get mine. About 120 miles round trip. It is good stuff though. Elkhorn, in 50 lb bags for $28.
November 19, 200817 yr Around an hour (60-miles) south of Costa Mesa, is Vista, California. There is a Blacksmithing group at the Antique Gas and Steam Engine Museum. They have an active Blacksmith Shop and hold Blacksmithing classes, etc.Welcome to the Vista California Antique Gas & Steam Engine Museum Blacksmith Shop More Photos of the shop:http://www.agsem.com/black-200706.html They are affiliated with the California Blacksmiths Association:http://www.calsmith.org/ I have visited the shop during a tour of the museum. I want to get there in the next few months to take a class or two.Copyrighted photos removed Edited November 19, 200817 yr by DerekC
November 20, 200817 yr Brandon, Join the CBA, you'll find lots of stuff going on down in your nook. Look up Adam's Forge, and one they get going on their $20 saturdays that's a good way to tie in with some other local folks. Also, as Derek said, there's a very active cell of CBA folks/instructors in/around Vista. Not too far from you, and probably an easier drive than going to Pasadena to Adam's Forge. Tons of good folks in your area though, just gotta search them out. Also, you could get on the CBA's webpage (www.calsmith.org) and they just started up a forum, not very active yet, but you could throw a little hail-call on there and might get some good intel.
November 20, 200817 yr Author i was thinking about joining the cba... Rlarkin..... Could you ive me a name of the place where thay sell coal i wouldent mind going for a 4 hour drive to get it sometime!!! Just gotta find some way to make my folks go...
November 20, 200817 yr It's called The Horseshoe Barn.The Horseshoe Barn They are really cool people. Went up 3 weeks ago. When I walked in the door Renate asked what I needed. Told her "5 bags of coal". Went in the warehouse to look at their hammers. Had a sweet 1 1/2 lb Nordic rounding for $32, but I didn't bring enough cash. When I walked back to the counter, Renate said, (your trucks already loaded). I have sent my daughters up when I can't get there, in my wifes Expedition. They stick the bags in large trash bags so the Expedition stays clean, and load it. Edited November 20, 200817 yr by rlarkin
November 21, 200817 yr Author wow thats pretty cheap.....til you add the 50 bucks of gas to get there:(:)
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