pittsburgh area artist blacksmiths associationlama-blacksmith.org/resources/paba-june-issue.pdf ·...

Volume 13, Issue 2 June 2014

Pittsburgh Area Artist—Blacksmiths

Association

Welcome New & Returning PAABA Members

From PA: Blon Family—Turtle Creek Kathy Brady—Meadville

Contents: Summer Plans –1 President’s Message – 2 Editor's Message -2 PAABA Member’s News - 3 Calendar of Events - 3 Just Riveting - 4 Hot Diggity Dog - 5 Hot Dip! - 6,7 We are on the Rails! - 8 Cheers! - 9, 10 Library News! - 10 News and PAABA GPS –11 Planning Calendar - 12

Three for Thee! This summer, PAABA has three different activities planned for you. All are worthwhile and will give you an experience in many aspects of the art of blacksmithing. 1. PAABA will be taking an active

part in refurbishing the outside ironwork at the Aliquippa B. F. Jones Library this summer. We will need a team of volunteers in three phases. First to remove the ironwork, followed by a renova-tion day at Steel Welding and fi-nally installing the repaired iron-work. If you receive email, we will keep you informed as we progress, however, if you do not have email, please call John Steel, 724-774-6757 and let him know you are interested so we can keep in touch with you. This is a great way to learn how to repair historically significant ironwork. There is also a possibility of a book being published about the library. A professional photographer will be documenting the renovations, including our work. This is a chance you just might be included. PAABA will also document our work and provide photographs to the library for their archival records.

2. Come to Steel Welding and enjoy a day with Jeff Farmer on August 9th starting at 9:00 AM. He has many “tricks of the trade” he has developed over the years to make his work efficient. He has a friendly and light hearted approach to blacksmithing. His work ranges from the practical to the beautiful. Enjoy a picnic day, demonstrations, the PAABA library, and more, all for $15! We will have a short PAABA Meeting and also a PAABA Auction. All Proceeds benefit PAABA.

3. Labor on Labor Day Weekend at the Compass Inn near Ligonier, the set up begins at 9:00. This is the third year for this event and it is a great time for ALL Levels of smiths. There will be many attending with equipment to forge items for the Compass Inn Gift Shoppe. If you do not have a forge or anvil, bring with some hand tools and we will find a forge and anvil for you! There is always room for one more smith! Chef Appleby will be cooking, his lovely wife will be making potato salad and PAABA will be providing the food. This is a free day and includes lunch! Your hard work ... well, fun work at the forge is most appreciated. From key chains, hooks, necklaces, steak turners...you make it, they will sell it! Make it part of your summer, truly a great time, lots of laughs! Get to know other smiths and learn a couple things too!

ABANA Conference August-13-16

Harrington, Delaware www.abana.org/ 2014 For more information!

Don’t Go TOPLESS This Summer!

New PAABA inventory in! T-Shirts -$10

Hats—$12

Please Note:

The Pittsburgh Area Artist-Blacksmiths Association, its staff, directors, officers and members and the PAABA Newsletter do not manufacture, distribute, sell, test, warrant, guarantee, or endorse any of the tools, materials, instructions or products contained in any articles or advertise-ments in the PAABA Newsletter. The Pittsburgh Area Artist- Blacksmiths Association and the PAABA Newsletter specifically disclaim any responsibility of liability for damages or injuries as a result of any construction, design, use or application of information contained in any articles in the PAABA Newsletter. The Pittsburgh Area Artist Blacksmiths Association and the PAABA Newsletter assume no responsibility for the accuracy, fitness, proper design, safety or safe use of any information in the PAABA News-letter. Blacksmithing, due to its inherent nature-fire, steel, hammers, fuel, etc.-is not an activity to be taken lightly. Pru-dence and common sense must be in the forefront of any blacksmith’s mind before he/she picks up a hammer.

The PAABA Newsletter is composed by the editor. Unless otherwise noted, copy-right belongs to the authors. Please honor their work and do not reprint copyrighted material without permission. Permission is granted to other similar non-profit organizations to reproduce other articles in their entirety appearing in the PAABA Newsletter provided credit is given to the original source.

Words of Steel…

Spring is gone and summer has arrived with a full schedule of events planned for those who are interested in blacksmithing, met-alwork, and this year’s restoration of some fine ironwork at the his-torically significant B.F. Jones Library in Aliquippa. The work of re-pairing a wall rail that could not wait until the PAABA workday to remove the window grills has been completed and the back guard rail has been repaired and is ready for painting. Please, if you have some time, step up and support PAABA and the important restora-tion of the grand building. While you are there you can examine the work of Oscar Boch on the interior of the building. Check out the ar-ticle on the workshops in this newsletter. Many thanks to George Pavletic, (our T-shirt and hat man), for helping me clean and paint the Lacock Cemetery gates and fence. We also promoted PAABA in the community by donating two railings at Economy Cemetery. The workshop was well attended and the fin-ished railings will be much appreciated by many who use the stairs for a long time. PAABA officers have a full summer scheduled for you with many events. Check out the calendar page and be involved. We need your HELP with especially the library project. Call 724-774-6757 to cash in on this limited offer. If you call within the first 10 days, we will double the offer, and you can help refurbish and install the window grills! PAABA will cover the shipping and handling charges!!!! Don’t forget to mark you calendar now for the Jeff Farmer event and picnic, then off to the ABANA Conference in Delaware! Remember to send in your dues ! Come and enjoy the planned events, we have put a lot of effort and planning into helping you learn and enjoy the art of blacksmithing. -President, John Steel

What the Ed Sed...! What would you like to do this summer? Because we have planned all types of blacksmithing activities for you including hands-on projects. This does not mean you have to be an expert blacksmith to participate, it can mean lending a helping hand and learning as you go along! We also will have a handy demonstrator in August provide you with lots of short cuts and ingenious ways to solve everyday problems. Make plans to see Jeff Farmer at Steel Welding in August. But let’s not rush the summer away! One of the missions of PAABA is to educate the public in the art of black-smithing; our presence in the community helps reach that goal. Taking part in public projects can help an organization as well as help our affiliate use its talents for a good cause. And speaking of talent, our members are multi-talented. Did you know we have members that have a experience in clock-making, upholstery, electronics, mechanics, taxidermy, jewelry, medicine, chemistry….get the idea? All our backgrounds make our organi-zation very resourceful, you never know who just may be able to help with a project. Get to know your fellow smiths and take part in the up-coming Aliquippa Library renovation project. You also may just want to relax this summer. We know of a place that has beautiful surroundings, a great chair and all the books you would ever want to read. ...and it is free to the public! Yep...the B.F. Jones Library...see you there! -Editor, Chris Holt

Pittsburgh Area Artist — Blacksmiths Association June 2014 2

PAABA OFFICERS

John W. Steel-President 2063 Lovi Road

Freedom, PA 15042 Home 724-774-6757 Fax 724-774-3209

[email protected]

Dave Lint-Vice President Box 245 250 Union St.

Dickerson Run, PA 15430

724-529-7942

Rex Dietz-Treasurer 1880 Camp Meeting Road

Sewickley, PA 15143 Home 412-741-0760

[email protected]

Chris Holt-Secretary/Editor 1630 Camp Meeting Road

Sewickley, PA 15143 Home 412-741-6171 [email protected]

Jim Campbell - Publicity Chris Holt-Membership


2014 Calendar of Events July/August—Aliquippa Library Ironwork Project –PAABA will be in touch regarding this reno-vation project via email and post cards. This is a great way for PAABA to help a community! August 9-John Steel’s Shop, Jeff Farmer demonstrator, 9:00 start, great picnic lunch, PAABA Auction, short PAABA Meeting, Library and More! All for $15. August 13-16 ABANA Conference, Delaware State Fairgrounds, Harrington, Delaware Theme: Joinery: Come Make Connections, www.abana.org/2014 for more information! August 30—Compass Inn, Come out and “Labor on Labor Day”, 9:00 set up! Make items for the Compass Inn gift shop, If you haven’t taken part in this event, try it this year, ALL levels of smiths are invited, beginners as well as experienced! Chef Appleby is our personal chef, FUN DAY! September—26-28 SOFA (Southern Ohio Forge and Anvil) Check out their web site, always worth the trip! This year, Heather McLarty and Jan, Mace Vitale and Sam Salvati, Clay Spencer and Dave Custer, Dan Nickels and Derrick Bliss, Patrick Nowack, www.sofablacksmiths.org

Visit Our Website: www.paaba.net PAABA Hot Line Update on Events: 724-45-FIRE-1

Keeping Your Color! ABA Member, Vernon Ridgley shares a tip on how to keep your colors when you add heat to mild steel. When you pull the perfect color/colors it is so exciting. After you complete the project , you seal it with a clear coat and may notice, some of the “color” may lose its vibrancy. Vern suggests using Tru-tone clear. You can buy this as Rural King Tractor Supply Store. Keep your eye out for this product in the area, it really is a good way to keep your “color”!

When One is not Enough! At Brad Weber’s in May, we had a nice turnout of generous PAABA members. Curt Bonetti never attends empty handed and donated a collection of hooks. Each was well crafted, but together, they made a statement! Next time you are making an item for a fund raising event, think of a se-ries, it makes a great impression!

Building a Community Bill Fugate, past president of ABA, and PAABA member has been a part of the Lutheran Passavant Commu-nity for a number of years. He re-sides in a lovely home and also has a blacksmith shop on site. A recent addition on the campus is a huge complex with many amenities available to its residents. Bill

Fugate designed and built two large panels for dining room doors and custom sign holders for various activity rooms. His work, as you would expect is impeccable. If you are in the neighbor-hood, stop by, he will show you around!


Rivet Header by Phil Travis

Cut and weld together forming into a ”U” shape-clamp in drill press vise with thick (3 index) card thick), card stock in center. Drill Holes, grind relief grooves between holes for hammer. Adjust so sides spring open slightly.

In use: Set in jaws of post vise, heat end of rod stock, place with 1 1/2 X diameter of stock above and tighten vise. Upset head with hammer and rivet set tool to form head of rivet. Remove and cut to length.

Editor’s Note: Phil has contributed a number of projects to our newsletter, try one of his projects and improve your skills! Phil Travis —

A Riveting Character

ABANA 2014 Conference: Come Make Connections! August 13-16 Conference held at the Delaware State Fairgrounds in Harrington, Delaware

Demonstrators, Teaching Tent, Vendors and Tailgating, Family Activities and more! Check out the ABANA web site for registration or more information.

1/4”

1/8”

1/2” x 1”

3/16”

4”

4”

4”

One Flange Cut Away

1/2” x 1” Mild Steel

Weld

Weld

1/2” x 1/2” x 1/2” Angle Iron

1/4”


Dog-Gone Good Hook!

By Robert N. Casto Jr. While attending the ABA Spring Confer-ence this year, a coat hook made by Robert Castro seemed like a perfect item for gifts, craft shows, and dog lovers! Robert has been forging for only two years but has made great progress. He likes making chain saw, cable, and rail-road spike knives as well as roses and

calla lilies. His interests are varied and is open to learning many aspects of blacksmithing. His shop is set up at his dad’s old farm and uses his grand-father’s coal forge and anvil. His fam-ily has always had an interest in metal work and it appears Robert is devel-oping his creative metal working skills. He saw this item on You Tube, but it was great to actually talk to someone who made this item. Follow Roberts step by step direc-tions and you will have “pawsitive” success! Materials: Flat stock, your choice, suggested 1 1/4” flat bar by 3/16 by 10” long You will need a variety of punches, and an eye punch 1. Overhang about 3/4 “ over the anvil and round out the snout. 2. Use a drift to punch for the mouth but punch on an angle to get just a 1/2 circle 3. While still hot, make whiskers using center punch, and one more larger punch for the nose.

1. Return to fire, heat about two inches, bend in opposite direction.

2. Punch eyes with eye punch. 3. Use the same punch for nose for the ears, punch close to edge,

bend ears to shape. 4. Head is finished! 5. Next, split bar on opposite end to make feet/ or hooks. 6. Drill or punch holes to hang. Woof…..you are done! *You can alter the face to make a cat by enlarging the cheeks on the face and leave the ears standing.


Is that Galvanized?

We are about to begin our refurbishing project on the B. F. Jones window guards and gates that are historically significant to this library building. We will be removing them, rebuilding failing parts, re-placing rusted areas etc. One of the final steps before painting and installation is to have this work galvanized. Through Linda Helms, the Aliquippa Librarian, galvanizing will be available through her contact. Galvanizing is something you may have heard of and you probably know that it extends the longevity of metal. Your everyday encounter with galvanizing may be seeing guard rails as you drive to work, but there is a lot more to galvanizing. Read on! At the ABANA conference this spring, one of the shop visits was to see the galvanizing process in ac-tion. We visited AZZ galvanizing in St. Louis. The shop was very large and contained huge tanks and overhead cranes. It is imperative that each step in the process is done with care and completion. AZZ has a good reputation among galvanizing users. There are several reasons the work you re-ceive from AZZ is of high quality. They clean their tanks on a scheduled basis, remove the dross on regularly, and skim the tops of the tanks.

About Galvanizing:

Zinc is the major component in “galvanizing” and corrodes at a rate of 30 times slower than steel. Zinc seals the underlying steel from contact with its environment. If steel is exposed to the elements due to mechanical damage, the zinc corrodes sacrificially, leaving the host intact. What does this mean in simple language? If an item has been galvanized, and it is scratched for example, the zinc will actually “heal” over the scratch and continue to protect the host metal such as steel. Incredible, when you really think about it. The zinc, when properly attached to the host metal actually becomes a part of the metal, and that makes the difference, it is not just a coating but an actual part of the host. Process: The initial review of an item to be galvanized is checked for correct drainage and venting holes. Without proper drainage, and item could be “explosive” during the process. The surface preparation is the most important step in the application. If the surface is not correctly prepared, no coating of any kind will adhere. There are three steps. Caustic Cleaning, a hot alkali solution is used to remove dirt, grease, and oil from surfaces. If there is paint, vinyls, asphalt, or welding slag, this must be removed by sandblasting or mechanical means (wire brushing). A concern with the work at the library is there are leaves and complex floral elements that are “sandwiched” with rust, we will have to work on removing the rust completely. The next step is Pickling. This will remove the light scale and surface rust in a dilute solution of hot sulfuric acid or ambient temperature hydrochloric acid. Sandblasting (abrasive cleaning) is another process that could be used at this point. Third, Fluxing, this is the final surface preparation step in the galvanizing process. Fluxing removes oxides and pre-vents further oxides from forming on the surface of the metal prior to the actual galvanizing. Zinc Ammonium Chloride is used in the dry or wet process.

Three views of AZZ Galvanzing, in the St. Louis location. AZZ has 35 locations in USA and Canada.


Galvanizing The material is then completely immersed in a bath of a minimum of 98% pure molten zinc. This bath chemistry is specified by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). The bath tem-perature is maintained at about 840o F. This is now standard, but when galvanizing was “new” in the market, not all galvanizers were equal. Some companies provided a thicker coating than others. The item to be galvanized is immersed in the bath of zinc. The zinc metal reacts with the iron on the steel surface to form a zinc-iron intermetallic alloy. The item is withdrawn slowly from the galvanizing bath and the excess zinc is removed by draining, vibrating, and/or centrifuging. Another interesting aspect is that galvanizing can take place under any weather or humidity conditions.

Interesting background about galvanizing: i� The Brooklyn Bridge opened in 1883 as the first suspension bridge to use galvanized wire. This

practice became standard, but before galvanizing wire cables were protected by oil, grease, or paint. It is estimated there is 14,568 miles of galvanized steel wire used for its main cables. The Brooklyn Bridge went under a $112 million dollar renovation and it was found that after 100 years, the cables were in fine shape!

i� In 1965, Rolls Royce introduced the Silver Shadow. All parts and structural reinforcements of the underframe assembly were galvanized to insure the gauge thickness, hence strength. The galva-nizing was introduced to protect the lower chassis from deicing salts, flying stones, and road grit.

i� About 1 million chevron panels cover the Sydney Opera House that was completed in 1975. A galvanized mesh was installed on this Australian landmark to protect the roof and keep the weight down as low as possible.

i� Galvanizing is over 250 years old as used in today’s applications. This endorsement was sent in 1981 to the Witt Company that was on of the first companies to spearhead the use of galvanizing in a range of products and interestingly...the modest household garbage can! “Don’t know if your company is still in existence, “ wrote Mrs. G. A. McKee of Pittsburgh, "but in going over some old paper work, I thought you would like to know the garbage can we purchased in 1942 is still in existence and is still in excellent condition. About every five years we gave it a coat of aluminum paint. It probably will last as long as I do!” She included a tag that came with the can and featured the Good House Keeping Seal of Approval.

Hot dipped galvanizing will certainly insure the preservation of the ironwork at the B.F. Jones Library. We believe that our work on this project is important and historically significant for the future of this architecturally significant site. PAABA will be contacting all its members through email or call John Steel, 724-774-6757 for the summer project schedule. Any help or assistance you can provide will be most appreciated. We need a few “strong backs”, hauling, restoration work, and installation. You do not have to volunteer for all aspects of the project, but we surely would appreciate your helping hand and so will the B.F. Jones Library and Staff...they are truly excited and pleased we are undertaking this work. Update on work accomplished so far: Steel Welding has stabilized a stone step, repaired a handrail to the outside lower level emergency exit, and repaired a pipe railing located in the back of the property. Not the prettiest work to repair but very important to the safety and security of the building. Editor’s Note: Reference materials provided by Clinton Shaw/AZZ Galvanizing and Linda Helms/Aliquippa Library—Thank You!


Community Support

You may have a list of summer projects but, PAABA has completed two of three projects by the first of June, and that is impressive! PAABA started off with a small project painting the cemetery gates at Lacock Cemetery that we donated in 2009. They are now in excellent shape

and are ready for whatever the weather of-fers for the next five years. Thanks to painters George Pavletic and John Steel as well as the JROTC from Beaver High School for working on the grounds.

Next was the Railing Workshop offered to PAABA members free of charge. This two Saturday work-shop included learning how to measure for a simple railing, measuring in the “field”, laying out the railing in the shop, fabricating the railing, and learning about options such as terminations, pickets, codes, installation, tools etc.. The following week, the two railings were ready to install at the cemetery. They look fabulous and all that attended learned about the basics of railing fabrication and installation. Even if those that attended the workshops never make a railing, they are sure to have an understanding of vocabulary, what to look for when deciding on a railing, are aware of codes, and safety issues. The railings we designed were complimentary to the cemetery. Each railing had a molded cap rail which gives a high end quality to the ironwork. We added a double termination of a scroll and lamb’s tongue and a center “flourish” which completed the design.

JROTC from Beaver High School did the heavy work at the Lacock Cemetery site. They did all the grass cutting and reclaimed over grown areas. Their work is an enormous effort of pride and strength! Photo by John Steel

Painting team of Steel and Pavletic! “Selfie” photo by John Steel!

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1. Field measuring at the Cemetery. 2. Layout work at Steel Welding. How many blacksmiths does it take to use a tape measure? 3. Fabricating at the shop, looks straight from here! 4. Installation at the Cemetery 5. One of the two identical railings installed. If you get a chance, stop by to see the railings and last year’s refur-bished gate project by PAABA! We received many compliments and appreciation by visitors to the cemetery, they are happy! Photos by Elaine Wilkins

PAABA Members that took part in the Railing Workshop: Harold Sloppy, Randy Wilkins, Elaine Wilkins, Drew Schoeffel, Dave Brookes, Justin Hockenberry, George Pavletic, Frank Mirth, Kerry Gaus, Marianne Gaus, Allan Gaus, Dave Lint,

Emil Schultz III & IV, Chris Holt, John Steel

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Can’t Hold Your Beer? - Tom Rohosky

Tom Rohosky attended the WRABA/PAABA meeting this spring at Brad Weber’s and brought a little “cheer” to the auction which supported both affiliates. Why hold a cold, clammy can of beer at your next picnic? Add a little blacksmith style by making a can holder worthy of a blacksmith! Tom said the challenging part of this project is making the three “legs” even, rings equal, rivets in place and twists even. Hmmm, sounds like you will be building up your blacksmithing skills at completion and worthy of a “cold one” when finished! Have fun with this one! - Editor's Note This project was made out of all 1/4-inch square stock, except for the rivets, which were 1/8-inch diameter steel rod. The overall process I used is described below. Feel free to modify or adjust to however it works best for you. Cut the steel stock approximately as follows: 2-Square pieces about 6 inches long 1-square piece about 11 inches long 1-square piece at least 18 inches long 1- square piece about 3 inches long 6-1/8-inch diameter pieces, each cut about 5/8 inches long. The exact length isn't critical for the 6-inch and 11-inch pieces; just make sure that the two 6-inch pieces are the same. The 18-inch piece will be cut into two later. The 3-inch piece will be cut to final length at assembly. 2. Drill two holes through each of the 6-inch pieces and the 11-inch piece. The holes should be slightly larger than 1/8 inch diameter to help your rivets go in easier. Don't make them too big, though; you can always open them up later if necessary. Put one hole about 1-1/2 inches from one end, and the other about 3 inches from the first hole, with each centered on the bar's width. When drilling these holes, be particularly careful about two things: First, make sure that the hole locations line up on all three bars. (I laid them side by side with one end aligned up for center punching.) Second, make sure that you drill the holes as straight as possible. (If you have a drill press, this would be best.) If these holes aren't straight or don't line up, you'll have a hard time with the riveting, and the caddy may end up crooked. 3. After drilling, I heated up the middle section between the holes and put about a 1-inch long decorative twist into each bar. You may want to try doing the twist before you drill. Either way, make sure that you do a full twist so that the upper and lower holes end up parallel. 4. Flatten about the last inch of each bar and round the end a bit. (Be careful not to bugger up your holes.) The finished thickness of the flattened parts don't matter much, but try to keep them the same length. You can flatten farther back on the 11-inch piece (on the side away from the holes), or give it a twist, if you wish, since this part will become the handle. 5. Take the 18-inch length and flatten it to about a 1/8-inch thickness. It will probably end up about 3/8 inches wide, but you don't have to worry much about the width. 6. Bend one end of the flattened bar to a finished diameter of about 2-5/8 inches, keeping it as round as possible. It's important that you get this part right. If the diameter is wrong or if it's too out-of-round, the can won't fit well. I recommend that you keep a beer can handy to check the size as you work, but don't make it too tight around the can, as you'll need a little extra room for the rivet heads. This part may take some time. When making the first caddy, I just used the anvil horn to make the bend, but I found that it took a lot of fiddling to get a good circle with the exact diameter I wanted. After that, I made a bending jig with the right diameter, and that made the second one much easier.

Continued on page 10.


Library News! Harold and Rosemary Sloppy

181 Wallrose Heights Road, Baden, PA 15005 Book Review by Chris Holt

Staircases, The Architecture of Ascent, by Oscar Blanca, Martine Diot, Adelaide De Savray, Jerome Coignard, Jean Dethier, Hardcover, 240 pages, printed by Vendome Press, 2013

PAABA Librarians, Harold and Rosemary Sloppy, noticed a review of this book in the Wall Street Jour-nal. It seems appropriate to add it to the PAABA library since we just finished a railing workshop at Steel Welding this spring. This book offers a wide range of staircases that cover a period of time throughout the ages as well as style. Many of the beautiful photographs do not have iron handrails but all have character and mystery. This book covers the very basic question, what is a staircase and what types are there? The staircase helps move a person from one level to another but can do so with a real ascent/descent style or perhaps a simple and functional approach. Take a leisurely look through this book for inspiration.

Can’t Hold Your Beer? – Continued from page 9.

7. Once you've got the diameter and shape where you want it, cut it so that the ends line up and you have a complete circle. Then use the rest of the bar to make a second circle the same as the first. I MIG welded the ends together on each circle, but if you don't have a welder, you could overlap the ends and put in a rivet. If you're going to do it that way, remember to give yourself some extra length for the overlap. 8. Drill three holes in each circle, about 120 degrees apart and centered along the flattened bar's width. Make these slightly more than 1/8 inch in diameter, like the earlier holes. Make sure that the holes in each circle line up; if they are off, the caddy will be crooked. I set one on top of the other to mark the locations. 9. Take the 3-inch piece, flatten it to about 1/8-inch thickness; set it aside for now. 10. I prepared my rivets by cold-upsetting one side just enough so that it would-n't completely slip through the holes. To do this, I drilled a 1/8-inch diameter hole through a piece of 1/2-inch square stock and used this to hold the rivet while I did the upsetting on the anvil. This part may not be necessary, but it did seem to make the riveting go easier. After upsetting, you may need to use a small fin-ishing nail to drive the rivet back out of the holder. 11. Insert each rivet through the bars and circles with the upset heads on the inside, then hammer the other end of the rivet by inserting the anvil horn inside the circle and hitting against that. Don't try to get all of the rivets too tight at this point because you'll want all of them installed to align it correctly, or it may end up crooked. Once you have all of the rivets in, gradually upset them more and more to tighten it up while keeping the whole thing straight. 12. For the final set on the rivets, I heated them up. To do this, you'll want to just spot heat the area around the rivet, as opposed to sticking the whole thing in your forge. The assembly is fairly weak at this point, and if you heat the whole thing up (like I did with my first one), it will become floppy and it will be hard to hammer it without ruining the overall shape. I don't have an oxy-acetylene torch, so I used one of my propane torches with a backing of insulating (soft) firebrick to get the heat I needed. 13. Heat it up to bend the bottom tabs out and bend the handle over. Here, as well, you'll want to just spot heat the area you are working on, for the same reasons as described above. 14. Now, get the 3-inch long flattened piece. This will be the bottom. Set it against the bottom ring, mark it, and cut it to fit just inside the bottom circle. I MIG welded this piece in, too. The final step is to clean it up, put a little oil or wax on it, then stick a full beer can in there, and enjoy. Try to remember what you did the first time, though, since you may be making more. (My son and daughter both want a set, now!)

Side and top view.


_____________________________________________ Name _____________________________________________ Address _____________________________________________ _____________________________________________ City State Zip _____________________________________________ Phone _____________________________________________ E-mail Mail Completed Application and Check for $15, ($20 for family) Payable to PAABA to:

Chris Holt, 1630 Camp Meeting Road, Sewickley, PA, 15143

How did you hear about PAABA? ____________________________________________ Areas of interest and comments: ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________

PAABA Membership Application

Visit our Website: www.paaba.net

__ Full Time Smith __ I have my own shop

__ Part Time Smith __ I could host a 1-day Hammer-In

__ Hobby Smith __ I could do public demonstrations

__ Beginner __ I could host a plant tour

PAABA GPS System

Jeff Forster recently sent a photo-graph of a sculpture he has been working on in Weirton, West Virginia. This is a nine foot Blue Heron made from 390 recycled stainless steel, (restaurant steel). It was cold hammered, welded with the smallest Lincoln mig welder, with stainless steel wire. Weight: approximately 75 pounds. It is for the City Parks, 11th street, off Main Street.

Aliquippa Library—This library is located at 663 Franklin Ave, which is the main street in Aliquippa. Aliquippa is across the river from Ambridge and also accessible from the parkway West past the air-port.

John Steel’s Shop – Take 79 to Route 228 Exit, or Turnpike to Cranberry to Rte 19 N; go West on Freedom Road (Main intersection - at the AT&T Phone Store / Burger King Intersection, Denny’s Res-taurant) Follow Freedom Road for about 2.2 miles, Turn Right onto Lovi Road. Follow Lovi Road for 1.6 miles to 2063 Lovi Road, Freedom Road, PA 15042 shop on Left, large grey building. Plenty of parking! 724-774-6757

Compass Inn—This Inn is located along Route 30 in Laughlintown, PA, just east of Ligonier. From the PA Turnpike, exit at the Donegal Interchange #9. Turn left on RT 30 a short distance to the intersec-tion of 711 N. Take 711 North 12 miles to the intersection of Route 30. Turn right heading East, pro-ceed 3 miles. Compass Inn is on your right at the corner with the blinking light. Meet us on the grounds, you can park in the back lot. Easy, easy access for loading and unloading!

TIP: Convert a pair of ordinary pliers to spring loaded action pliers by slipping a length of soft rubber or plas-tic tubing onto both ends of the pliers. The tubing will hold the jaws open until you squeeze. The “loop” will also provide a way to hang the pliers on the wall.

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Pittsburgh Area Artist —Blacksmiths Association

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