Vol 33 No 2 - New England Blacksmiths

 The New England
Blacksmiths
Our 35th
Year
1978-
To discover, to help 2013
VOL. 33 NO. 2 Spring 2013
Special Double Issue
Scrap Box
Make your notes of pages you would
like to reference, here: Toby Hickman Spring Meet Demonstrator
Photo by Rory McNamara
NEB Contacts ........................................................... 2 The Difficul es Forging a Meteorite .................. 15‐16 Around New England .............................................. 3 A Blacksmith Shop in Nevis?. ............................... 17‐18 President’s Message ............................................... 4 Morrell’s Whatsit .................................................... 19 NEB Scholarship ...................................................... 5 Norm Larson Legend in Blacksmithing Passes Away 19 NEB Scholarship Applica on ................................... 6 Orthopedics Today .................................................. 7 Anvil Repair Workshop ............................................ 8 Special Scrap Box Edi on .......................... ...20– 35 Brentwood North................................................... 9‐10 Fire and Ice in Vermont’s NE Kingdom ............... 11‐12 Membership applica on………………………………………. 13 Blast from the past—The origin of the Peavey ……... 14 Spring 2013 Page 1 New England Blacksmiths Contact information for NEB officers and directors
Owen Bostrom- President (14)
99 Chase Hill RD
Ashaway, RI 02804
Phone: 401-377-2611
obostrom@cox.net
Richard Holman- ME Rep. (14)
195 Varney Mill Rd
Windham, ME 04062
Phone: 207-892-9511
rhholman@mactec.com
Bob Menard– Vice President (14)
56 Warren Ave. Suite 106
Portland, ME 04103
Phone: 207-878-2217
ballandchainforge@yahoo.com
Ed Grove- Me Rep. (13)
828 Haley Town Road
Brownfield, ME 04010
Phone: 207-935-2262
engro828@pivot.net
Jim Crothers- Secretary (14)
953 Tuckertown RD
Wakefield, RI 02879
Phone
ride4782@ride.ri.net
Leigh Morrell- Treasurer (14)
207 Greenfield Rd
Colrain, MA 01340
Phone: 413-624-1200
morlmetl@mtdata.com
Karen Sims, Membership Chair. (14)
337 Rope Ferry Rd
Waterford, CT 06385
860-442-3925
karensims@gmail.com
Marc Godbout, NH Rep. (14)
236 Old Wellington Rd.
Manchester, NH 03104 -8771
Phone: 603-425-8404
marc@ironringforge.com
Taffy Case, NH Rep. (13)
1789 E. Madison Rd
Madison, NH 03849
Phone: 603-367-8225
taffysforge@yahoo.com
Fred Mikkelsen - RI Rep (13)
23 Waterman Dr.
N. Scituate, RI 02857-2036
phone: 401-647-3086
fred@trollshammerforge.com
John Nash- RI Rep. (14) WNR
173 Fairfax DR
Warwick, RI 02888
Phone: 401-781-0558
The New England Blacksmiths, an affiliate of
the Artists-Blacksmith’s Association of North
America, is devoted to the preservation and
advancement of blacksmithing. Letters to the
editor, articles, technical tips, tools for sale,
or other materials which furthers these
ends, will be considered for publication in
this newsletter.
Spring 2013 Courtney Mead- VT Rep. (14)
721 East Hill Rd.
North Troy, VT 05859
Phone: 802.988-2503
Hendersonforge@.comcast.net
Judson Yaggy-VT Rep. (13)
846 S Rt 116
Bristol, VT 05443
Phone 802-453-6005
yaggy@gmavt.net
Bob Phillips- MA Rep. (13)
P.O. Box 583
Westminster, MA 01473
Phone: 978-874-1367
BLKsmithBear@aol.com
Dick Lempici- MA Rep. (14)
2 Lempici Rd
Dudley, MA 01571
Phone:
rjlempicki@charter.net
Steve Melady- CT Rep. (13)
54 Cards Mill Rd
Columbia, CT 06237
Phone: 860-228-2185
smelady254@charter.net
Chip Sowalski- CT Rep. (14)
100 Gungy Rd
Salem, CT 06420
Phone: 860-287-5395
hardiepritchel@sbcglobal.net
Note: The number ( ) after each name denotes the year of term expiration of that Board
Member.
The New England Blacksmiths disclaim any
responsibility or liability for damages or injuries
as a result of any design, construction, manufacture, use or other activity undertaken as a
result of the use or application of information
contained in the newsletter of the New England Blacksmiths.
Page 2 Note from the Editors:
What you don’t know about
education can hurt you
We would like every member to
note the inclusion of the scholarship
application in this issue. This is an
under utilized benefit available to
all. There are many fine educational
programs that promote blacksmithing and they are fun. NEB wants to
award this scholarship as often as
we can, at least annually. If this is
something that interests you, We
recommend applying.
Please send articles and photos to
include in the newsletter. We want
to hear from you.
Bob & Debby Menard
ballandchainforge@yahoo.com
Thanks to all
Contributors to this issue:
Owen Bostrom
Fred Mikkelsen
Leigh Morrell
David Court
Courtney Mead
Bob & Debby Menard
Photo Credits
Ed Grove
Leigh Morrell
Bob Menard
Add your name to this list
Become a contributor!
Next newsletter deadline:
June 15th, 2013
New England Blacksmiths Around New England
Brentwood Teaching Center
Rhode Island
Join the Southern Bunch at South County Museum in
Narragansett, RI on the 4th Saturday of the Month.
Contact Jim Crothers 401-783-5400 for more information
Vermont
No Submissions at press time.
Connecticut
No Submissions at press time
New Hampshire
NEB CASTINGS
The Brentwood Teaching Center has resumed the
open forging sessions the last Sat. of the month
through Nov. The shop fee is $10.00 for members.
If you haven’t stopped by to check it out please
do. It is a fun day of hammering and fellowship.
Special programs may be scheduled through the
Summer and may be advertised on the NEB list. If
you are not on the NEB email list contact NH rep.
Marc Godbout for more information.
Fall Meet Sept. 6-7-8 Mark Aspery part Deaux
The Fall Meet will be held at our Brentwood Facility. The featured demonstrator is Mark
Aspery. He will be featuring the techniques of the
National Grill Project.
Fire pot with Clinker Breaker $175 Massachusetts
Spring Meet May 17-18-19
Hosted by Morrell Metalsmiths
207 Greenfield Rd.
Colrain, MA.
Featuring Toby Hickman, Projects will include
Joinery, Embellishment, and Power Hammer
Techniques.
Maine
Courses offered by New School of Metalwork
www.newenglandschoolofmetalwork.com
888-753-7502
May 3-6 Beginners Blacksmithing with Charlie
Orlando
Swage Block $145 May 14-18 Migration Era Viking Dagger with J.
Author Loose
May 30-June 3 Early American Kitchen Utensils
with Jay Close
July 22-25 Forged Elements, Found Material with
Steve Yusko
July 29-Aug. 2 Divide and Conquer with Peter
Ross
Anvil Cone $52 Can be picked up at 4 different loca ons in New England or shipped. Contact Bob Menard, balland‐
chainforge@yahoo.com for more informa on Aug 27-31 Advanced Pattern Welded Steel Techniques with Rick Dunkerley.
Spring 2013 Page 3 New England Blacksmiths President’s Message
April 2013;
Time has come again for another message. Between spring clean up at home and
my Mystic Seaport “part time job” things have been quite busy. Fred Mikkelsen
and I did manage to have two special outings since I wrote you last. On one we
traveled into Providence, RI and visited Walt Scadden and his class at the Rhode
Island School of Design (RISD), which was a neat thing to do. We saw Walt in his
element, leading a group of artists learning metalworking skills. As with the Assabet students, these college age and older folks create some remarkable things. Our
second outing was to go and teach at Brentwood North at Bob Menard’s shop in
Portland, ME. That is the second time we have done that together and I have enjoyed both. As with the last time, our
trip was influenced by the weather as rather than stay over a second night in Portland, we decided to head home in
order to “beat” an impending snowstorm. It was a good choice in spite of a late return home. We had lots of activity
at Brentwood North, met some new people, and had the fun of helping some new hands get a grasp on smithing skills.
I’d bet that Bob has some coverage of the event in the following pages.
I am looking forward to the next Meets. The first of those will be at Leigh Morrells in MA. There is a power hammer
class there the day before, and I have signed up for that too. There is another power hammer class scheduled to be
held at David Court’s shop. The Fall Meet will be run by Bob Menard and the Brentwood Committee at Brentwood,
NH. There have been quite a few things going on. There was an anvil repair workshop, and a hinge workshop at
Leigh’s in early winter as well for which I heard good reports on both.
I had been thinking over the winter that many of the folks who really revitalized blacksmithing by bringing the craft
out of historical hibernation, and redeveloping the skills and knowledge required are, shall we say, “long in the tooth”.
These folks, some of whom have already transitioned from this world, shared with us what they had learned, and
helped all of us with in-person hands on techniques and with the written word. My first smithing book was a
“Richardsons” that my wife purchased for five bucks at a publishers clearing house. After that came the zerox (really)
copy of “Schwarzkopf” from Centaur. Then I heard of and bought an Edge of the Anvil. It was great. Two people
that helped us a lot I recently learned from the Anvils Ring and in e-mails are gone. Jack Andrews (Edge and New
Edge as well as some other titles through Skipjack Press), and Norm Larson of Norm Larson Books have moved on.
Both of these men influenced my learning of smithing. Andrews’ books, the Edge and New Edge, were our primers
long before so many people started writing. Larson published new and re-published old books and sold them to us at
reasonable prices. Both aided our collective knowledge a great deal. Jack was 81 and had been ill for some time.
Norm was 77 and it was an unexpected sudden illness. Pay attention to our senior members. The reasons are obvious.
We also have to keep up the traditions of sharing our knowledge with those that are following.
Now for the more boring but important parts nonetheless:
Our finances remain in good shape. Nothing’s unusual there, which is all good. (hmmm? Copied from last report. I
think that says it all. NEB is quite fine thank you.)
Our lease at the Brentwood facility is up this spring. Bob Gilbert, who is a resident of Brentwood, and knowledgeable
on town operations and politics has been negotiating on our behalf with the town. I expect we will have a more formal recommendation for the BOD and membership at the spring meet on future arrangements. Initial indications are
that we will have a workable agreement at favorable terms for NEB. I believe that for legal reasons, we will not be
able to have the agreement we were looking for. Again, I hope that this is a done deal that we can bring forward in
May.
I have run out of room. See you at Spring Meet. Be well, and cheers, Owen, President, NEB
Spring 2013 Page 4 New England Blacksmiths NEB SCHOLARSHIP
The New England Blacksmiths (NEB) have a scholarship program open to all members — (a full year of membership is required to apply). Apply now for financial aid to improve your blacksmithing knowledge & skills. NEB offers
educational scholarships to cover up to $500 of the cost for NEB members to attend blacksmithing hands on classes.
What you do

Decide on a class (anywhere, but it must be a real blacksmithing class or hands-on workshop, not a sit-on-duff workshop or conference).

Procure the application form from the newsletter, our website or from a Board of Directors member.

Fill it out and return it,

If possible, include a class curriculum or brochure.
What we will do

Evaluate your application.

If you are chosen, we will notify you that you will receive an NEB scholarship

After your class, NEB will reimburse you the amount of the scholarship upon receipt of a copy of your receipts and
certificate of completion.
What you owe NEB
Within one year of completing your class, you will provide:

A 2-hour demo of the skills you've learned in the class

A 2-page illustrated article to the New England Blacksmiths Newsletter on what you've learned.
Contacts
Any Board of Director Member or
Ed Grove, Scholarship Chairman
828 Haley Town Road
Brownfield, ME 04010
Spring 2013 Page 5 New England Blacksmiths Spring 2013 Page 6 New England Blacksmiths April 1st, 2013
Orthopedic Surgeon, Dr. Lawrence Lee, invents handle that helps eliminate Blacksmith’s Elbow! Seen at right, This handle, powered by a small lithium ba ery, senses the ghtness of the blacksmith’s grip and the LED powered jewels show green for proper grip or red for a grip that will lead to tendoni s of the elbow. His experience at the Troll’s Hammer Forge helped him understand the dynamics of hand forging. Used with no permission Spring 2013 Page 7 New England Blacksmiths ANVIL REPAIR
AFTERNOON
MORNING
The 3rd Annual Anvil repair class at Morrell Metalsmiths in Colrain MA. was held on January 26.
There was a truly amazing collection of experienced welders on hand to supervise and guide the repair
process. A record number of anvils in various stages of disrepair were returned to full function. This years
staff included, Leigh & Justin Morrell, Ralph Sproul, Charlie Sedell, Steve Malady, Bob LaVoie, and Bob
Menard. In one day 14 anvils were repaired and restored which is no light achievement. Many thanks to
Leigh and Justin for setting this up and lending their shop. If you have an anvil that might need some fixing up, you may want to keep an eye out for the 4th Annual Anvil Repair Class
First you must grind out the damage and rust Over weld the damaged areas Pre‐heat to 200‐250 degrees Spring 2013 Grind it smooth Page 8 New England Blacksmiths Brentwood North 2013
By Bob Menard
Photo credits, Ed Grove
This year’s program was the ninth anniversary of the Winter event now known as Brentwood North.
It was as busy a day as it was fun. Thirteen students revolved through the Ball & Chain Forge in a complicated yet choreographed dance of forging stations and projects. There were four forging set ups utilizing both
coal and gas forges. Four different items to be learned and created.
The staff this year fleshed out early which was a large weight off my mind as I began planning. We had a
repeat performance this year from the Scandinavian Tag Team, Fred Mikkelsen and Owen Bostrom, while
David Court and Ian Eddy filled us out.
In addition to these 17 folks, three honored guests joined us, Bob Gilbert, Tim Blanchard, and Ed Grove.
They hung out for the morning and enjoyed a hearty lunch with the group. I found out years ago, to send
people out for lunch completely upset my finely tuned schedule. Lunch now is served in the shop and the day
long immersion in forging is rendered complete.
Served to full appetites was beef stew, fresh rolls, lemon squares, brownies, and cider. It must have been
okay because very little of 4 1/2 gallons of beef stew was leftover. The sweet treats not consumed at lunch
time were headed out the door at the end of the day as road
snacks.
Owen’s station was a door knocker with an emphasis on the
NEB swage block and bending jigs. My favorite was Fred’s
handle for a Ball jar. I liked it enough to jump into the station
late in the day to make one for myself. I see this as a big item
for Christmas this year.
David’s inside/out heart embellishment looks like a good
public demo trinket; a real crowd pleaser. Ian was making a
key fob that looked deceptively simple but was a perfect
example of radically altering the cross section of a piece of
steel to achieve the forged effect. The part of his station that
garnered some buzz, especially with the other staff members, was a decorative punch made from a dome end
carbide burr (more on this tool further in this issue).
It was great to see the members who have attended past events as well as energizing to have many show up
who have never attended. We even signed up 3 new members! Thanks to everyone who made this such a
grand success — students and staff alike. 2014 is the ten year anniversary and I plan on pulling out all the
stops. Members who would like to enjoy this cabin fever reliever either as a student or staff should contact
me early. It is less stress for me as I am planning and as I like to remind people, it generally sells out. There
is something for everyone and I have some fun toys to play with.
Spring 2013 Page 9 New England Blacksmiths An environment of learning and Blacksmith fellowship Brentwood North Spring 2013 Page 10 New England Blacksmiths Fire and Ice in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom On Saturday, March 2, 2013, members of the Green Mountain Blacksmiths gathered at the Old Stone House Museum in Brownington, VT for a late Winter Hammer‐in. Around thirty smiths made the trek, some with their youngsters in tow, from as far away as Essex, Montpelier, Peacham, and Li leton, NH (Next me I'm going to make sure I have a register for everyone to sign). Three forges were lit by 10:00 and were kept going un l about 5 or so. Lucian Avery brought a work in progress for demonstra ng chain making‐‐ the start of a light logging chain (finished length should be at least sixteen feet, right Lucian?) Lynn Lang brought his stock lock and a be y lamp (which he had lit in the shop most of the a ernoon‐‐ definitely go a make me one of those). The museum staff provided some entertainment for the kids indoors‐‐ in short order the downstairs of the Twilight house was in a veritable blizzard of paper snowflakes. At noon, Peggy Day Gibson, museum director, took anyone who wanted to on a tour of the first floor of the Old Stone House to view some of the iron ar facts in the kitchen area, and to show off the post‐and‐beam barn that was raised this past Summer (I think everyone went, because suddenly the shop was empty). Many said that they would like to come back in warmer weather and see the rest of the museum (might I suggest during the Gas and Steam Engine Show on June14‐15, or Old Stone House Day in August?). At the end of the day, about half the par cipants remained to partake in a delicious pot‐luck dinner. All‐in‐all, we at the Old Stone House Museum and GMBA feel this was a very successful event, and would like to do it again in the not too distant future. I would like to thank the museum staff for making this day possible, the members of the GMBA for their generosity in suppor ng this event, and especially Paul Moffat, who saw the need for the museum to have a blacksmith shop for educa on and interpreta on, and took the bull by the horns! Submi ed by Courtney Mead, Vermont Rep. Visit h p://oldstonehousemuseum.org for more informa on. Spring 2013 Page 11 New England Blacksmiths Spring 2013 Page 12 New England Blacksmiths NEW ENGLAND BLACKSMITHS MEMBERSHIP FORM
Dues are $20.00 USD, and due January 1st of each year.
Are you a current member? Check your mailing label for the year 2013 ! !
Send checks to: NEB Membership – 337 Rope Ferry Road- Waterford, CT 06385
Please Print Clearly and check whether New member __ or Renewal __
Name ______________________________________________ Date_______________
Business name, if applicable___________________________________________________
Address ____________________________________________ Phone _____________
City _______________________ State_______ Zip________ Fax _______________
E-mail__________________________________Web Site___________________________
Occupation________________________________________ Year of birth______________
Check forging skill: __Beginner __Intermediate __Advanced
Blacksmithing areas of interest ________________________________________________
Check all that apply:
__Teach Blacksmithing __Teach Related Metalworking Skills, which skills______
__Do you do Public Smithing Demos __Demo Fee (Amount: ) __Require Travel $
__Would hold NEB Office are you an ABANA Member Yes or No
Any demonstrator or demonstration requests for NEB Meets?_________________________
Comments on another sheet: Spring 2013 Page 13 New England Blacksmiths to be
If you can’t
trust your
friends—
Who can
you trust!
called, was a triumph of design mated to application.
William Hale, a noted river boss, pronounced
it the soundest tool ever put into the hands of a
One afternoon in
woodsman. Peavey, assuming fame
the Spring of
and fortune were soon to follow, drew a model
1858, Joseph
Peavey, a blacksmith from
of his invention and set out on foot for the Bangor
Stillwater Village near Bangor, Maine, lay on his
post office, patent application in hand.
stomach on a covered bridge that spanned the
Along the way, he stopped in Orono to vis-
Stillwater Branch of the Penobscot River.
it with another blacksmith (not Bob Robinson).
Through a crack in the floor, he watched a The pair had a drink together, then another and
crew of rivermen trying to break up a log jam.
another. In that chummy atmosphere, Peavey
(Ed Grove was not in the crew, at this time.) As
revealed his plans for the cant-dog. When he
Peavey watched in amusement, he was struck
awoke in the morning, somewhat hungover, he
with a solution to their problem.
discovered that his drawings and an application
Returning immediately to his shop, he and
for a “Patent Cant-dog” were on their way to
Washington, submitted by the Orono blacksmith!
his
While the peavey bar was not patented
son Daniel adapted a cant-dog by making a rigid
under the blacksmith’s name, his name was imclasp to encircle the staff, with ears on one side.
mortalized. The Peavey family manufactured the
The ears were drilled to take a bolt that would
peavey bars most widely used, and the peavey
hold a hook, or dog, in place, allowing it to
bar became the generic term applied to all cantdogs. For many years the family factory in Brew-
move up and down but not sideways. Below the
bulge in the handle, Daniel placed graduated
er sported a ten-foot sign
above the door with just two letters, one at each
collars of iron that strengthened the handle.
end:
Then Peavey drove a sharp iron spike into the
P V. The Peavey headstone in the Bangor ceme-
end of the rig.
tery
The resulting cant-dog looked like some
This blast from the past was taken from the New England
Blacksmiths newsletter of January 2004
medieval weapon, but the peavey bar, as it came Thanks Fred!
Spring 2013 Page 14 New England Blacksmiths The Forging of a Meteor A while ago I had a curious phone call. Would I be interested in forging a meteor? Even though there was no money to speak of, the callers’ willingness to travel a couple of hundred miles to talk plus the meteor angle caught my interest. It turns out he wanted to have made a couple of miniature ceremonial daggers as gi s for people in Nepal where his wife was from. As the story developed I was intrigued. A Nepalese friend had given him a small piece of meteor, which he tried to have forged in Nepal. The smith worked it but the piece began to crack and split. He could do no more. The owner retrieved the meteor piece and returned to the States where he found a smith to try his hand at forging the rock. He too had problems and a small piece broke away. The US smith declined to chance destroying the material and somehow my name came up (probably as one who would accept a non paying project) and he contacted me. Smi en, I invited him to my studio‐. When I saw the project and material I knew I had my work cut out for me. The meteor was in two pieces (only the larger piece is in the picture) and there were three wood phurba daggers carved in Nepal. The owner wished me to make as many daggers as possible from the meteor. Could I?? Having a knack for money loosing projects, I said yes; come back in two weeks. I thought about the problem for a while and weighed my op ons. Due to the material being so small I decided to a empt experimen ng with it first. I a ached it to a small steel rod and com‐
menced to heat it. Working it at a moderate heat I too no ced cracking as you can see by the photo. Con nuing to forge at a white heat I was able to se le in to the work of preliminary shaping of the blank. The last heat was slammed into the carved steel die with hammer to form the triangular cross sec on of the dagger. Spring 2013 Page 15 New England Blacksmiths The blanks were then filed and ground clean of flash. Once cut off, the remaining material was forged into blanks un l all the material was u lized using the method described above. The roughed out daggers were then lightly filed to rough finished shape the blades and handles. The customer was to complete the filing. I provided them as shown in the photo. The length of the finished Purbas was 1 ¼ “to 1 ½”. I was pleased to have squeezed four finished items from one small piece of material with no loss other than scale, flash and filing. I would say the most outstanding quali es were the duc lity of the material. Very similar to pure iron. The other quality was how duc le the ma‐
terial was when cold. The thinnest sec ons of the handles were prone to bending if the file pressure was too great. Yet when reposi oned me a er me none broke or cracked. Unfortu‐
nately, I didn’t see them finished so I have no idea if they had any unique grain quali es when they were polished. All in all, I would say my one and only experience with a meteorite was very rewarding. To my dismay meteorites are substan ally more expensive than pure iron and unlike pure iron, unpredictable. David Court 1/ 2013 Spring 2013 Page 16 New England Blacksmiths Nevisian Heritage Museum’s Idea of Blacksmith Shop? Really?
Bob and I went to Nevis for our Caribbean vacation this year. It is a little island of 11,000 people
and only 36 square miles. It’s a beautiful island with very friendly folks. We loved it and will go
back someday. Of course being tourist we wanted to see the sights and the Nevisian Heritage Museum boasts a blacksmith shop. Of course it was on a short list of “must see” on the island. We
wandered around the village not knowing what we were looking at for many of the partially standing
buildings and towers. But as we walked up over the hill we saw:
Hmmm…. What was the clue? Even I can see that this is not a well cared for anvil. In fact,
maybe it spent part of its time in the Caribbean….pretty sad. Anvil repair workshop?
Spring 2013 Page 17 New England Blacksmiths Closer inspection of the blacksmith tools
and rusty bits of metal. Couldn’t help but
notice it is a wooden forge.
I wonder if a blacksmith was ever consulted...
Bob and I just wanted to share the Nevisian
idea of a blacksmith shop. What do you think?
It is nice to see blacksmiths represented and I am searching for the perfect island to live on for re-
tirement. And when I do I will be bringing my own blacksmith! After two weeks of vacation he is
itching to pick up a hammer. Debby Menard, wife of a blacksmith Spring 2013 Page 18 New England Blacksmiths Morrell’sWhatsit?
Thisissue’sitemwassubmittedbyDavidCourt,North ield,
NH.
Theseareveryearlyandmadeupofmultiplepiecesofvery
roughironforgeweldedtogether.Canyouguesstheiruse?
Spring 2013 Page 19 New England Blacksmiths The New England
Blacksmiths
The Scrap Box
Shop Class
A very old Norwegian blacksmith, Torvald Mikkelsen, passed away and left his collection of 17 anvils to his 3 grandsons, all of whom were blacksmiths. Now they were
all not treated nor loved the same and the Will showed this preference;
Erik, the favored, would receive 1/2 of the anvils
and Lars would receive 1/3
and lastly Peder would only get 1/9, as he was least favored.
They were unable to divide the collection as stated, the arithmetic being too complicated, and so they called on the wisest man they knew, Havard Bostrom, to help them. They asked if he could
solve the problem and he said he could.
Can you figure how it was done?
When Havard arrived at the smithy, he placed his personal anvil in with the 17 that needed to be divided.
He then proceeded to divvy up the group in accordance with Torvald’s will.
Erik was given 9 of the anvils from the group (now 18 in all) or 1/2
Lars was given 6 of the anvils from the group of 18 or 1/3
Peder was given 2 anvils or 1/9 of 18
9 + 6 + 2 = 17 and so Havard put his anvil back on the cart and took it home.
Spring 2013 Page 20 New England Blacksmiths Some Thoughts on Creativity
"I don't believe creativity is a gift from the fairy godmother. I be-
lieve it is a skill which can be learned and practiced like driving a
car. We only consider creativity a gift because we have never tried
to practice it as a skill."
Wilhelm Häderle, retired Director of Studies, Sussen (Germany)
in May 2011.
"Being an artist in the arts
and crafts sector requires
advanced craftsmanship and
quite a number of other
skills. Among these skills is the finely tuned sense of artistry, which
can be acquired only after much drawing, modeling and shaping.
Those who shy away from the rigors of learning, those who avoid taking the risk of creating something new, and those who cannot make up
their minds to give full evidence of their solid craftsmanship and artistry also have no reason to hope for clients and may experience what
lamenting and moaning, envy and silent rage will get them."
Max Metzger, 1924.
Author of "Pattern Book for the Artist Blacksmith"
Vise Grip Filing vise arrangement
Here is another idea you might like to
use. The photo tells the story of 2 pair of
vise grip welding pliers welded to a piece
of angle iron, clamped in your post vise,
to hold small pieces for file work.
It ain’t traditional but it works!
Fred forgot where this came from, sorry.
Spring 2013 Page 21 New England Blacksmiths Spring 2013 Page 22 New England Blacksmiths Spring 2013 Page 23 New England Blacksmiths Spring 2013 Page 24 New England Blacksmiths Reprinted from the Pi sburgh Ar st Blacksmiths Associa on Oct 2012 Ian Eddy brought this impression tool with him to the Brentwood North program in Feb 2013.
It was a ball head carbide burr fit to a striking end. He demonstrated its use as a tool to embellish a key fob
he was teaching. I can see countless applications for other projects. Although it looks special he just used a
bolt he had with a hole drilled in the end to create a striking surface
Spring 2013 Page 25 New England Blacksmiths Spring 2013 Page 26 New England Blacksmiths Spring 2013 Page 27 New England Blacksmiths Spring 2013 Page 28 New England Blacksmiths Reprinted from the Michigan Ar st Blacksmith Associa on Oct.2012 Spring 2013 Page 29 New England Blacksmiths Morrell’s Whatsit;
The items shown in this issue are Sash Dogs. They are from a very early sash
mill, (vertical saw) and were used to keep the log in cutting position.
I know this has probably been driving you crazy for the last 11 pages! Spring 2013 Page 30 New England Blacksmiths Reprinted from the Indiana Blacksmithing Associa on Using a half inch long piece of 1 1/2” square tubing as a locking ring for tongs is a common technique. Finding this piece of steel on a crowded bench can present a challenge. My solution is to use aluminum instead. Its
bright color makes it stand out and it is easier to pick it out of the crowd. It is also a simple thing to
deform it as a diamond to adjust for different tongs.
Bob Menard Portland, ME Spring 2013 Page 31 New England Blacksmiths Reprinted from Northern Rockies Blacksmith Associa on Spring 2012 Originally from the California Blacksmith Associa on Spring 2011 Spring 2013 Page 32 New England Blacksmiths Reprinted from the Central States Metal Ar sans Feb 2013 Spring 2013 Page 33 New England Blacksmiths Reprinted from the Philip Simmons Ar st Blacksmith Guild Originally from Arizona Ar st Blacksmith Associa on Spring 2013 Page 34 New England Blacksmiths Mason Jar Mug Inspired by Steve Anderson & The California Blacksmiths Split 2” on one end 3/16”x3/4”x 7” Spread and draw square, each to 2‐3/4” From center Form to 2‐5/8” Dia. semicircle Scroll end and Shape handle Make final adjustments so it “snaps” securely on your jar Brentwood North, Feb. 23rd 2013 Fred Mikkelsen Spring 2013 Page 35 New England Blacksmiths New England Blacksmiths Bob Menard, ‐ Editor Ball & Chain Forge 56 Warren Ave #106 Portland, Maine 04103 FIRST CLASS MAIL TIME VALUE Spring 2013 Page 36 New England Blacksmiths