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Aussie Brush Fires Leaf Memorial, make and send leaves.


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For those of you who don't know what I do with my spare time or I look like, here's a little story that was supposed to be about The Tree Project, but as I found out (the hard way) you should never trust a journalist, especially one that tells you he's one of the good ones! But as they say in the clasics: there's no such thing as bad promotion...
Leave art on Strathewen tree shrine - People - News | Diamond Valley Leader

Cheers,
Paul

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I bashed out one leaf today and then the thought occurred to me; How do these get attached to the tree?? I skimmed the thread but don't see the answer, but I do notice everyone is just leaving stem "natural" Right? Will they be wired on? Welded?? Gonna try and knock out another today and get them in the mail asap.
-Scott

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G'day Scott,

The SS leaves will welded on with either TIG or MIG and the Cu leaves will be silver soldered.
If by "natural" you mean the same as the parent stock, then not exactly. We just need the stem to be roughly rounded, with enough length to enable it to be attached to others and the branches. We have asked that they be a little heavier (4-5mm) than the real thing so they are not easily removed.
The step by step instructions for how to forge a gum leaf I posted on the website (The Tree Project: Forging Tips) show it pretty clearly.
Hope that clears it up.

Cheers,
Paul


I bashed out one leaf today and then the thought occurred to me; How do these get attached to the tree?? I skimmed the thread but don't see the answer, but I do notice everyone is just leaving stem "natural" Right? Will they be wired on? Welded?? Gonna try and knock out another today and get them in the mail asap.
-Scott
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Thanks Paul. That answers my question. Actually, by "natural" I meant the stems are like they would be in nature rather than altered to hang or rivet or whatever i.e formed into a loop or hook etc. Anyhoo, here's my contribution. Both are about 4" long without the stem. One stem is a bit less than 1/4" as I made it before I read that part :) Also, as all I had to work with started as 1/4" rod, they cam out a little lighter than prescribed. Hope they work. Just put them good and high out of reach LOL. I will get them in the mail tomorrow or Sat.

13342.attach

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Great work both of you. Thanks for taking the time to make us some leaves, we really appreciate it, and believe me, so do the people affected by the fires.

Cheers,
Paul

I'll put in my two bobs (20 cents) worth here as well. The reaction from onlookers at fundraisers we've had so far has been incredible. Some are overwhelmed at what a group of grubby men and women around the world are doing for them and they fight back tears when deciding what they want us to put on their leaf. Believe me too. It is true we appreciate the help we're getting in bringing the tree to fruition but you also need to know of the heartfelt appreciation of the public as well.

You blokes are welcome at my fire any day.
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On May 3rd I will be working with a local Boyscout Troop to make copper leaves to send in for the Tree Project. I have made several and they have already made to Austrailia. I hear the scouts are excited to participate and I am really looking forward to teach them the little I know of smithing. Maybe a few of them will enjoy the expirence enough to persue balcksmithing as they grow older... I plan on taking pictures during the day and I'll post a link to my Flickr account after I put them up.

Edited by jringling
edit for spelling
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Man 304 SS hammers HARD. I wanted to do more with mine, but it wore me and the Power Hammer out.....


To quote Con the Fruiterer (an Australian comedian) "Doesn't matter!" If you can make one or one hundred leaves before the SS wins, your leaves will be received with the same gratitude.

Don't forget too that your leaf doesn't have to be a mile long. A six inch leaf will look just as good on the tree as a twelve inch leaf. You could also have a go at some gumnuts which don't require anywhere near the same amount of work as a leaf.

Basically a gumleaf is a flattened out taper and a gumnut can be just a bit of tube necked to form a stem. Have a gander at
http://www.treeproject.abavic.org.au/reference-images.html and

http://www.treeproject.abavic.org.au/forging-tips.html

The how to's are from Paul Mills using round stuff. Without the luxury of round stock I've had to make my leaves out of 20mm x 4mm I think and it's quite a different method. It makes use of a blacksmiths magician I think they're called. Anyway I'll take some pikkies next time I fire up.
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I actually prefer to make them out of FB, that way half the job is done before you even start! When I use FB, I just draw a taper as per normal and flatten a little more, then to form the stem, just use the ball peen hammer on the pointy end of the horn (works like a top and bottom fuller), cut it off then round it up on the anvil face. All done!

Cheers,
Paul

It makes use of a blacksmiths magician I think they're called. Anyway I'll take some pikkies next time I fire up.
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OK, this one is for the locals... but if you're interstate or OS, feel free to jump on a plane and join in!

We're having a blacksmithing demonstration (that's an exhibition of, not a protest about) and making leaves for the tree this Monday from 0830 to midday at Kinglake. Our aim is to bring the project to the communities affected and let people see first-hand the creation of the tree. We are planning to have similar events in other townships, so I will keep everyone posted with dates etc. If you or anyone you know who may be interested in coming along, have them to contact me directly and we'll sort something out.
My email address is: treeproject@abavic.org.au

Cheers,
Paul

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From the email

Get your completed leaves to them by 30 June 2009 so we can assemble the tree. Our plan is to have an unveiling ceremony in September 2009 to coincide with the Association’s 20th anniversary celebration.

Send the leaves to,

The Tree Project
c/- Paul Mills, Sefiira Forge
PO Box 542, Hurstbridge
Victoria, Australia 3099

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I am new to this site and had not heard of the Tree Project before reading this thread this morning. Well done to the guys who thought of it and put in the work to pull it all together.

I'll be making a few leaves this afternoon, and will be trying to get the day off tomorrow to get across to Kinglake as well: my area, Bendigo, was also hit by the fires and while we lost 70 to 80 homes, we were luckly compared to others when we lost only one life.

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Just a quick note to say thanks to all the A.B.A.(Vic) guys who turned up with forges, anvils and hammers yesterday to the Kinglake demonstration, and thanks also to Cliff and the CFA for supplying the marquee that kept us dry. The local people really appreciated us being there and were very enthusiastic and positive about the project and of course the media attention is always welcome.

This is the first of many events that we are planning on attending, and I'll keep everyone informed as to where and when the they'll be happening once we get confirmation from event co-ordinators and councils.

Cheers,
Paul

Edited by Quang0
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I know this has been a along time coming, but we have 100% confirmation that QANTAS will be freighting leaves from California to Melbourne for free! That's a great load off our minds, especially since the CBA has plegded so many leaves for the tree.

Here's how you can be part of it: The CBA has very generously arranged for one of their members to collect leaves from all over the USA and Canada. They will then box the whole lot up together and get them to QANTAS.

I'd like to personally thank Eden Sanders for doing the local leg-work, Shawn Lovell who will be sending your leaves to us and Jim Austin for acting as our US postal box.

The address to ship your leaves to in California is:

Jim Austin
2440 Adeline Street
Oakland, CA 94607

Jim will pass them on to Shawn, and Shawn will package them up and send them to me.

Jim needs to receive your leaves by June 20 so we can have the deal done and meet our deadlines and schedules. Jim can receive parcels from USPS, UPS and any other way you choose to send them.

All details will be on our website soon. The Tree Project

Cheers,
Paul

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OK, for those of you who would like to participate in a leaf forging demo and sponsorship drive, we'll be at Lake Mountain this Saturday 2 May as part of the Marysville to Lake Mountain Fire Relief Ride and then we'll be at the Hurstbridge Farmers' market on Sunday 3 May. So come on down and introduce yourself and help us forge a leaf for the tree.

Cheers,
Paul

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