THE HABA LETTER
The
Newsletter of the Houston Area Blacksmith’s Association Inc.
To Preserve And Promote The Art And Craft
Of Ornamental Blacksmithing.
HABA Web Site:
www.habairon.org
November 2001 Edition
BOARD OF DIRECTORS/OFFICERS
David W. Koenig
–
President
7418 Branch Point
Houston, TX 77095-2649
281-855-2869
76021.3660@compuserve.com
Larry Newbern –
Vice President
4918 Foster School Road
Needville, TX 77461
979-793-4362
brazosforge@cs.com
Frank Walters – Secretary
13703 Larkway
Sugar Land, TX 77478
281-491-7328
oteroforge@wtez.net
Les Cook
11222 Sagewillow
Houston, TX 77089-4536
281-481-2457
anvil@flash.net
Larry Hoff – Treasurer
8026-Durklyn
Houston, TX 77070-3747
281-890-8822
TOUR SNOKHOUS
BLACKSMITH SHOP
IN WEST, TX
DECEMBER 15.
CZECH LUNCH
INCLUDED FREE-RSVP
NOTE:TIME-DATED MATERIAL HERE!!
THE HABA LETTER CONTENTS
December HABA Meeting
– Page 2.
Nov. Meetings Summary–Page5.
January Meeting –
Page 3.
March Meeting –
Page 6.
Membership List
– Page 7.
Cooking For Color – Page 7
Robb Gunter Demo. Page
8.
Great Web Site
– Page 9.
For Trade
– Page 9.
For Sale – Page 9.
The
Fine Print – Page10.
DECEMBER 15 HABA
MEETING
OPEN HOUSE OF L. J.
SNOKHOUS BLACKSMITHS SHOP
ALL SMITHS INVITED 10:00
– 2:00
NOVEMBER HABA MEETING
SUMMARY
The
November HABA meeting focused on making a belt buckle from one eighth inch
thick sheet steel. During the summer
three other workshops focused on making the tools needed to make the
buckle. Attendance for the November was
low, nine members and no visitors, but production and learning were high. Six belt buckles were started and four were
completed.
Dave Koenig led the workshop. An anvil buckle design was chosen for the
demo. Dave used the treadle hammer to do
most of the cutting. The four people who
managed to complete the buckle found some time on the treadle hammer.
The shop was pretty busy with people working on the
treadle hammer and the two shop anvils.
There were three other forges going outside. These were provided by Les Cook, Charles and
Sharon Heathcock and Larry Hoff.
A highlight of the meeting was coal forge
brazing a nail to the back of the buckle. The nail was the pin to hold the belt buckle
to the belt. After a few practice tries
and a couple of tries on each buckle we seemed to get the hang of forge
brazing. It was quite an effort. One person cranked the blower. One person to heat and hold
the nail on the back of the buckle.
The third person applied the brazing rod and cooled the buckle once the
rod flashed. It probably looked just
like it sounds but we succeeded and had a great time trying something new.
Let’s welcome a new member to HABA, Steve
Green. We first met Steve at Oldenburg
in October. The belt buckle workshop was
the first time for Steve to work with a hammer, anvil and treadle hammer. He completed his buckle too. Welcome Steve!!!
A long time member, David Bailey, and someone we
do not see enough stopped by to take-in the action. David, it was sure good to see you again!
Charles
Heathcock and Les Cook made good progress on their
buckles. Odds are the completed buckles
will be at the January meeting. Jessica,
Huckemeyer, Steve Green, Larry Hoff and Dave Koenig
each finished a buckle.
Before all the hammering got started there was a
long meeting bringing everyone up to date on fall events and demonstrations. Kurt House donated a copy of his new book to
HABA. The title of the book is Hand
Forged for Texas
Cowboys. It is a
beautiful book filled with color pictures and many of those are spurs.
For those of you who are not familiar with this
title, Kurt’s book opens with some Texas history and the life, times and work of
blacksmith, Joe Bianchi of Victoria, Texas, 1871 –1949. Joe is best remembered as a loriner, a smith whose focus is making bits and spurs. Anyone with a penchant for Texas
history and a love of collecting spurs needs to take a very close look at this book.
Kurt House and Ray Snokhous
will be the featured speakers at the February HABA meeting. The February meeting location is the Tomball
Museum. This meeting will be open to all Museum
members and the Tomball community. Kurt
will have an arm full of books and a new pen to sign one/some for you.
A major part of the HABA meeting had to do with
bringing in a nationally know demonstrator to Houston. We talked about this at other meetings but
never seemed to be able to reach a consensus.
In this context, the subject of a treadle hammer workshop came up
again. This time there was a lot of
interest by the group. Les Cook and
Charles Heathcock formed a committee of two to look
into getting steel and received verbal assurances from others to help cut steel, drill holes and do whatever
else was needed.
Dave
Koenig said he would contact Clay Spencer, the creator of the inline treadle
hammer, to see if Clay could do a workshop in March of 2002. As it turned out Clay was available and the
date for the workshop is March
15 – 17, 2002.
For a little more information see the Treadle Hammer heading below.
The meeting adjourned and everyone got busy
making a belt buckle.
HABA Membership List
Hard copies of this The HABA Letter will
include a November 2001 HABA Membership list.
This list will not be posted on the HABA web site. Any member who would like a HABA Membership
List should contact Dave Koenig at: 76021.3660@compuserve.com or 281-855-2869.
by
Jerry Achterberg
Editor’s
note: The rich oxidation colors obtained
using this process can be shown only with color pictures. See the web site for color pictures.
Material: mild steel
All pieces should be polished and free of fire
scale, oil, grease, and dirt to achieve maximum color.
Scale
can be removed by soaking pieces in a solution of muriatic
acid and water for about an hour. The
acid will leave some pits in the metal if it is soaked too long. This may add character, depending of the
piece. Rinse with water after soaking.
All scale need not be removed, but scale is
non-metal and will not take on color from heat-treating or patinas. Again, this may be a desirable effect.
Wire
brushing and/or sanding will also help remove fire scale and prepare the piece
for polishing. A buffing wheel can be
used with jeweler’s rouge to polish to desired finish. Use course rouge (black) for a satin finish
and fine rouge (white) for a highly polished or mirror finish. The finer the finish, the more color the
finished piece will have.
After polishing, a solvent may be used to remove
the waxy residue left from the polishing compound. Next wash with a dishwashing detergent, such
as Dawn, dry, and place each piece in a tinfoil packet with the edges folded
tightly. This helps to ensure even coloring.
A cooking oven is best suited for maintaining a
constant sustained heat. I usually start
at 475 degrees and the time varies, depending on the size and thickness of the
piece. Smaller pieces take from 1-3
hours, larger pieces from 2-4 hours depending on the desired color. Check each piece about once an hour until you
start to see the desired color, then more frequently. As the piece is removed from the oven, with
the packet open, you can watch the color darken slightly. At this point you can let the piece cool
slowly for a slightly darker color or quench to stop at that color.
The colors start at light straw and darken to
peacock blue. If you want the dark blue,
there is no need to check every hour, just leave it for about four hours and
turn the oven off. Larger pieces may
take a bit longer, depending on your oven.
All heat-treat coloring is only on the surface
of the metal, it will scratch and can be removed by sanding or abrasive
polishing.
Higher or lower oven temperatures may be used to
achieve different effects.
ROBB GUNTER DEMONSTRATION
MARBLE FALLS, TX
JANUARY 26 – 27, 2002
Balcones Forge will be hosting Robb Gunter for
two days of demonstrations January 26 –27, 2002. The location is Larry Crawford’s shop in Marble
Falls, TX. More details will be published as they become
available.
Robb is a terrific demonstrator and
teacher. Below is a short biography of
Robb.
“I began studying blacksmithing 20+ years ago after a life
long fascination with the craft. Early
instruction came form Rolando
DeLeon and Francis Whitaker, both of whom are
unfortunately no longer with us. As soon
as basic equipment could be procured a hobby level shop was started and my wife
became a shop widow. She was very patient
and supportive. Every available
conference and workshop I could get to was a must. It was down hill from there;
-
Blacksmith for Sandia
National Laboratories - Industrial forgings and custom tool making.
-
-Developed, along with Karl Schuler the Recuperative Gas Forge - plans are
available from ABANA
-
- Operated the FORGERY SCHOOL OF BLACKSMITHING for over 12 years offering
basic, intermediate and advanced classes.
-
- Produced a 5 hour basic blacksmithing course on video patterned after the
basic course from the Forgery School of Blacksmithing.
-
- Proprietor of Forgeco Architectural Metals since
1993 doing custom architectural ironwork for private and commercial clients.
-
- Current Commission: A private residence in Scottsdale,
Arizona. – six
railings, hardware for 52 doors, 10 chandeliers, 22 wall sconces, 6 fireplaces,
and other misc. details. At present my
two sons and I have been working on this commission for 20 months.”
-
GREAT WEB SITE
See www.machineco.com for pages and pages of metalworking tools…new
and used including for power hammers, fly presses, forges……
FOR TRADE – SMIHTING
FOR GLASSBLOWING
From: "steve&chad
wilber" <wildboar_studio@hotmail.com>
To: <habaweb@wtez.net>
Sent: Sunday, November 25, 2001
8:27 PM
Subject: blacksmith lessons
Houston
area glassblower wanting to trade glassblowing lessons for blacksmith
lessons. If interested call Steve@Wildboar Studio 713-688 9307 or send e-mail to wildboar_studio@hotmail.com.
FOR SALE
New
Swage Blocks
The
Saltfork Craftsmen of Oklahoma are selling new swage
blocks poured with new malleable iron.
This is a fund raising activity for Saltfork. Each swage block sells for $75 FOB Houston. Jim Carothers is
coming to visit in Houston
over the holidays and offered to bring some swage blocks with him. Dave Koenig will pickup the blocks from Jim
and you and Dave can make arrangements to get them in Houston.
If you want to get in on this deal, please make
a check out to Saltfork Craftsmen ABA and get it into the
hands of Dave Koenig by December 15. The
order is going in on December 16 for the number of blocks for which Dave has
money in-hand. These are good blocks
that will require some clean-up. See the
pictures showing each side of the block.
For more information, contact Jim Carothers at 580-336-9213 or colonel@fullnet.net
Thanks for the treadle hammer news. I can't come but please tell folks I have a
swage block for sale. It is 18" square
and 4.5' thick. ($ 400) It is an old one. Also have a very large belt driven grinding
stone of Victorian vintage. ($ 300). A 1936 3 hp
McCormick - Deering open crank hit and miss Kerosene burner.
Want $ 600 for that. No
magneto. Block, crank and
piston for a little jumbo 3 hp. ($ 150). No fly
wheels.
Contact Robert M. Heath at 1055
Manship St.
Jackson,
Mississippi
39202
or 601-360-2884 after 5:30
or heathiron@aol.com.
Items are located in a shop in Canton,
25 miles north of Jackson.
THE
FINE PRINT
The use any of the material in
The
HABA Letter is at your own risk.
All persons associated with this material disclaim any responsibility or
liability for damages or injuries resulting from the use or application of this
information. They assume no
responsibility or liability for the accuracy, fitness, proper design, safety or
safe use of any information presented here.
Dave Koenig
7418 Branch Point
Houston, TX 77095
This will be a rare opportunity to see an old blacksmith
shop and to talk with someone who grew up in the shop. It will be a peek into the smithing past of a small 
