Forging class

admin

One of the local colleges had a 4 day workshop on metal forging this past week. It's something I've wanted to get back into for a while, so I treated myself to the class. Worth every penny and more! The class ran $525 for the 32 hrs of class if you didn't need the college credits.Warren Holzman was our instructor. We had 4 students, 2 young ladies, myself and one other gentleman and Warrens 16 year old son was the shop helper. 1st half of day one was demos and instruction on basic techniques, then we got to get dirty for most of the rest of the class. We were left to do whatever project/s we wanted to work on. We did take half a day Friday, to do a tour of some of the original buildings near campus in the Bryn Athyn historic district and saw some of the best forge work I've ever sen ( unfortunatly I forgot the camera that day so I'll post picts of some of that later when I go back to get some)Some overall shop picts. Shop originally used to be the power house for the buildings near by in the 20's and was recently converted for the metal shop. Shop had 4 gas forges, 4 coal forges,  and plenty of anvils and post vises. Some of the specialized tooling needed to be shared, but that wasn't ever a problem.Tons of picts so it will take a while to do all the posts... Attached Images.No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Some of the demo pieces used to demonstrate techniques. Attached Images.No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:More demo stuff... Attached Images.No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:One of the ladies was Teri. She'd never worked with metal before and probably had the nicest project of the whole class. My picts don't do the project justice.I thought I had picts of it all done, but the one didn't turn out well at all. She made a fairly intricate kitchen rack. While Warren spent quite a bit of time helping her, she did all the work. ( Warren spent quite a bit of time helping her unroll the scrolls when they didn't turn out right) Attached Images.No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:The other young lady was Annie. She's a fabricator at a local metal shop.  She'd had some very basic forge experience, so she was running one of the coal forges. She concentrated on mostly joinery. Lots of mortise and tenon work, how to fab pass thru joints, grill work etc.. I didn't get many picts of her stuff, but I did get one of her wedge joint. Attached Images.No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:One of the handles the other guy in the class made. He was a carpenter, but had no metal experience. He also made a nail header and a bunch of nails, and did a hanging pot rack that sort of looked like a chin up bar using mortise and tenon joinery. He had to leave before I managed to get a pict of the rack today.A few picts of me , Teri was kind enough to take a few while Warren was helping me forge out the head for my nail header. I'll post picts of my projects tomorrow. I didn't bother to take picts during class knowing I could take ones later, so I need to shoot picts of what I did tomorrow. Attached Images.No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Last but not least for tonight... Warren's 16 year old son worked on this dragons head made out of 1/2" square stock, when he wasn't swinging the sledge for one of us or playing Go'fer. Kid has no interest in working in the shop with his dad after college, but has his 1st PT job this summer helping dad in his shop. The last one was of one of Warren's previous demo heads that was lurking on the one gas forge from a previous class. Attached Images.No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Looks like that was very well spent money on the class. Amazing the work that can be performed.
Reply:Irks me 2 see someone heating with a cutting torch. TRY A ROSEBUD!!!!!!!!!!
Reply:Originally Posted by grumpycricketIrks me 2 see someone heating with a cutting torch. TRY A ROSEBUD!!!!!!!!!!
Reply:Very cool, and thanks for sharing.-AaronJet 17.5" Drill Press1942 South Bend 16x84 Lathe1980s Miller 320A / BP --- 2013 Power Mig 2562012 Jet 7x12 Horizontal BandsawVictor O/A Setup
Reply:wish i had access to that course...hey grumpy, most people dont have enough acetylene tank to even run a rosebud, and for this type of work, a welding tip is enough...
Reply:Thanks for the pics. Like said earlier, wish there was something like this closer to me. Now, just keep us updated on all the neat things you make at home now!
Reply:DSW:  Thanks for shareing!   It is nice to see Blacksmithing is alive and well in America!- MondoMember, AWSLincoln ProMIG 140Lincoln AC TombstoneCraftsman Lathe 12 x 24 c1935Atlas MFC Horizontal MillCraftsman Commercial Lathe 12 x 36 c1970- - - I'll just keep on keepin' on.
Reply:I would be bothered more by wearing shorts in a metal shop than whether or not someone is using the correct gas apparatus but that just me. The dragon heads are coolMillermatic 252millermatic 175miller 300 Thunderboltlincoln ranger 250smith torcheslots of bfh'sIf it dont fit get a bigger hammer
Reply:Ive always been intrigued by forging.  In fact two nights ago I ordered 3 books on the subject.  After seeing your pictures, on monday, im gonna see if a college offers this near me.  Thanks for sharing DSW!
Reply:Looks like a great class! Nice to see an old craft still being taught! Thanks for all the pics, looks like you had a great time! I hate being bi-polar it's awsomeMy Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys
Reply:Welcome back into the fold DSW
Reply:For those interested in classes...Here's the link to Bryn Athyn College's program for this year.  They also offer boarding for those that want to come from out of the area. Teri stayed in the dorm and said it was very nice. She lives roughly an hour from the school, and didn't want to be bothered driving every day at rush hour thru Philly to get to and from class if she could avoid it. The rest of us all commuted because we were within 30 minutes of the school. They also offer glass painting and stone carving ( I'm thinking about the stone carving class maybe next year if I don't do the black smithing class again.) . I'll go into more on the history of why they do this  later when I get the picts of the metal work.http://www.brynathyn.edu/academics/sacredartsWarren also rattled off at least a 1/2 dozen plus programs he's been invited to teach at over the years. I was familiar with a few of them like Peters Valley in the Delaware Water Gap and the Appalachian Center for Craft. I honestly didn't pay that much attention to his list because chances are I wouldn't be trying to go to any of them in the near future and if I did want to go to something else, I'd simply get back in touch with Warren. He did mention ABANA had a good list of places to take classes.http://www.abana.org/resources/education/schools.shtmlApparently many of these programs are run as intensive several day courses like this was, and most places have arrangements for boarding..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:It's great to see the older technologies kept alive.  Wish I was there!  I used to belong to the CBA (California Blacksmith Association) but just haven't had time for it.  This might be the spark to get back into it, I took my young kids to some of their events, and it was a good memory.
Reply:Very cool DSW! I wish I had the time to learn this and alot of other things."Where's Stick man????????" - 7A749"SHHHHHH!! I sent him over to snag that MIC-4 while tbone wasn't looking!" - duaneb55"I have bought a few of Tbone's things unlike Stick-Man who helps himself" - TozziWelding"Stick-man"
Reply:Originally Posted by usmcruzIve always been intrigued by forging.  In fact two nights ago I ordered 3 books on the subject.  After seeing your pictures, on monday, im gonna see if a college offers this near me.  Thanks for sharing DSW!
Reply:Ok time for project picts....I haven't done any forge work since Jr high back in  '81 or '82 IIRC.  Even that was very basic, nothing like what we learned in the 1st 4 hrs of the class here. Just simple tapers and bends back then...So I figured I'd spend the 1/2 day of day one getting back into the swing of things and do some simple practice, tapers, scrolls etc, prior to trying to work on anything specific. 1st up was a couple of scrolls. Never had any luck with these before. Process makes more sense to me now. I was amazed near the end of the class to realize how tight Teri had made the scrolls on her kitchen rack. I could understand why she had to keep getting Warren to help her straighten things out when they didn't turn out right.After that I figured I'd do something new but "easy". Warren did 2 spoons to show various techniques, so I figured I'd do a spoon. 1st one started out great, but the spoon started to crack at the neck. next 3 or 4 had various issues as I tried to avoid the same problems as I worked on the handle. Finally made one that was fair at best, and decided to leave well enough alone before I F'd it up again. Finish on the "completed" spoon is hot wax. Attached Images.No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Day 2:...Since I want to get back into this I wanted to concentrate on projects I could use vs simply making "pretty" items. Tongs were #1 on my list. I figure if I could learn the basics, I can make rather than buy tongs I might need.Warren walked me thru step by step on the 1st half making up a "blank" I used as my guide. I had a hard time wrapping my mind around where to strike the metal and where on the anvil to work, so it took a long time even with an example to go off of. I'd always seem to get it backwards after step 2 or 3 and F it all up trying to "fix" it. Finally managed to get 2 that were fair at best and we got it riveted together. Reins are too short, should have cut them longer, but no real big deal as the whole point was to practice. #2 was better, I only needed to make about 5 to get the 2 to make the tongs. Rivets were so so on both. We couldn't dig up any rivets in the shop, so we were fabbing them from scratch. At the end of the day I needed a short project to use up the rest of class, so I made a bender. I've got a couple of wrenches set aside to make benders with, but figured why not.. I did the twist because Warren mentions students often toss the plain benders in the scrap barrel not realizing they are "tools". Attached ImagesLast edited by DSW; 07-15-2012 at 11:55 AM..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Day 3:...Edit: I almost forgot... Day 3 started out with a trip to Pitcairn's home/museum Glencairn and the Bryn Athyn Cathedral to look at the metal work ( I'll do more on the our later when I get some picts)I decided to work on forge welding that day as I hadn't done any before. Results left much to be desired. I don't think I was getting the pieces clean or hot enough.I started off with a small cross that was formed from a small chunk of 1/2" bar stock saw cut then unfolded to wake up before I started welding while I waited for the coal forge to heat. Not bad, but the finish was so so. I couldn't get side 1 decent without F'ing up side two. Teri saw it sitting on my work table and commented how neat it was, so I gave it to her along with the drawings I had found on line as to how to fab another if she ever wanted to.For my welding project I worked on trying to make a small fire pit poker for a friend. There were a bunch of things that didn't go right and it took me quite a while to get a semi decent result. I wasn't happy with the scale of it ( should have used 3/8" square vs 1/2" like I originally was going to go with) and when the "hook" snapped off while trying to bend the point better, I scrapped it and went on to something else to clear my mind. ( pict of the poker is Warrens with my "hook" that snapped at the weld as a reference) I needed to clear my mind and come back to welding later. The other gentleman in the class had made up a nail header the day before while I was working on my tongs and I thought that might be a worth while item to have. Made out of 1" square. the picts above of me working are of Warren and I doing the refining on the head of the nail header. We didn't have a punch small enough to do decent "nails" ( the other guy's "nails" turned out closer to tiny spikes) so I took the unit home and drilled the thru and relief holes.I decided to do a basic hook to keep going and  finish out the day. The hook turned out nice, so I thought I'd take the extra bar and fold it back on itself and flatten it to form the hanger. Weld was better than #1, but the ends didn't weld up right. I was pushing to try and get done at the very end of the day and ran out of time... Should have waited and done the weld in the morning.Worked on the hook top the next day, but wasn't satisfied with the results, so I cut off the welded part, saved the hook and forged a separate piece of scrap flat on Saturday as the back. Some one had tried to slit punch the piece and screwed it up, so the slit became my odd shaped hole to attach the hook, folded it and peened the end over on the back to secure it. Finish is again wax on hot steel. Attached ImagesLast edited by DSW; 07-15-2012 at 12:11 PM..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald ReaganBoy, cool pics. That looks like one heck of a TALL, TALL, tall cone !
Reply:Day 4:I wanted to do a better job on rivets for the tongs. Wed when we took the tour, we stopped by the old blacksmith shop for the property and found a set of rivet tools for the vise, but the rivets were too large to use with my tongs, and the premade rivets there were too small. The rivet tools were basically 2 chunks of angle iron clamped in the vise to hold the shaft, while you peened the 1st head over, so Friday night after class I went home and made a set to do 1/4" and 5/16" rivets. It took me quite a while to get rivets that small to turn out the way I wanted. I didn't have any issues with the 3/8" one I tried to do the day before, but the smaller ones wouldn't mushroom right. I was at the far end of the shop and was too lazy to drag the torch set all the way down to my station, so I was working "traditionally" from the forge. I later learned that if I cooled the tip I could get better results. Still couldn't get that "traditional" shape in one heat, but managed to get enough done to get the tongs finished ( after I cut 2 or three off when they didn't finish right).Item 2 was to try and make some nails with my header. Turns out I didn't drill the relief hole deep enough, so the 1st one stuck fast in the header, and I spent about 45 minutes getting the stuck nail out and then grabbed a tapered nail punch from the truck and used that to drift the relief hole deeper and not enlarge the hole for the head. Took 2 or 3 tries before I got the relief hole right and nails would come out with no problem.Last 1/2 of the day was misc. stuff. Forged out the back for the hook shone above, made a few more rivets and nails, worked on trying to do a bit more forge welding with scrap to no purpose etc. 4pm we had to pack up all our projects and go show them to the students who did the glass class this week ( no stone students unfortunately this week).No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Originally Posted by BD1Boy, cool pics. That looks like one heck of a TALL, TALL, tall cone !
Reply:A few more picts of the tools in the old shop. Attached Images.No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Loved this thread.  I'm going to have to start looking for a class like this in my area.
Reply:The New England blacksmiths have a teaching facility in Brentwood New Hampshire . check out their websit New England blacksmiths.com.
Reply:DSWSome real cool pics! I have a friend that part of a group in winston Salem with a large shop like you posted. I went there for a weekend to just hang out and do some horse trading, and was really impressed. Watched, and pounded a bit a guy make a chain hook, always wonded how they did that back in the day.Learning one rod at a time
Reply:I need to make some time and get some picts of the metal work at the church and museum that the shop did and add it to this thread. All of it hand done, and most of it in inconel..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan