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Dedicated to the revival of the “King of Crafts”

Volume 17 Issue 09 September 2005

COMING EVENTS September 9, 10, 11 Alabama Forge Council Black-smithing Conference. Mike Linn (205)477-7643 September 16, 17, 18 Luxton Fall Fair September 17 & 18th Saltspring Island Fair September 20 Hammer In at Sutton Terock Memo-rial Blacksmith Shop, Fulton County Historical Soci-ety Museum. Round Barn located 4 miles north of Rochester on US31. September 25th VIBA Meeting starting at 11 AM September 25 - November 6 Metal Museum, 374 Metal Museum Drive, Memphis, TN 38106 (901)774-6380 Showing: Master Metalsmith Elliott Pujol. September 30, October 1 & 2nd NorthEast Black-smith Association Fall Hammer-In. Cost $160.00 US for full weekend, six meals, lodging, demo fees and dues. Held at: Ashokan Field Campus, Olivebridge, New York Tel: (845) 657-8333 October 29, 30th VIBA Fall Demo with John Ad-olph of Maple Ridge, B.C. October 30th VIBA Meeting

INDEX Fall Demo.........................................................1 President's Report..............................................2 Revisiting Anvil Heights...................................2 Notices...............................................................2 ABANA Chapter.............................................. 3 Chasing & Repousse Workshop........................3, 4 Blacksmith Beer................................................4 Saanich Fair.......................................................5 Bronze Casting..................................................6, 7 Wolf Heads.......................................................8 Halloween Project.............................................9 Book Review.....................................................9 ABANA Relief Fund........................................10 Membership......................................................10

John Adolph VIBA’S

Fall Demonstrator 1947 - 1950 Apprentice Black-smith/Welder 1950 - 1952 Began career fabri-cating, welding and drop forge blacksmith

1952 Apprentice machinist with Courtenay Machine Shop and MacMillan Bloedel, while still practicing his trade as a blacksmith/welder. 1957 - 1997 Launched a career with Vancouver Pile Driving as a welder/machinist/plant and shipyard superintendent. John has led such projects as the Iona Sewage Outfall Pipeline, Prince Rupert Coal Terminal, Mitsubishi Coal Stacker Rebuild, W.A.C. Ben-nett Dam, Hudson Hope Turbine and Sync rude Tar Sands Tumbler Rebuild. John instructed courses in welding, weld de-sign, symbol and blueprint interpretation with Vancouver Island post secondary institutions. John was instrumental in the initiation of the Canadian Welding Bureau Certification Process and is regarded as an authority in training and consultation for his field. John has been a di-rector of the Welding Institute of Canada, Van-couver Chapter for 25 years. Upon retirement in 1997, John finally started his own blacksmith art business and Welding Consulting. Some specialties are: flame straightening, heat shrinking, welding proce-dures and productivity, structural steel, cast iron, alloy steel and aluminum welding.

October 29th & 30th

2005 - Executive President: Keith Kupitz 478-4095

Vice Pres.: Charlie Low 479-6712 Secretary: Clint Montgomery 360-6910

Treasurer: Norm Norby 478-3589 Librarian: Skip Kennedy 478-8172

Editors:Sandy Sydnam & Dennis Gillett Publishing Info: "Forge" is published monthly by and for members of the Vancouver Is-land Blacksmith Assoc. General Correspondence for VIBA: 1040 Marwood Ave, Victoria, BC, V9C 3C4. (or directly to appropriate executive member) Permission granted for repro-duction of any part of "Forge" provided credit is given to the original source, and the item is not marked 'copyright' or spe-cifically stated to be for the sole use of "Forge". Unless other-wise stated, the editors are the authors of all material. Dis-claimer Notice: "Forge" makes every effort to ensure accuracy of the information contained therein, but the executive offi-cers & general membership of the Vancouver Island Black-smith Association including the editors, specifically disclaim any responsibility or liability for damages or injuries as a result of any construction de-sign, use or application of infor-mation contained in this news-letter. The use of any informa-tion is solely at the user's own risk.

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Submissions & Contributions Submissions to “Forge” can be made at any monthly meeting or by snail mail to:

VIBA - The Editors 1040 Marwood Avenue

Victoria, BC Canada V9C 3C4

OR Email: sydnam@telus.net Email: dgillett@shaw.ca

OR Fax: (250) 642-7055

President’s Report By: Keith Kupitz

1.) You can now tell when your own membership is up for renewal. Beside your name on the envelope is a year, at the end of that year please renew promptly. 2.) Viba Newsletter and executive are missing the addresses for the following members: Greg Harstone, Evan Morris & Henry Belanger. If anyone knows of them kindly report to us. 3.)Alabama Forge Council Conference tentatively rescheduled for Dec. 2,3 &4. More info: Garland Johnston (256)520-7777 or (256)536-0489

About Anvil Heights by: John Ganton,

Oliver BC When reading older books on traditional black-smithing you need to remember they assume you are working with wrought iron and have a striker. The traditional anvil height of your ex-tended fist is to accommodate a striker wielding a sledge. Most people will find it a bit low even for heavy work. Thanks for sending me the FORGE. You're do-ing a great job.

If I may have an input on the

'Correct Anvil Heights'

debate in your Vol17 Issue 08 Aug 05

by: Jo Mazzarol PR person BAWA

Perth. Western Australia There definitely is a correct anvil height. My understanding, and experience, is that the correct height for an anvil is judged by the blacksmith standing comfortably at his anvil, holding his hammer, with the handle horizontal and its face resting squarely on the face of the anvil. It will be obvious that if the anvil is too high, the back of the hammer will be hitting the work and if the anvil is too low, the front of the hammer will hit. The hammer needs to hit squarely. It is very tiring for a worker to have to con-stantly stoop, or raise his/her shoulder to hit squarely on an anvil. The reason for dirt floors in traditional Blacksmith shops, apart from in-stantly burying hot cut offs, is so that the black-smith can bury, or raise, him/herself a coupe of inches in the soil to cope with differing anvil heights, or thickness of metal being worked on. The soft earth floor is raked and watered down as required, often hourly in a busy shop, to keep the dust down and to provide a firm footing. As far as bench heights go, the worker should be able to rest his/her elbow comfortably on the top of the vice without straining. We look forward to receiving and reading your interesting newsletter, Forge. Take it easy. We would do well to remember our Mother's gentle counsel; 'Play nicely to-gether and share.'

Hi Everyone, We have two fairs behind us, Coombs and Nanaimo. My wife and I attended a wedding up island and on the way down we stopped

at Coombs. The Flying Forge was pre-sent, but not without some difficulty. A blown tire and a seized bearing. Don Starton, Dr Dave, Doug Newel, Jim Montgomery were busy at the fire. In-terest and sales proved to be good. My beat up motor home made it over the Malahat and I arrived at the Nanaimo fairgrounds just in time to be late for setting up. (Good timing or lucky break). The following members were in attendance, Don Starton, Dr. Dave, Doug Newel, Jim Montgomery, Charlie Low and Neil Gustofson. Skip Kennedy and his wife Elva were there for all three days. Also present were two student blacksmith's, unfortunately I don't know their names. On Sunday the 28th of August a num-ber of members attended the Luxton Forge, but not enough to form a qualm. By the time you get this letter the Saanich Fair will be over. I hope the weather keeps its three day tradition of no rain on Saanich Fair and our member-ship turns out in force. Happy Hammering.

‘Bon Motts’ from our Vice Prez Charlie and side kick, Ken: Feeling Bad? Back Hurts?

Money Thin? Take comfort from the fact that No One

gets out of here ALIVE!

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ABANA Affiliate Liaison Letter August, 2005

CALL TO ARTISTS: Announcing the 2006 ABANA Conference Poster Contest This will be a contest to choose an “Official Poster” for the 2006 ABANA Conference in Seattle, Washington! Who can Participate? Anyone who is over 18 years old is invited to submit their original art work. What is the Prize? The winner will receive two free passes to the conference. This does not include room and meals. Interviews with the winner will be published in The Anvil’s Ring and on the ABANA web site. What are the Rules? Be sure to include your name, address, phone number and e-mail with your submission. Submit any 2-D medium or digital file on a CD such as tiff, gif or jpg. (NO E-MAIL) Size must be smaller than 36” x 36”. The design must in-clude the words: ABANA, 2006, Seattle, Washington in any configuration that the artist chooses. Keep in mind that the theme of the conference is “Fusion and Transformation in the Ring of Fire!” This will be the second consecutive conference poster con-test. The idea is to create a body of biennial art posters that are suitable for framing and collecting. Submissions must be received before April 15, 2006. The winning artist must give copyright permission to ABANA who will produce posters and other novelties featuring the winning design. Sufficient postage and packing material must accompany your work if you wish to have it returned. If you do not want it returned, it will go into the conference auction to raise funds for ABANA. Who Judges the Submissions? All of the submissions will be displayed on a website, www.metalsmithinghow-to.com/poster/ Anyone can visit the website and vote for the poster that they like best. We will also have a link on the ABANA website that points to the poster page. The poster receiving the most votes will win. One need not be an ABANA member to vote. Visit http://www.magichammer.freeservers.com/poster.htm to see the results of the “2004 Poster Contest”. How do I Submit? Send your art work or CD to: Dave Mudge, ABANA Member Services Director 15227 Mansfield Road Bogalusa, LA 70427-0187 985-736-0049 davemudge@abana.org (do not send files in e-mail) www.abana.org

Chasing and Repousse Workshop in your area or at my studio

Valentin Yotkov is a professional silversmith and instructor in Chasing and Repousse. His studio located in Brooklyn, New York is the only school in the United States specializing in chasing and repousse instruction. He also teaches at other schools, Arts centers and private studios in the US and abroad. Recently there has been a growing interest among blacksmiths to learn these techniques. Chasing and Repousse allows for sculpting directly in metal and dramatically enhances the work of a black-smith. A number of blacksmiths who have discovered its potential have attended classes or workshops at my studio, and now seek additional training to master their skills. Enclosed, please find an article published in The Anvil’s Ring written by Arizona black-smith Michael Richards. In response to this growing interest, he writes to us to propose a workshop specifically oriented towards the needs of blacksmiths. It may be held at his studio or at any properly equipped facility of your choice. The ABANA annual conference would be the perfect place for a Chasing and Repousse demonstration open to all mem-bers, followed by a three or four day intensive workshop. There is no doubt that the blacksmith’s community would greatly benefit from such a workshop. Please, feel free to contact me with any questions or suggestions you may have. For more information visit our web site at www.valentinyotkov.com or phone (718)852-8640.

Chasing & Repousse with Valentin Yotkov By Michael L. Richards, Random Acts Studio, Phoenix, AZ

It’s a 4-½ hour flight from Phoenix to New York City, and that is plenty enough time to fret over one’s worthiness in the presence of Master Silversmith, Valentin Yotkov. As I board the plane and set-tle into my seat, I have this feeling I’d have a better chance shooting a game of "H-O-R-S-E" against Michael Jordan, than impressing Valentin with my chasing and repousse technique on his "intermediate level" pattern. Lucky for me, Valentin is the nicest guy in the world, and will offer only words of encouragement as I chisel ding-marks into my work. I just hope, when all is said and done, he invites me back to test on his "advanced level" pattern. That would be a personal victory---confirmation by the Master I am worthy. Valentin Yotkov has a wonderful story that needs telling. A story of an old-world artisan following time honored traditions in our modern digital era. However, I’m not writing this article to tell Valentin’s story; I couldn’t do him justice. Go buy and read his forthcoming book for that. No, I’m writing to tell you I’m concerned the very fabric of our society is threatened--not by domestic acts of terrorism, shortages of flu vaccine, or trade deficits with Asia--but by "bad repousse", and it must be stopped. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not criticizing my fellow Re-pousseurs, I’m just, in the words of Robert Frost, "...telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference." (Con’t on page 4)

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Blacksmith's Beer By: Jack Andrews

(As requested here is the beer recipe from the original "Edge," 1977, page 145: good brewing.)

Blacksmith's beer is the name my students at the Philadelphia College of Art have given my homemade beer. It is our custom to meet at my home at the end of each semester for a final evalua-tion or "crit." The students bring their work and I provide home-made bread and beer. At their insistence, I am including the rec-ipe for my beer, which may prove to be a valuable resource for my fellow smiths. This ides was developed after several beers. I dedicate this section to my students, who have taught me much. Ingredients 10 pounds of sugar 1 pound brown sugar 15 gallons water 2-3 pound cans "Blue Ribbon" dark malt extract, flavored with hops 2 lemons, juiced 5 vitamin C tablets 5 tablespoons salt 1 package lager beer yeast I use a plastic garbage can with a lid , as my "mash tun," the con-tainer in which the beer, or "wort" works. (Please use this only for beer brewing!) Mix the ingredients as follows: Heat 1/2 gallon water in a large pour and add 5 pounds sugar. Stir until dissolve. Pour this into the mash tun. Repeat with the other sugars. Add malt extract and stir until mixed. Add all of the other ingredients except the yeast. The yeast must be started or "proofed" by putting it in a cup of lukewarm water with a pinch of sugar. Set it aside until it has started (it will bubble up and "rise"). Make sure that the remaining water is warm, not hot, when you add it, so that temperature of the wort will be around 85š F. Now add the yeast. Place a cover on the can and let it set for about 2 to 3 weeks. The setting time is partly a function of temperature. Try to place the mash tun in a location where there are not too many temperature variations, and where the temperature will not drop lower that 65š F. Also, remember to place the mash tun up off the floor, so that you will be able to siphon off the beer into the bot-tles. The mash tun must be above the level of the bottles. A beer hydrometer will indicate when the fermentation has stopped or "gone flat." However, any good smith can tell by color. Draw the temper of the wort to a "dark brown" that is clear with not bub-bles rising to the top. Using a plastic 3/8-inch tube as a siphon, draw off the beer into 1-guart sterile, returnable bottles. Fill them to within 1/2 inch of the top. Do not leave more air space, as too much pressure might develop. To get foam or a head on the beer, you must add sugar to the bottles before filling them. Add a level teaspoon of sugar to each 1-quart bottle (or 1/2 teaspoon to each 16-once bottle). This will cause secondary fermentation. Cap each bottle and shake it twice when you place it in the case. Bot-tle caps and a capper are readily available in many stores. Store in a cool space (temper to a light straw). In about 2 weeks, cool a bottle and see how it tastes. The beer should be clear and have a medium head, The beer really needs a full month to mature, but I cannot wait. Cheers!

Chasing & Repousse (Continued from page 3) The ancient Sumerians, the Egyptian goldsmiths that adorned King Tut’s sarcophagus with depictions of the afterlife, the Greeks, and other civilizations across the Mediterranean devel-oped the art of chasing and repousse. Clearly the art form had migrated to central Europe by the Middle Ages, as evidenced by the artifacts on display in museums across the world. Today, only a few living artisans know those ways of old, and one has only to visit Valentin’s website (www.valentinyotkov.com) to see tangi-ble evidence this native Bulgarian son has an understanding of the art form rivaled only by the Masters of ancient times. Is there any wonder why I would travel across a continent to sit before this man—this link to our cultural heritage? My adventures with chasing and repousse didn’t begin with Valentin, though. I first studied the work of Samuel Yellin, as any good blacksmith would do. In fact, George Dixon (former Head Blacksmith at Samuel Yellin Metalworkers Co.) taught my first class in chasing and repousse at the Touchstone Center for Crafts in Farmington, PA. One week with George, and I was hooked. Like any proper junkie, I couldn’t get enough, and started working thin steel sheet upon my return to Phoenix. What I produced was disappointing. Nasty. I’m talking "throw it in the recycle bin before anyone sees it" bad. To simply put it, I learned chasing and repousse basics, but lacked the knowledge to apply the methods to create something aesthetically brilliant. I discovered chasing and repousse is not easy. It takes work, and it takes a fundamental understanding of perception, proportion, contrast and all those little elements that comprise fine art. To salvage any hope of recovery, a quick internet search for repousse classes pointed me towards Valentin. Upon further in-vestigation, it was clear he must be doing something right if Tif-fany & Co. hires him to train their Repousseurs—seems like a pretty strong endorsement to me. My first class with Valentin was held at Metalwerx in Boston. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect working with pitch, but let me testify before God and witness, I was pleasantly surprised. Leave it to Valentin to offer a few tips to prevent a gooey mess. I can’t imagine working without pitch now. One quickly discovers, in taking classes from Valentin, that this man truly embodies the art form. Carefully listen as he speaks, and you can hear the dim multi-phonic tones of the ancient Mas-ters whispering their secrets upon his tongue. It’s a magical ex-perience. Valentin is as much a Master Teacher as he is a Master Repousseur. Valentin not only teaches the fundamentals of chasing and re-pousse, he offers insight into the essentials of fine art, which he divined from his many hours studying museum pieces as a kid, and his apprenticeships with Master Bulgarian and Italian Silver-smiths of this past century. This priceless information makes the difference in producing truly outstanding work. What he teaches is applicable to all metals, not just gold, silver or copper. For steel sheet—a heavier hammer, thicker tools, and lead vs. pitch may be required, but the essence of good repousse transcends the me-dium. I did it. I passed. I banged out the "intermediate level" pattern, and Valentin invited me back to test at the "advanced level". Few things excite me anymore, but this sure does. I don’t really know why, but I think it has to do with not just being confirmed by Valentin, but by the thousands of years of cultural heritage he embodies. I guess I find some people’s opinions carry more weight than others. And that makes all the difference. ¨

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Backyard Bronze Casting By: Dennis Gillett

1. Start by making a mold of the original artwork then pouring wax into the mold. The wax is just coated on the inside of the mold to make a hollow wax impression of the original

2. Hollow wax reproductions of the original 3. Wax Sprue system is attached to the wax model.

4. Ceramic shell is applied to the wax model. The model is dipped into a slurry of colloidal silica then fine to coarse fused silica (sand) is applied in layers. Up to 10 layers are applied “shake-and bake” fashion

5 Coated pieces drying in a drying cabinet

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6. The wax is burned out of the completed shell. Either in a burn-out kiln or with a torch as with this small piece.

7. Bronze is melted in a crucible furnace

8. Pouring molten bronze into the now hollow shell. Note all the safety gear...leather apron and gloves, face shield, safety boots. Molten bronze would just keep burning it’s way thru your skin to the bone below.

9. Completed pour. Shell is supported in a sand filled bucket so if leaks occur nothing around it is burned and the leaked metal can be recovered

10. A plasma cutter really helps when cutting off the sprue system from the completed piece.

11. Now comes the hard part. Removing the core pins and chas-ing the surface

12. Hot patinas applied with a torch and spray bottle. Liver of Sulphur, Cupric ni-trate and Ferric nitrate are safe and simple. Patina recipes are sometimes closely guarded secrets, and trial and error be-comes the preferred “artistic” approach.

Armillary Sphere Sundial

Who said pigs can’t fly

This one’s just landing Cubic Lady

Lunch

all bronze casting photo’s by: sandy sydnam & dennis gillett

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Vancouver Island Blacksmith Association Membership Application

Name: ______________________________ Address: ____________________________ City: __________ Prov./State: __________ Post/Zip Code: _______________________ Email: ______________________________ Phone: (_____) _______________________ Fax: (_____) _________________________ Are you a: New Member [ ] Renewal [ ] [ ] Regular Membership $30.00 Annually [ ] Contributory Member $100.00 Annually Make cheques or money orders payable to:

Vancouver Island Blacksmith Assoc. (VIBA) 1040 Marwood Avenue Victoria, BC CANADA

V9C 3C4

Artist Blacksmiths Assoc. of North America Membership Application

Name: ________________________________ Address: ______________________________ City: ______________ State/Prov.: _______ Zip/Postal Code: _______________________ Phone: (_____) ________________________ Fax: (_____) __________________________ [ ] Full Time Student……….........….$35./year [ ] Regular Membership….........…….$45./year [ ] Senior Citizen (age 65+)…........…$40./year [ ] Overseas Surface Mail….......……$60./year [ ] Oversea Air Mail............................$80./year [ ] Contributory Membership............$100./year [ ] Public Library Subscription...........$35./year

Credit Card Payment Card No. _______________________

[ ] Visa [ ] Mastercard Expiry Date: ____________________ Signature: ______________________ by Phone: (706) 310-1030 by Fax: (706) 769-7147 Mail: ABANA, P.O. Box 816, Farmington,GA,USA.306380816

September 9, 2005 Dear ABANA and Affiliate Members, John Steel, president of the Pittsburgh Area Artist-Blacksmiths Association proposed that ABANA establish a disaster relief fund for blacksmiths impacted by hurricane Katrina. After evaluating John’s proposal an ABANA Disaster Relief Fund is now in place. ABANA members, ABANA Affiliates and members of the pub-lic may contribute to this fund. Donations should be by check, US Postal Money Order or Cana-dian Postal Money Order made out to “ABANA Relief Fund”. ABANA will provide a receipt for all donations of $250 or more. Please address your donation to:

ABANA Relief Fund P O Box 816

Farmington, GA 30638 Canadian, Mexican and international donations are welcome, but please make sure your check is drawn on a US bank in US funds and contains a nine-digit routing number on the bottom of the check. US banks have great difficulty processing checks with-out this routing number, even though the check may say US funds. Please do not send cash. No credit cards please! LeeAnn Mitchell Arts, Inc. and staff volunteered their time to record all transactions and make deposits to the fund. One hun-dred percent of the funds will be distributed to affected ABANA Affiliates or, if necessary, to other public charities. Dispersal and distribution of the funds must be based on need and not on any affiliation to ABANA or an ABANA Affiliate. People donating money may suggest where they think the need is greatest. The final distribution of funds, however, must be made by ABANA. If it is critical for you to donate to a person or ABANA Affiliate, that donation should be made directly to the person or Affiliate and not to the ABANA Disaster Relief Fund. If you know of people in need, please pass that information on to a local Affiliate and not to ABANA. The reason is a local Affili-ate will distribute all funds to individuals. Affected affiliates are asked to tell their membership about this resource. Please distrib-ute this letter to others you think may help. Toby Hickman of the California Blacksmith’s Association and John Steel of the Pittsburgh Area Artist-Blacksmiths Association will work with the affected affiliates to establish an equitable means to disperse the ABANA Disaster Relief Funds Distribution will begin no later than October 14, 2005 and the last distribution will be made no later than March 15, 2006. The cost of this mailing was underwritten by private individuals and no ABANA funds were used in this project. Please take a mo-ment and contribute what you can and never underestimate the power of human kindness. Sincerely, Don Kemper, President