1. Volume 43 Number 4 FALL 2015

3. Fall 2015
1
departments
3 From the Editor
4 From the President
6 ABANA Business
7 2016 ABANA Conference Salt Lake City
11 Announcements
44 Educational Calendar
48 Classifieds
55 Ad Index
56 Writer’s Guidelines
Fall 2015
Table of Contents
features
14 Tim Cisneros:
I Have One Goal . . .
22 Dave Kervin:
Building the Lincoln
Funeral Car Railing
28 Patrick Quinn:
Sculpture: Team-Building
with Jake James
34 Jerry Coe
On the Path to
Preservation:
Buenos Aires’
Architectural Heritage
36 Mike Edelman
The Evolution of the Purse
FRONT COVER: Wave Bench by Tim Cisneros;
forged silicon bronze, teak; see p. 14 for story.
BACK COVER: Long-Bodied Hollowing Shave,
by Ray Larsen
steel, brass, wood;
see p. 10 for story
p. 22
p. 36
p. 28p. 14

4. 2 Anvil’s Ring
Volume 43 Number 4 Fall 2015
ABANA Board of Directors
David Hutchison President
Amy Pieh 1st Vice President
Peter Renzetti 2nd Vice President
Eddie Rainey Secretary Pro Tem
Mark Haddix Secretary in Absentia
Bill Clemens Treasurer
Bruce Jarrell Publications Chair
Tina Chisena
Yancey Davis
John Elliot
John Fee
Ray Nager
Jack Parks
Bill Robertson
Kirk Sullens
The Anvil’s Ring
ABANA Publisher
Valerie Ostenak, VOSTENAKstudios Editor/Designer
JoAnn Bentley Advertising Manager
Sundance Press, AZ Printing
Contributor Information
For publication consideration, please submit editorial content, i.e.,
articles, queries, book reviews to areditor@abana.org. See Submission
Guidelines in the ABANA Business section of this magazine. The full
text of the Writer’s Guidelines is on page 56 of this issue.
Advertiser Information
Advertising rates/sizes, including the Classifieds, are available for the
Anvil’s Ring and Hammer’s Blow by contacting:
JoAnn Bentley, ABANA Central Office, 423–913–1022.
Contact ABANA
Memberships, subscriptions, including dues and change of address:
Anvil’s Ring
c/o Central Office
259 Muddy Fork Road, Jonesborough, TN 37659
423–913–1022 Fax: 423–913–1023
centraloffice@abana.org www.abana.org
Indemnity
ABANA and Valerie Ostenak/VOSTENAKstudios do not test, warrant,
guarantee or endorse any of the tools, materials, instructions or products
contained in any articles or advertisements published herein.
ABANA and Valerie Ostenak/VOSTENAKstudios disclaim any
responsibility or liability for damages or injuries resulting from the use
of any information published in the Anvil’s Ring.
An element of
Pan Bacchus
Jake James Workshop
forged steel, 2015
See the Jake James
article on p. 30

5. From the Editor
Teamwork: Making Things
Bigger and Better
Seems that one of the running
themes throughout this issue is of
teamwork. Whether the piece was
envisioned to be designed and built by one
person or a team, each artist gathered a team
around him to bring the artwork to life.
Some were volunteers, some paid to
learn in a workshop, some became part of
a team because their curiosity and desire
brought them to it. In each case, the out-
come for the team was the same. An overall
sense of pride of having been part of a pro-
cess bigger than each one could have com-
pleted individually.
The dynamics of working in a team
can be as much of a struggle as moving the
metal can be. But, just like the cold steel,
when you get everyone warmed up to the
direction and workflow, it becomes a beauti-
ful performance dance!
Within a great team, egos are put to
the side as process is explained and input
from each individual is encouraged. Each
contributes their experience, their knowl-
edge, and their energy to bring about the
desired outcome. And in each case in this
issue, the outcomes were beautiful.
I encourage everyone, if you haven't
already, to work within a team to create
something bigger and better than you
could've on your own. Aside from learning
from the others, and the friendships that
develop, there's a renewed sense of pur-
pose from knowing that your contribution
mattered. f
Valerie Ostenak, Editor/Designer
www.valerieostenak.com
SUMMER 2015
3
I recently found out the name of the artist who
created the sculpture that I'm admiring at the 2014
Delaware Conference Gallery. He is Paul Lundquist,
his sculpture is titled Iron Floating on Air. I loved
the kinetic energy in this piece!

6. 4 Anvil’s Ring
From the President
The Present, The Past, and
The Future
The Present
I have had the honor to serve on
the ABANA board and also serve as its
President. In November, my term is up and
I will be off the board. I would like to thank
all the board members that I've served with
for their hard work. It has been interesting
at times getting 15 board members to agree
on something. But for the most part, once
something was decided, we worked as a team
to do it. I think we have made progress but
there is more to do.
Dimitri Gerakaris is one of ABANA's
founding members. He sent me the follow-
ing questions and answers. The questions are
from Matt McGee who was concerned about
recording the basics of early ABANA his-
tory. Thank you Matt and Dimitri.
Dimitri has provided us with great
insight into ABANA's formation and pur-
pose. He has said it better than I can . . .
I believe it still holds true today.
The Past
1. Why did the founders of ABANA feel
it was important to preserve the old
ways of blacksmithing?
We knew we were not going into com-
petition with the changes in mode of produc-
tion brought about by industrialization. The
day of the blacksmith hammering out every
tool and piece of hardware is gone. We found
artist-blacksmiths were primarily coming
from an art and design background and were
interested in using the traditional techniques
of the blacksmith to fashion new and artis-
tic works according to our own visions. Ivan
Bailey and I both spoke German and knew of
the German word Kunstschmied. The term
artist-blacksmith, which does not have a
counterpart in English, is a direct transla-
tion of that German word. We wanted to go
beyond the then-current technique of only
welding found metal objects together which
is very limiting and restricts you to what you
find in the scrap yard. We wanted to be able
to make exactly what we envisioned. This
applied to items that were strictly sculp-
tural, as well as items which were functional
and artistic in nature, such as gates, furni-
ture, weathervanes, and lighting fixtures.
2. What was the long term goal for
ABANA when you established it?
How has it met or not met those
expectations?
Despite our humble origins, I pur-
posely called it the Artist Blacksmiths'
Association of North America because I
knew this had international appeal and was
not restricted to just one country. Please note
the correct position of the apostrophe after
the S. Somewhere along the line, somebody
put it between the H and the S which con-
notes the possessive of only one blacksmith.
I suspected we would have continued
get-togethers, but given that the movement
would eventually grow to far greater size and
geographical area, the vast majority of our
communications and education would have
to occur through our journal, The Anvil's
Ring. When we founded ABANA, I was
preoccupied with not only running my own
forge, but with laying up stone walls build-
ing a new forge and a new home. Alex Bealer
and his secretary Joan Abbott got things
going by putting out a stapled newsletter of
several pages under that name The Anvil's
Ring, which I co-edited, and upon moving
into my new forge and home, took over the
editorship of The Anvil's Ring. I had edited
and produced a quarterly magazine when I
was a student at Dartmouth and my wife,
Mary, who also had layout and publishing
experience so we turned it into a magazine.
We did the labor intensive, pre-computer-
ized publishing for four years until we began

7. Fall 2015
5
our family. We realized we had established
and refined the format of The Anvil's Ring
which could be contiued by others. We had
established a circulation of around 6,000.
We have since been delighted to see The
Anvil's Ring continued by others, as it is the
lifeblood of the organization.
3. What would you like to see happen
in the next 50 years for ABANA and
blacksmithing in general?
The most notable feature of ABANA
from the beginning was the openness of all
the members to freely share information so
nobody would have to re-invent the wheel
and not be petty in keeping secrets. That
has largely continued and is one of ABANA's
greatest strengths. We were also very fortu-
nate to begin with people who would not let
their egos get in the way and NOT focus
simply on growing ABANA for the sake
of making an organization larger and more
powerful, and especially not for organization
leaders to set themselves up as something
special. The greatest threats to ABANA in
its history so far have been when individu-
als strayed from that philosophy and saw
ABANA or their leadership positions and
egos as the end goal. Fortunately, those devi-
ations have more than once been corrected
by the other level-headed members and the
course re-aligned to the founding purposes
of freely sharing information. If in the long
run that simple goal can be kept straight,
ABANA will continue and prosper.
4. What do you feel are the most impor-
tant things blacksmithing can teach
children today?
We face the danger of our nation
no longer producing things. We face the
danger of retreat to a virtual and digi-
tal world. We face the danger of passive
lives. Blacksmithing can teach children
that we can actually make things and pro-
duce what we want. As helpful as comput-
ers may be, blacksmithing can show them
the physical world is infinitely more real
and more rewarding than the digital world.
It can show them we do not have to pas-
sively take only that which is offered to us,
but that we can actively make the world in
which we live and make it according to our
own ideas and inclinations.
5. Why Westville? Why did the found-
ers of ABANA consider Westville
an appropriate place to begin the
organization?
Westville was a natural place to meet
because it already had a forge and we were
allowed to set up a number of smaller por-
table forges, and hammer on into the night
as long as we wished. Westville president
Joe Mahon graciously made us feel most
welcomed. We did not meet there with the
intention of setting up an organization. Alex
Bealer called for a one-time gathering of all
the blacksmiths he knew. But that Saturday
night of March 17, 1973, after the official
demonstrations and talks and our ham-
mering into the evening, we later gathered
in Alex's motel room at June's and sat in a
circle, going around with each providing a
tip or technique. Finally back in my room at
June's after 2AM, it occurred to me that we
should get together on a repeated basis, and
particularly to have a journal so we could
keep sharing information and not have to
independently re-invent the wheel. I was also
very tempted to just go to sleep, as it had
been a long day and because Alex had been
liberally pouring, as he repeatedly chimed
Aren't we all just a bunch of nuts?
But I fought off sleep just long enough
to scribble in my notebook the framework
for an organization to share the love and
knowledge of smithing . . . called The Artist
Blacksmiths' Association of North America.
The next morning, I shared this idea with
Alex and Ivan Bailey over breakfast, asking
if at some point that Sunday morning, I
might read that proposal to the group. Alex
said, You better watch out, you just might
get elected president! I said, No way, I am
building a new home and forge while run-
ning my business. You have a secretary, you
are well-known, and would be the perfect
first president. I'll help you edit the journal
and we can get this off the ground. Besides,
I like the way Thomas Jefferson wrote the
Declaration of Independence and then helped
out, but waited to become the third presi-
dent. And that's exactly what happened.
The next morning, Alex introduced
me to read my proposal to the group. As I
did, people all started reaching into their
pockets to pull out the $5 dues which I pro-
posed. I could hardly enter their names and
addresses fast enough into my notebook.
Before we knew it, we had founded ABANA.
We unanimously elected Alex president
and, because I had the records, was the first
secretary-treasurer. Because I did not want
to be both Thomas Jefferson and Alexander
Hamilton, I handed all the money to Alex's
neighbor, David Wall, and told him he was
treasurer. The rest is history.
Dimitri Gerakaris
Canaan, New Hampshire
July 11, 2015
The Future
Where are we going? That is up to
you, the Members. Let your board members
know what you want. We have some things
coming down the pike and I am excited to
see how they work out! f
Looking Forward,
David Hutchison

8. 6 Anvil’s Ring
ABANA GRANTS SCHOLARSHIP EDUCATION PROGRAM
. . . we’ve got money for you!
Seeking Distance
2014
forged wedges, fabricated body;
sandblasted, patina, Renaissance Wax
2' x 6 x 3
William Zach Starke
wstarkesculpture.wix.com/williamstarke
Zach attended Hereford College of Arts
on an ABANA Scholarship
The updated Scholarship Grants
program information is now ready for
you!These are available to ALL ABANA
members and to Affiliates. Deadlines are
January 1, April 1, July 1, and October 1.
For more information applications,
contact: Yancey Davis
yanceydavis@abana.org
Application form and instructions:
abana.org/downloads/abana_scholarship.pdf
ABANA Business
2015 Election Info Timetable
With only four candidates for the five positions by the April 15
Election Deadline, in accordance with the bylaws, they will be declared
board members effective at the board meeting in November. The board
will fill the remaining position by appointment.
To aid in finding candidates to fill the remaining seat, we are
seeking interested members. Just as for the election, submit a state-
ment telling us about yourself, what you can do to help ABANA, and
a high resolution 2MB jpeg headshot. Send it by email or in writ-
ing to the ABANA Central Office. The individual appointed will be
notified and will have their picture and statement published in The
Anvil's Ring.
• September 1, 2015: Notice of election published in
Vol 43, No 4, Fall 2015, The Anvil's Ring
• November 13-14, 2015: Board Meeting:
Radisson Hotel, 2177 West North Temple, Salt Lake City, Utah
84166; New Board members assume their duties.
• April 15, 2016: Nominations deadline—Candidate’s statements
published in Vol 44, No 3, Summer 2016, The Anvil's Ring
• June 1, 2016: Candidate Statements and Ballots published in
Vol 44, No 3, Summer 2016, The Anvil's Ring
• August 15, 2016: Ballot postmark deadline, submit to:
ABANA Central Office, 259 Muddy Fork Road,
Jonesborough, TN 37659
• September 2016: Notification of elected Board members
• November 2016: Board Meeting (specific place and time to be
determined); New Board members assume their duties.
Central Office Expansion
The ABANA Central Office is growing! Frank Van Pelt is
the newest member of the team that assists members with renewals,
merchandise orders, advertisements, rentals, and researching archival
information. Although his training in the Navy was mess manage-
ment (yes, he’s an excellent cook!), Frank has taken many business
and computer classes through college to help him prepare for today’s
technical world. His most recent ‘love’ is automotive repair and weld-
ing, giving him an opening for more experience in hammering ‘hot’.
Expect to see more of Frank at conferences, hammer-ins and meetings
in the future.
Frank can help you order from a supply of pins, hats, T-shirts,
publication compilation CD’s, hammer and furnace plans, back issues
of The Anvil’s Ring and the Hammer’s Blow and video rentals. In
fact, ABANA is currently transferring the VHS rental videos into
DVD format to conform with today’s technology. It will be several
months before all the video tapes will be completed, so bear with our
efforts. Call 423-913-1022 for more information.
Need to find a specialist blacksmith in your area to repair
your wrought-iron table or fabricate a garden gate? Just call 423-
913-1022, and the Central Office will connect you with someone in
your area who can lead you to the perfect answer to your problem.
ABANA has over 80 active affiliates around the world, with members
willing to help educate the public on the art of blacksmithing. f

9. Fall 2015
7
Dear ABANA Members:
We are very excited with the prime location of the 2016 ABANA Conference at the Utah
State Fairpark! It all happens on grassy fields and in air-conditioned buildings! The Salt Lake City
Airport offers convenient economical transportation on the Trax Line to the Fairpark and to the many
hotels. This is great news for those not wishing to rent a car!
The theme for this conference is Education. We've designed it to meet a broader base of our
membership and reach to the beginner and intermediate levels. We know it is a large investment to attend
the conferences with travel, accommodations, registration, and missing time from work. It is our hope
that everyone goes home with new skills from the various opportunities presented. With this in mind, we
have expanded the demonstrations to include Hands-On opportunities with “masters of their craft” in
various areas such as Damascus billet-making, Repouseé, Fold-Forming, Patination, and Forging.
There will also be a dedicated Youth Forging Tent and a Farrier Forging Tent. Of course we will also
offer multiple traditional advanced demonstrations as in the past. A workshop with John Barron will
consist of the design, building, and installation of a custom railing for the Fairpark, to be installed
at 9:00–11:00 Sunday morning. Additionally, there will be evening forging competitions offering more
opportunities for comradery and enjoyment! The Teaching Tent will also be a large attraction to the con-
ference. Demonstrator details will be available on the ABANA website in the coming weeks.
Friday night will be the gallery reception with hors-d'oeuvres. Saturday night will be a
plated dinner with the auction to follow, all happening at the lovely Grand Building!
Join us!
Sincerely,
Co-Chairs Amy Pieh John McLellan
Book your hotel rooms NOW!
We cannot stress the immportance of this enough! It is
city-wide conference week during the dates of our con-
ference and space will fill up fast. Great rates are still
available now! If you think you are coming but are not
sure, we encourage you to book your room now, you
can always cancel later. If you book directly with the
hotel you will not be charged, nor obligated until your
reserved date.
Scan the QR code for a Hotels.com search
for hotels in Salt Lake City for July 13-17,
2016. The search will display the hotels
on a map centered around the Utah State
Fairpark. Then modify the search param-
eters to meet you travel plans and needs.
Register for your camping spaces NOW!
ABANA has a camping site reserved for our conference
but it is limited in size too! If you want to camp, register
for your space now! Make sure you have the space you
need!
Visit the website:
abana.org/2016SLC for
updates on demonstrators!
Book your flight for Sunday afternoon so you won't
miss the railing installation!
R
R
R

10. 8 Anvil’s Ring
• Top Demonstrators
All Metal Trades
• NEW! Hands-on Demo
Tents
• Teaching Tent Expanded!
• Evening Forging
Competitions
• NEW! Farrier Forging Tent
• JUST FOR KIDS! Youth
Forging Tent
• Lectures Workshops
• Portfolio Display
Networking Area
• Evening Entertainment
area by the Gazebo!
Bring your instrument!
• Gourmet Food Trucks
Day Night!
• Saturday Evening Dinner
will be Served!
No WAITING in LINE!
• Blacksmith Equipment
Supply Vendors
• Tailgate Vendors
• Iron-in-the-Hat—
Every Day
• Gallery Reception—
Open-to-the-Public
• Saturday Night Fine Art
Auction—Open-to-the-
Public
• Fine Art Shipper to help
you get your winnings
home!
• Family Programs
• Tons of Hotels Available
to choose from!
• DON’T RENT A CAR!
TRAX TRAIN runs
from Airport to Hotels
Conference!
• Fairpark Parking Pass:
$10 for Monday–Sunday;
$12 for Thursday–Sunday;
or $6 per day!
The ABANA 2016 Conference is a FANTASTIC educational opportunity—
all events are on the grass or in air-conditioned buildings and will be fun!
Registration information
Registration includes the Saturday night dinner. There will be a cash
bar throughout the conference. Day passes are available for each day,
passes are color-coded and may be obtained at the Registration office.
The Railing Install
The John Barron demo will create a railing to be installed at the Fair
Park at 9:00 AM. Consider booking your flight later on Sunday, July
17, so you can participate in the morning railing installation.
Camping
Dry and RV camping at the Utah State Fairpark must be reserved with
Registration through the ABANA Central Office—space is limited.
Portable Showers on site. If space permits, it is first-come-first-serve
day of event. Additional camping is available next to the Conference
grounds at the KOA Campground. 800-226-7752
Book Your Room Spread the Word
We encourage you to reserve your hotel room NOW as it is City
Wide Conference week in Salt Lake City during our event. Rooms
will be filling up fast! If you stay near the green line, you will be
able to use the early morning TRAXX line on Sunday.
Our goal is to exceed past conference attendance. Help make this
possible and tell your colleagues about the upcoming conference. The
conference focus in on Education, giving you multiple opportuni-
ties to participate with all the featured metal crafts—Blacksmith-
ing, Damascus Billet, Farrier Forging, Repousse, Fold-Forming,
Patination and Youth Forging. Main demo tents will feature
Bladesmithing; Forging Steel-Bronze-Copper as well as Aluminum
Sculpture.
Tailgating Information
We consider a tailgater one who is selling primarily (over 50%)
old or used merchandise. Tailgating is free to full conference
registrants. Outside space is uncovered. Tailgaters MUST have
a Tailgater’s Entry Pass from Registration to enter the tailgating
area. Tailgaters must collect Utah Sales Tax.
Indoor Vendor Information Registration
• 10 x 10 space: $600 until March 31, 2016; after $770. This includes
two badges, two tables, two chairs, and 110v power.
• 20 x 20 is $900 until March 31, 2016; after $1155. This includes
three badges, four tables, three chairs, and 110v power.
Additional tables/chairs: tables $12, chairs $2, as requested. Indoor
space is air conditioned and located in the beautiful Grand Building
at ground level. Gallery, dinner, and the auction are located upstairs.
Vendor area is well-lit and next to all the action! Vendors must collect
Utah Sales Tax.
Outdoor Vendor Information Registration
• 10 x 10 space: $500 until March 31, 2016; after $670. This includes
two badges, one table, two chairs.
• 20 x 20 is $700 until March 31, 2016; after $955. This includes
three badges, two tables, three chairs. Outdoor Vendor area is on
the grass or pavement next to all the action!
Additional tables/chairs: tables $12, chairs $2, as requested. Vendors
must collect Utah Sales Tax.
Cancellation Policy for Conference Registration
and Vendor Fees
By registering for the ABANA Conference, you accept this
cancellation policy and agree to be bound by its terms.
Notification of cancellations for refunds must be submitted in
writing to the ABANA Central Office postmarked or emailed
by May 31, 2016. No cancellations will be accepted via phone.
A $35 cancellation fee will be charged for cancellations
prior to June 01, 2016.
There will be no refunds after that date!
Contact:
ABANA
259 Muddy Fork Road
Jonesborough, TN 37659 USA
Please pay by check drawn on a U.S. bank, U.S. money order, or
credit card. You can also register by calling 423-913-1022,
or fax this form to 423-913-1023,
or scan and email this form to centraloffice@abana.org
081615

11. Fall 2015
9
REGISTRATION FORM
To register, fill in your name and contact information, check the
boxes below to indicate your type of registration, and whether or
not you are camping and send it in to us. IF you are a Tailgater or
Vendor, check the appropriate box and we will send a Tailgater or a
Vendor package to you.
Date: ____________________________________________________________
Name: ___________________________________________________________
ABANA ID:_______________________________________________________
Street: ___________________________________________________________
City: ____________________________________________________________
State/Prov:_________________________Zip/Postal Code: _____________
Phone:___________________________________________________________
E-mail: ___________________________________________________________
o Please send me a Tailgate Package.
o Please send me a Vendor Package.
Individual
Until March 31, 2016:
o $200 member
o $225 non-member
April 1 to July 13, 2016:
o $285-member
o $310-non member
Day Passes: $100 ABANA membership not required.
Family Registration (indicate how many for dinner in
Head Count below. Please complete p.2 for badge names.
Allows family members to accompany a full conference
registrant at a much-reduced rate. A family is defined as a
head-of-household plus his/her partner living at the same
address and their children 13-17 yrs. old. Under 13 FREE.
Until March 31, 2016:
o $200 member o $225 non-member
o $50 spouse o $30 13-17 yrs old
$30 x ________ = $________
April 1 to July 13, 2016:
o $285 member o $310 non-member
o $50 spouse o $30 13-17 yrs old
$30 x ________ = $________
Campers must preregister. Space is limited!
Dry Camping: Until April 30, 2016: $30 per site per night. $40 a night after.
RV Camping: Until April 30, 2016: $55 per site per night. $65 a night after.
No water hook-up or dumping. Electricity is available for RV’S at no charge.
I plan to camp in a: RV/trailer o Tent o
Camping Total: $ ____________ (nights x fee}
Apparel: Start wearing your t-shirts hats now!
Men’s t-shirts are charcoal grey, with pocket, full color logo on back. Women’s
are charcoal grey v-neck, no pocket, full color logo on front.
Small, Medium, Large, X-Large . . . . . . . $20.00
2XL, 3XL. . . . . . . . $22.50 4XL (mens only) . . . . . $22.50
Men’s . . . . . . .Size_______________ total ordered ___________
Women’s. . . . .Size_______________ total ordered ___________
T-shirt Total +S/H: $______________________
Hats are embroidered and are one size only. Hat is medium profile, structured,
and adjustable.
Color _______ black or maroon $20 x ________ = $_________
Hat Total +S/H: $________________________
o Please Ship: $5 for one; $7 for multiples
After May 31, apparel will only be available for purchase at the conference.
Utah State sales tax of 6.85% will be added to purchases at the conference.
Registration Total:$__________Head Count _______
Camping Total: $ __________
Apparel Total: $ __________
GRAND TOTAL: $ ____________________
Credit Card Number: ____________________________________
Exp Date : ______________________________ CVVS __________
Signature _______________________________________________
Check or credit card orders (Visa/MC/Disc/AmEx) can be faxed or
mailed. Phone: 423-913-1022; FAX: 423-913-1023.081615
TEAROUTTHEFORM,FILLOUTBOTHSIDES,ANDRETURNTOADDRESSONOTHERSIDE.

12. 10 Anvil’s Ring
Fill out both sides of this form, cut along dotted line,
and return to:
ABANA, Central Office
259 Muddy Fork Road, Jonesborough, TN 37659 USA
or FAX to: 423-913-1023
or scan and email to: centraloffice@abana.org
FAMILY REGISTRATION NAMES:
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND ASSUMPTION OF RISK: REQUIRED
Each person 18 and over is required to sign this Acknowledgement and Assumption of Risk
in order to be admitted to the Conference. Parents or guardians assume responsibility
for their accompanying minors.
“I acknowledge that blacksmithing and related activities are inherently dangerous and involve risks
and dangers to participants and spectators that may result in serious injury or death. In deciding to attend
the ABANA 2016 Conference, I have considered these risks and I knowingly assume them. I agree that
I am responsible for my own safety during the Conference, including wearing appropriate clothing and
protective gear and remaining a safe distance from all dangerous activities. I agree to hold ABANA, Salt
Lake City Fairpark, and others involved in the Conference harmless from liability and expenses arising
from my own actions or omissions. I agree that my admission to the Conference constitutes consideration
for this acknowledgment.”
SIGNATURE: ____________________________________________DATE: __________________________
SIGNATURE: ____________________________________________DATE: __________________________
SIGNATURE: ____________________________________________DATE: _________________________
SIGNATURE: ____________________________________________DATE: __________________________
The Youth Forging Tent will require a Release Signature from Parent or Guardian before the minor may participate.
081615
TEAR OUT THE FORM, FILL OUT BOTH SIDES,
AND RETURN TO ADDRESS BELOW.

13. Fall 2015
11
continued on p. 12
John C. Campbell Folk School
42nd Folk School Fall Festival
Brasstown, NC
Oct 3–4, 2015; 10am-5pm
Admission: Adults: $5, Ages 12-17: $3 and
under 12: Free
For more information:www.folkschool.org
800-folk-sch
Golden fall sunlight and brightly colored
leaves provide a scenic backdrop for the John
C. Campbell Folk School's Fall Festival. This
treasured annual celebration of Appalachian
culture, held on the Folk School's Brasstown,
North Carolina campus, heralds its 42nd
anniversary in October. This year's Fall Festival
will draw 12,000 to 14,000 regional attendees.
Visitors from Georgia, South Carolina, and
Tennessee can easily access Brasstown's
southwestern North Carolina location.
Visit 200 fine craft exhibitors tucked along
the school's winding wooded paths. Watch more
than 40 artisans demonstrate traditional and
contemporary crafts. Fill your ears with bluegrass,
gospel, folk, and Celtic music on both days. Tap
your toes to clogging, Morris, and Garland dance
performances throughout the weekend.
Children will enjoy the pony rides, petting
the alpacas, and visiting the animals at the
Humane Society's pet adoption booth. Local
non-profit vendors will offer tasty foods to
satisfy attendees' appetites.
While many vendors accept credit cards,
we recommend that you bring cash to pay for
tickets and food. There are no ATMs on campus
or close by. Please leave your pets at home.
Center for Metal Arts
www.centerformetalarts.com
44 Jayne St, Florida, NY 10921
info@centerformetalarts.com
(845) 651-7550
The Center for Metal Arts is a community
of metal artists, makers, and students exploring
new skills or mastering advanced techniques in
the metal arts.
Established in 2003, the Center for Metal
Arts attracts resident, regional and international
instructors, and the staff includes award-winning
blacksmiths and designers, studio techs and
support staff.
We launched the Center for Metal Arts
in our newly designed and fully equipped
forge studio classroom with two powerhouse
workshops led by international educator Uri
Hofi. Over the years, we held an ongoing
workshop series in Hofi’s ergonomic techniques,
and with other masters of the forge. Core
topics included Comprehensive Fundamentals
of Blacksmithing, Advanced Blacksmithing,
Tooling and Die making, and Free-form Power
Hammer Work.
Holding blacksmithing workshops is a lot
like holding a week-long block party, with the
rhythmic ringing of hammers, and home-
cooked dinners at the long tables under the
food tent. We have made life-long friends, and
workshop students have made some wonderful
connections–and unforgettable memories.
To Work hot iron is to experience one of the
oldest human technologies—the aroma of coke
fires, the color of the iron’s rising heat, the sound
of the ringing anvil, and the movement of the
iron under the hammer. To work hot iron is to
join hands with the blacksmiths who have forged
the tools of agriculture and all the trades.
Two major learning tracks offer beginner to
advanced workshops in Blacksmithing and Small
Metals, and a strong visiting artist program
contributes to an ongoing mission to add diverse
topics and talents to the foundation curriculum.
Located in New York's picturesque Warwick
Valley, CMA is accessible by bus from NYC, and
major highways and airports.
A sampling of classes/workshops that are
coming up:
Salt Etching Steel • Ben Dory—Sept. 19-20
Chasing and Repoussé • Jason York—Sept. 24–27
Blacksmithing Basics: Bottle Opener
Patrick Quinn—Oct. 3
Hatchet Making • Dan Widolff—Nov. 6–8
2015 Saltfork Craftsmen State
Conference
Demonstrators: Tom Latane' and Gerald Boggs
Cleveland County Fairgrounds, Norman Oklahoma
November 7-8, 2015
www.saltforkcraftsmen.org
The registration form is on our website and
lists the conference schedule, family classes
happening on Saturday and Sunday, hotels in the
area, and information about the demonstrators.
There is a game in Norman the same weekend
as our conference so you are encouraged to
make your hotel reservations as soon as possible.
A large variety of food establishments in the
immediate area make lunches on your own easy,
with Saturday night's grilled steak dinner being
catered by Klein's Catering! Come enjoy the fun!
Announcements

14. 12 Anvil’s Ring
Announcements continued
Have You Ever Listened to a Podcast?
Now you can listen to the first and only
podcast specifically about blacksmithing, it’s
called BlacksmitHER Radio. Would you like
to know what your fellow blacksmith peers are
saying about their blacksmithing businesses or
get inspired by a project they are working on?
You can do that by listening to their interviews
on BlacksmitHER Radio. Like you, I have been
interested in learning new techniques from
other blacksmiths. I’ve learned valuable skills
from some of the best blacksmiths through
workshops and classes, but mostly from having
conversations and connecting with them.
So I thought by sharing those connections
and conversations through podcasts you too
will be able to learn something new about
blacksmithing and your fellow mates.
What is BlacksmitHER Radio? An audio
only podcast show that:
• Interviews blacksmiths around the world.
• Provides relatable topics that can help
blacksmiths such as tool usage, pricing and
time management.
• Offers education, entertainment and a sense
of community and camaraderie among the
guests and listeners.
Where can you listen to BlacksmitHER Radio?
• On your phone with a podcast player app
• On your computer from the BlacksmitHER
podcast tab on the website
• In iTunes, under podcasts search
BlacksmitHER Radio
• In Stitcher, a podcast app for android phones,
search for BlacksmitHER Radio
Just visit www.BlacksmitHER.com/podcast.
Art Tools by Ray Larsen on View at
Maine Maritime Museum
Bath, Maine
For information: call (207) 443-1316 or
visit www.MaineMaritimeMuseum.org
This exhibit will be on view from mid-July to mid-
October at The Maine Maritime Museum, which has
an extensive tool collection.
Drawn to the beauty of forging 40 years
ago, Ray Larsen left the successful career in
journalism that he enjoyed and disappeared into
a large shop behind his home in Hanover, MA.
As he made production tools at Genuine
Forgery, Larsen says, “I began to get glimpses of
the inherent beauty in tools that lay just beneath
the surface, beyond what we all recognize as
common, everyday work implements. When
time allowed, I began to chase these elusive
images, seeking outlines that I knew existed,
but had never actually seen anywhere. These
tools show what I've found so far.”
Out of the Fire: A Toolsmith's Art, an exhibit
showcasing a selection of the extraordinary tools
created by Larsen in which function and beauty are
equal partners, opened in the Kramer Gallery at
the Maine Maritime Museum in mid-July and will
remain on view through October 18, 2015.
The exhibit features nine tools and their
attachments, all forged and carved by Larsen, that
reveal the beautiful ergonomic shapes that can be
generated by allowing the elements of the smith,
hammer, heat, and material to work in harmony.
Many of the tools draw upon shapes from
nature: a horseshoe crab, manta ray, chambered
nautilus shell, jellyfish, sea serpent, sea star,
comet, and more. Among the objects that will be
on view are a Long-bodied Hollowing Shave,
Crooked Knife, Chairmaker's Drawknife,
Oyster Crack, and an Instrument-maker's
Two-way Plane. The Long-bodied Hollowing
Shave is forged in the shape of a manta ray with
handles carved from natural crooks of apple
wood, harvested from a tree fallen by a storm in
Hanson, MA, in 2013.
The Crooked Knife, an integral forging
from a single piece of high carbon steel, features
a Native American girl's body with 14-carat gold
adornments. It is shown in the exhibition with
four “trial runs,” revealing the process the maker
Blacksmiths Shop at the Maine Maritime Museum
Hacksaw Angle-cutting gauge with adjustable
magnifying attachment

15. Fall 2015
13
went through to find the shape he sought. This
version of a crooked knife, invented by Native
Americans, can be used with one hand while
the other holds the workpiece, easier to use by
a people who moved frequently. Its European
counterpart, the drawknife requires the use of
both hands with the workpiece held in a vise.
The Chairmaker's Drawknife, forged from
a single piece of high-carbon steel, also explores
the integral forging concept. According to Larsen,
“Such complex shapes can be generated from
a single piece of stock by understanding how
metal can be moved under the hammer. This
tool, which can be used bevel-side up or down
with equal facility, has the same proven blade
configuration found on the thousands of draw
knives turned out at Genuine Forgery over the
years for Windsor chair makers here and abroad.”
Maritime imagery abounds as a theme as
shown in the Oyster Crack and Instrument-
maker's Two-way Plane. The handle and
guard of the one-piece Oyster Crack is forged in
the shape of a jellyfish and painted to resemble
one. Free-swinging silk tentacles add life to the
subject; strictly decorative, they are attached
with miniature rare earth magnets and are easily
removed before the knife is put to use. The body
of the Instrument-maker's Two-Way Plane is
forged in the form of a chambered nautilus, its
front black hold-down the shape of a sea star.
A deep-relief carving of a Feejee Mermaid,
colored using the centuries-old Brown Bess
process, is featured on the Mitre Plane Iron. The
Feejee Mermaid was a popular circus side-show
gaff purporting to be the mummified remains
of a mermaid that washed ashore on a remote
South Seas Island, drawing large crowds in the
late 1800s and early 1900s when the general
public still believed in such things. The set of
chisels made by Larsen to carve the iron will
also be on view. Larsen notes, “When carving
a piece like this, I start out with two or three
basic chisel shapes and then add chisels with
new shapes as the work demands. Ultimately,
this carving required 13 chisels, some with
extremely exotic-looking shapes required to
reach hard-to-access areas.”
Completing the objects included in the
exhibition are two knives: one a Hunting Knife,
forged from a single piece of steel with a brass
inset, and the other a Handle-Maker's Knife, an
integral forging with handles that have the phrase
“Hands to God” cut into them. Larsen notes,
“This is a play on the Shaker saying “Hands to
Work, Hearts to God,” but shorter and more to
the point. An artisan's prayer, so to speak.”
Genuine Forgery, the one-man tool factory
founded by Larsen in 1968, sits on the bank
of the Indian Head River in South Hanover,
MA, on the site of one of America's earliest
forging operations. His work included making
replicas of historic tools (for Old Sturbridge
Village, Colonial Williamsburg, and other living
history museums), traditional tools no longer
available from mass producers, and special tools
for unusual applications. Larsen has taught at
Haystack Mountain School of Crafts and is the
author of Toolmaking for Woodworkers. Prior to
becoming a blacksmith, Larsen was an award-
winning journalist who won the Pulitzer Prize
for Public Service (1970) and other journalism
prizes while a member of the investigative team
at Newsday on Long Island, New York. f
~Joan Norris
Photography: Dennis Helmar Photography
Hacksaw with Angle-cutting gauge and its magnifying attachment
Instrument Maker's Two-Way Plane
Handle-Maker's Knife

16. 14 Anvil’s Ring
AAs I grow older, I’m trying to make
sure that what I do with my life
as a person and as an artist makes
some kind of sense, and maybe makes a dif-
ference in the lives of the people around me.
I think the older you get it’s important to do
something meaningful and to tell it in such
a way that it touches the souls of the people
who want to hear it. I have come to know
and become friends with an amazing variety
of people but there are a few who really stand
out as fellow travelers. You know the ones,
they speak to you with a knowing and gentle
understanding. It is quite long (as most good
stories are) and it is tragic and heartbreak-
ing as well.
I live in a beautiful place by the sea.
Each morning I go for a walk with my dog
Shasta on the beach before I go to the shop.
Over the years, the Harbor District has
installed benches for people to sit on that are
crude at best. The latest version in concrete
is the worst design that I have ever seen. Why
would you design a bench—especially one
placed in a beautiful setting—that HURTS
when you sit in it?! So needing a comfort-
able bench to sit on myself, and figuring that
no one else would probably do anything, I
decided to design a new bench and propose
it to the Harbor bench committee. When
designing furniture, the number one aspect
is that it should be comfortable when you sit
in it. With that in mind I started a series of
sketches.
Mavericks is a now-famous beach along
the west coast where the largest big wave
surfing on the North American continent
proclaims its powerful fury. Every year, big
wave surfers from all over the world converge
on this beach when there is a storm out at
sea—they calculate the timing of the waves
~ Tim Cisneros
www.theforgeworks.com
location photographer:
Hunter Freeman Photography

17. Fall 2015
15
waiting for the biggest ones. I thought that
if I was going to design a bench for this
place then it should have some connection to
the sea or to the waves. After several weeks
of doing sketches, the design for Mavericks
began to take shape. It would be the “Wave”
bench with the theme of a large breaking
wave on the back and frame and a gentle
breaking wave shape for the front edge of
the seat. The arm rests would have the feel of
gentle flowing kelp or the shape of a marine
mammal. The shapes are ALL designed for
comfort and to support the back and body in
such a way as to allow the body to fully relax.
Putting on my best clothes—the ones
with the fewest burn holes—I went down to
the Harbor Master’s office and made my pro-
posal. I could see the look on their faces as
I initially walked into the office. The look
of rolling eyes and the body language of,
“Here we go again with another crazy fish-
erman-artist type.” But after showing them
my portfolio and introducing myself, they
actually warmed up to the idea. I showed
them the drawings and said I would build
the bench for whatever they were paying for
the concrete benches. After seeing the draw-
ings they said, “Wow, when you’re done with
the bench just let us know where you want
to put it and we’ll help you install it!”
With Phase One complete and the
enthusiastic support of the Harbor Master,
I started looking for the materials. I had
just completed a Bronze railing with Kevin
Davenport Sr. There was some bronze left
over and I asked if I could buy it. Kevin’s
answer stunned me, he wanted to donate it
to the cause! This was to become a recur-
ring theme with the bench. I next contacted
my friend Michael Meyers, a contractor and
Master cabinet maker to see if he had any
teak. After hearing the story, he said he not
only had some teak but that he had two con-
tainers full and wanted to donate some of
his prized Burmese teak! This teak is the
most sought after by boat-builders because
of its tight grain and beauty. It is so scarce, it
can’t be bought anymore.
Phase Two was now complete. I could
start making the bench.
I need to back up a bit at this point
and talk about my friend, Magnus Karlsson,
a blacksmith from Sweden. I met Magnus
on Facebook and we developed a friendship
based on our mutual love of metalwork and
the similar experiences of our lives includ-
ing music, family, and work. We had talked
many times about getting together to light
a forge and do some blacksmithing together.
When I told Magnus about the bench proj-
ect, he told me he wanted to come help
me with it. We were talking about this
one day when Magnus told me he had just
been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. I’ve
known several people over the years and
knew this was a very bad cancer with a
poor chance of remission. But hope springs
eternal. We talked frequently over the next
several months. I researched his cancer and
left to right: Brett Moten, Tim Cisneros, Jose Picou
continued on p. 16

18. 16 Anvil’s Ring
everything I could find I would send to him.
Very quickly though, the cancer spread and
within four months Magnus lost his battle.
I was devastated and heartbroken but not as
much as his dear wife and family. I contacted
his wife, Elisabeth, and daughter, Amanda,
and asked that if they would please find
his touchmark and send it to me. I wanted
to stamp his mark on the bench as a trib-
ute to Magnus and to say that we “once did
something together.” This might have been
the end of the story and for some of you,
you might think this to be as Mr. Potter in
Its a Wonderful Life so eloquently stated,
“Sentimental hogwash.” But I like to think
of life more along the lines of George Bailey.
As the bench began to take shape, I
was overcome with the generosity of many
of my friends. As word got out that I needed
help with several aspects of the forging pro-
cess because of the size and scope of the proj-
ect, there were those who stepped forward.
My son, Bryce, who I always hoped might
follow in my footsteps but has chosen to
follow his own path, spent two days strik-
ing for me. Bryce always steps forward when
I really need him. I was then contacted by
Brett Moten and Jose Picou who would come
to spend a weekend splitting the legs. Of
course I could have saved a lot of time by
simply cutting the ends with my band saw,
but this wasn’t about making it easy or fast.

19. Fall 2015
17
continued on p. 18
The look of a hot cut is infinitely more pleas-
ing to the eye than a band saw cut. Brett and
Jose spent the entire weekend with me split-
ting the legs. I don’t think it could have been
done with just two of us. There is an old
saying, “it takes three blacksmiths to make
one” and that was very true for this part of
the process! Several other people stepped up
to the plate along the way. David Lange from
Santa Cruz and Alan Bisgaard from San
Carlos generously gave their efforts on week-
ends when I’m sure they could have found
more productive time in their own shops.
My shop neighbor and Master boat-builder
and furniture-maker), Scott Smith, gave me
the critical technical help I needed to do the
wood. This part was harder than I expected
and took ultimately about 100 hours itself.
Then, nearing the most critical and
challenging aspect of the design—bend-
ing the frame and punching the holes—
my friend, John Winer, contacted me from
Tennessee. He said, “Tim, I want to come
out to California and help you with the
bench.” I said. “I’m sorry, and thats great
John, but I can’t help with the airfare.” John
replied, “No problem, I’ve got the money
and the time, I’ll see you next week!” I had
no words except, “Wow, I’ll pick you up at
the airport! John’s visit was an amazing week
of friendship, music and collaboration of our
combined metal skills. Finally, by the end of
John’s visit the bench was at a point that I
could put it together on the layout table and
actually sit on it!
John Winer

20. 18 Anvil’s Ring
The bench sat on the table for another
month and I would sit on it multiple times
daily enjoying the feel of it and studying
how my body reacted to its contours. Always
thinking what could be done with the next
one to make it even better, though this one
still wasn’t done. The seat and arm rests
needed to be riveted and the stainless bolt
hardware for the wood needed to be made. It
seemed to never end! I was getting anxious
to finish it after working on it for about 400
hours and 10 months.
That was when I got the final boost
from two friends. One I’ve known for many
years Jerry Coe and one who Jerry had
brought from Argentina, Fabbian Rossi,
a friend I had never met! Fabian came to
stay with me for five days before going to
the CBA Spring conference in Hollister.
Of course he generously offered to help me
finish the bench and so over the next five
days we completed all of the final details,
riveting the seat and arm rests to the frame
and making the final hardware for connect-
ing the wood to the frame.
Remember that I had made an offer
to the Harbor Master to build the bench
for “whatever you’re paying for the concrete
benches?” I finally found out what they
were paying . . . $2500. This would have
only covered the cost of the bronze and the
teak if they hadn't been donated to me!

21. Fall 2015
19
The concrete benches are generally sold
as a memorial bench to families who have
lost a loved one. A bronze plaque is placed
on the bench with a memoriam about the
one they’ve lost. This is a beautiful way to
honor a lost loved one, but it was not the
intent I envisioned for this bench. I consid-
ered selling the bench for the $2500, but
I would have had to attach a plaque about
someone with whom I had no connection.
So, I decided to donate it. How could I sell
something that was built with the generous
donations of time and hard-earned materi-
als? From the beginning it had never been
about the money.
So, this Wave Bench is to be a Legacy.
A legacy of community, dedication, and
commitment to an idea. To do something
because, “Someone had to do it and it might
as well be me.” I envision my children’s
children sitting on the bench many years
from now and feeling a connection to me and
to everyone who generously stepped up and
gave of themselves to make it happen. Of
course it’s a selfish act as well . . . I needed a
bench to sit on in the morning when I walk
my dog, Shasta.
There is no word yet for
friends who’ve just met.
~ Jim Henson
continued on p. 20

22. 20 Anvil’s Ring
A postscript: When Heather McLarty
heard about the bench, she asked if there was
anything she could do to help. A repoussé
plaque of course! Heather and I are now
working on a bronze plaque to be installed
on the ground in front of the bench that
looks like an open book.
On the left the inscription: I will find
comfort in the rhythm of the Sea.
On the right, the names of all those
who selflessly gave of their time to make this
happen.
Bryce Cisneros
John Winer
Heather McLarty
Brett Moten
Jose Picou
Michael Meyers
Kevin Davenport Sr.
Scott Smith
Keenan Reagan
Dovid Lange
Jerry Coe
Fabian Rossi
Alan Bisgaard
“Surfer Dave”
Magnus Karlsson
Members of the Harbor Maintenance
crew, and the Mavericks Search and Rescue
Team: Dante, John, Cary, Bo, and Jerry
Shasta, my dog f

23. Fall 2015
21

24. 22 Anvil’s Ring
This story starts almost 50 years
ago when I started working
at the sheet metal trade, my
father’s craft. I liked the trade but it was
increasingly moving to automation and out-
of-the-box stuff to remain competitive. When
I got a job with the Fire Department in 1973,
sheet metal was pretty much relegated to
hobby status along with blacksmithing.
I had a couple of old turning machines
and some of Dad’s old books, so I started
pursuing old time seam and rivet sheet
metal work. I would quiz Dad and other old
guys about techniques and tools and soon I
was reproducing items from years gone by.
In 2003, a friend from the Illinois
Valley Blacksmith Association, IVBA,
said he gave my name to a friend that was
building a steam locomotive and needed a
headlight. Being recently retired, it was an
appealing project. When Dave Kloke called,
we discussed the job and I arranged to come
see him. I going to Chicago for other busi-
ness, so I drove out to Elgin and met Kloke at
his shop. His business was leasing and main-
tenance of heavy equipment, so this was no
hobby shop. In one of the bays was the better
part of a 19th century locomotive under
construction. It was to be the Leviathan 63.
Dave gave me a drawing of an old light from
a museum with some basic measurements on
it. He was confident I could do it, a lot more
confident than I was!
I bought some 24 gauge “paint grip”
sheet metal and started trying to cypher how
the thing was built originally. I had to buy
some new wheels for my turning machines
to make the decorative beads like the old
one. It was a challenge, but I got it.
When Kloke picked it up, he loved it.
He said, “Lots of people want these things.
You could make as many as you wanted to.”
I responded, “I already have.”
Dave and I remained friends, communi-
cating once in a while. I went to see the com-
pleted engine when it was near Springfield at
the Monticello Railway Museum. It was gor-
geous, especially the light!
Time must have healed the memory
of making the first light because when Dave
called in 2008 and asked for 3 more lights,
I agreed.
I enlisted the help of a recently retired
friend that apprenticed with me back in the
60s. Even with our combined talent and the
patterns from the first light, it was still a
battle. These lights are as big as a dog house,
so two would sit outside my little shop as
we worked on them one at a time. When
Building the Lincoln
Funeral Train Railing
top photo: Dave Kloke and Dave Kervin
Notice the very large red lantern next to the smoke stack.

25. Fall 2015
23
Kloke picked them up, he was in town to
plan the reenactment of the Lincoln funeral.
He asked, “How would you like to build the
iron railing on the Lincoln funeral car. I said,
“H - - - yes, it’s got to be easier than those
headlights.”
I was wrong.
I had no idea what it would look like
but I had built gates and fence sections. How
hard could it be? I did know I would need
a partner with a bigger shop than mine.
Rather than ask, I thought I would dangle
a little bait and see what happened. I didn’t
have a picture yet but Kloke had sent a
sketch of a scroll section. It wasn’t very good
but I took and showed it to Roger Lorance at
an IVBA event. Roger said that’s not right,
and started drawing on the anvil with his
ever-present soapstone. The hook was set. I
had a partner.
Soon we got the first photograph of
the train. It was really complicated but I was
confident, maybe too confident. I showed the
picture to Roger and he said, “That looks
like it was cast.” I agreed but what black-
smith wants to hear tha?! We were going to
build history.
Kloke introduced me by email and
phone to Wayne Wesolowski, the foremost
living expert on the Lincoln train. Wayne
had done years of research and had built
more than one scale model of the train.
One is in the Abraham Lincoln Presidential
Library.
I called Wayne and he offered to help
in any way he could. He sent me more pic-
tures and facts on the train.
In spite of my personal mantra, “life’s
too short to see it through a windshield,”
twice a week (sometimes more) I headed
north to Roger’s shop in rural Bellflower,
85 miles away. I was in Springfield, Roger
was in Bellflower, and the train was in Elgin.
Logistics weren’t in our favor.
Roger and I studied the pictures
intently. These were obviously old photos
and when you tried to blow them up on the
computer they became a mass of pixels. It
was often hard to tell detail from shadows or
glare. We tried to guess dimensions of stock
by looking at pieces of iron and the pictures at
the same time. We needed a measuring scale.
One day as I stood staring at a picture
trying to find something in it to use for scale
and it hit me. There were two guys in the
picture. I set my dividers from the shoulder
to the elbow on one guy. I then measured
my upper arm. I scaled off that measurement
and laid off some dimensions. I came up
with nine feet for the length of the railing.
I called Kloke and asked “how wide is your
car?” He answered 9 foot 3. We had scale!
We started working in earnest in the
spring of 2014. Roger and I both worked
on sample scrolls for weeks. We came to
the conclusion that no amount of upset-
ting and/or faggot welding was going to
produce the mass needed for the halfpenny
scrolls. Roger settled on forge welding 1/2
round stock to the end of a tapered bar to
make the halfpenny. It worked great. One
day as we worked on scrolls, Roger went
over to the shelf and took a piece of 1/2
round out of a postal shipping box. He said,
continued on p. 24

26. 24 Anvil’s Ring
“This is wrought iron from a building in
Alexandria VA, circa 1860s. Abe Lincoln was
in Alexandria in 1864.” He then cut it off to
1 1/4 and welded it to the tapered bar stock.
We didn’t keep track of which scroll it was
but somewhere in that railing is iron that
shared space with Abe Lincoln.
We wanted to use mortise and tenon
joints on right angle connections and coun-
tersunk rivets on parallel ones. We decided
that 3/8 x 3/4 tenons would be good.
Drawing out tenons wasn’t a major chal-
lenge, but hot punching holes that size was
time consuming, inaccurate, and would
probably cause “frog eyes”, so we outsourced
the punching. I contacted a local ornamen-
tal iron shop and the owner was glad to
help. He had to order the punch and die set
which took two weeks to arrive. I laid out
the holes and center-punched them for accu-
racy. We only did one short section at first.
When we tried to set the tenons, the heat
required transferred to the mortised bar and
it distorted. We downsized the mortise and
tenons to 3/8 x 1/2. That worked well but
cost time, a new punch, and another wait.
Heating the tenons was also difficult.
A rosebud torch was too much too soon. A
regular welding tip took a lot of maneuver-
ing to get an even heat. We finally settled on
a twin tip torch with adjustable heads, pur-
chased at a welding supply. We hooked the
torch to a “gas saver” valve for quick starts
and stops and we were in business!
We purchased 1/4 x 2 countersink
rivets and a countersink bit to match the
angle of the head. Not all of the holes could
be sunk with the bit. The scrolls needed
something different. A ball head bit in a die
grinder connected to a speed reducer worked
well. It pulled to the right, so we needed a
good grip to hold center but it made a right
fine countersink in tight quarters.
The ends of the railing at the plat-
form and the uprights that went to the roof
appeared to be round. We figured the flat
stock was 1 1/4, so tubing of that dimension
would work. A friend of ours worked with
tubing and ordered some for us. It was 1/4
wall, so it had a 3/4 hole in the center. It
was perfect to tap a 7/8 thread. We figured
we could make end connections by thread-
ing the tube. We borrowed a tap and die and
started making sample pieces. Aside from
a broken tap, borrowing a plumbers oiling
pot, buying cutting oil for $100 a gallon and
running a few crooked threads, it went well.
I planned on making our own threaded rod
but after cutting an inch of 7/8 rod by hand,
allthread seemed like a good alternative.
Roger and I went to Elgin in June of
2014 to see the train car we were building
the railing for and take some measurements.
Beyond Roger and Kloke getting to meet for
the first time and some conversation, it was
a wasted trip. The train car was still a steel
frame and the platform wasn’t built yet.
A month later, Kloke called and asked
if we could hurry up the side railing because
they were putting the siding on the car and
mounting points needed to be established.
Roger worked for days laying out the rail-
ing and sent the full scale drawing to Kloke.
The plan was to put bolts through the center
of the scrolls to hide them. Kloke marked
the drawing where he was welding 1/2 nuts
behind the siding and sent it back. Roger

27. Fall 2015
25
went to work trying to build to the drawing
but the iron had its own ideas. He could not
make the scroll centers hit the marks. The
railings were tough enough to build but hit-
ting the marks was out of the question.
Another issue of picture clarity raised
its ugly head. The side railing changed from
flat to round as it descended and terminated
low on the car but where did it end? It wasn’t
clear in any picture we could find and Wayne
and Kloke didn’t know either.
The pictures did show a raised decora-
tion on the round section, so Roger had an idea.
He purchased some 1 1/4 bearing collars and
rounded the edges on the lathe. We would cut
the piece off and thread it and connect whatever
continued on p. 26

28. 26 Anvil’s Ring
Hidden latch mechanicals
was needed after a field measurement was taken
in Elgin. We would cover the joint with the
bearing collar. That worked so well we decided
to make all tubing connections where there
were raised decorations.
I had a bout with skin cancer on the
back of my hammer hand in the fall of 2014
and missed a lot of work. Roger did not sat
idle. He finished the side rails and proudly
had them hung on the wall of his shop. They
were gorgeous! I took a picture and sent it
to Kloke. That picture soon appeared on the
train car’s Facebook page reported as their
creation. Fame was elusive . . . Roger didn’t
seem to mind, but I did.
Another picture clarity issue were
the finials that connected the railing at the
roof of the car. We weren’t sure what they
really looked like, so I made some sketches
and sent them to Wayne. He picked one and
I set out to build it. They grew out from
1 1/4 tube, so two pieces of 3/8 for the
scrolls with a piece of 1/2 in between would
work. Some welding and grinding produced
an exact replica.
Connecting the railing to the platform
was accomplished by tapping thread into the
bottom braces however, the middle braces at
the gate rail were flat stock. We got around
that problem by hiding a 1/2 coupling nut
inside the brace’s gussets. The coupling nut
measured 3/4 on the diamond, so we welded
it on center to the upright and covered it
with pieces of 1/4 flat stock, cut to fit. Once
welded and ground off they were invisible.
Although Roger and I worked on this
project from inception, some of our friends
helped out at times. Vicki (Doc) and Tom
Shertz, a husband and wife blacksmith team
came and helped Roger with scrolls. Our
friend Jim Winch, who smiths with me at
a local historic site, would ride along sev-
eral times. I was glad for the company on
the road and Jim was good help. Jeff Farmer
of Kentucky who visits Roger a couple times
a year helped out too. My nephew, Joe, an
aspiring blacksmith, would ride along on
occasion and help. He took the few pictures
of Roger and me together.
continued on p. 28

29. Fall 2015
27

30. 28 Anvil’s Ring
The entire job was fraught with set-
backs which we overcame, but the clock
and the calendar loomed in the back of our
minds. The reenactment the car was built for
was happening May 2, 2015 and we couldn’t
even start the gate until we installed the
railing and got some good measurements.
The railing was ready to install by
winter and then bad weather became an
issue. We watched the weather forecast and
picked two days in February. Our team—
Tom, Doc, Jim, Roger, and I—packed up
my truck and headed north.
Kloke’s building that housed the car
was crowded with the car and workers. It
was like Santa’s workshop. We set right to
work with Roger and Doc trying to find and
utilize the mounting nuts behind the siding
and Tom, Jim, and I mounting the railing.
Roger had worried about the stability
of the railing. He would constantly relate
how every old cowboy movie he watched had
a train with a wobbly railing. I too harbored
concern but when we got it bolted to the car,
it was straight, square and solid. There is a
picture of me standing behind the railing
that day and the ear to ear smile is genuine!
Roger and Doc had a hard won suc-
cess also. We had devised a way to recover
the lost mounting points by bending over-
sized brackets that could be cut for spacing
and hole alignment in Elgin and then field-
welded out of sight. It worked great.
A year’s worth of work had come to
fruition! Things were finally looking up. We
had a warm bed, a hot meal, a round of drinks
and good friends to share it. In a blacksmith’s
world, it doesn’t get much better.
We were back to work early the next
morning to field measure and install the
uprights that connect the railing and finials.
The car had been painted and the building
was packed with antique furniture to fur-
nish the car, so welding and grinding took
lots of care. We planned on staying one night
only but everyone agreed to stay over and get
everything buttoned up before we left.
In the morning, we finished up the rail
and took several close measurements for the
gate before we headed home. It had to be
perfect—and functional.
Roger set to work designing within
the dimensions we had to meet. The gate
space was smaller than we planned, but we
got it to work. Now we needed to hinge it
and latch it. Neither hinges nor a latch were
evident in any picture. Roger and I both had
agonized over both and Kloke and Wayne
had no idea on either. One day I had an aha
moment and sketched it out. We would form
the latch handle to the shape of a scroll and
dog it on the other side. It worked. We had a
functional latch that was basically invisible,
just like the original picture.
I had an appointment with the eye
doctor the next day and asked Roger, “Who
can help you if I can’t?” The next afternoon
I had emergency surgery for a detached
retina. Tom and Doc stepped up again and
Jeff Farmer just happened to be staying at
Roger’s, so I was barely missed. They got the
gate installed and Doc sent me a picture. I
missed the “golden spike” but was relieved
it was done.
My sight was still poor when the train
came to Springfield but I got to see the fin-
ished job. I attended a fundraising banquet
that night along with Jim, his wife, and my
family. Kloke was still trying to pay for the
car, donations hadn’t met expectations.
I once boasted to Kloke that the guys
that built the first one wouldn't be able to
tell the difference. It turned out, that was not
an idle boast. The only noticeable difference
is the height of the side railing and the plat-
form railing. Even though the car was a his-
torical replica, it had to meet modern Federal
Railroad Administration, FRA, standards.
The original railing was too low, it wouldn’t
meet FRA spec, so we built it taller. Kloke
added a safety railing to the roller end of the
car for people exiting the tour. The original
had no rail on the roller end.
left to right: Dave Kloke; Dave Kervin; Doc; Tom;
Jerry, the lead carpenter on the car rebuild

31. Fall 2015
29
I once quipped, From the headlight
on the front of the Leviathan 63, which
pulled the restored funeral car, to the railing
on the back, the 2015 Lincoln Funeral Train
began and ended in my shop.” It was a long
road from beginning to end.
From the writings and lectures of
Wayne Wesolowski, the 2015 Lincoln
Funeral Train design consultant
The “Lincoln Funeral Car” was con-
structed in Alexandria Virginia in the Car
Shops of the Military Railroad System
between 1863 and 1865. It was named the
United States and was intended to be the
first “Air Force One.” Lincoln never used it
while he was alive.
When it was decided that Lincoln
would be buried in Springfield Illinois,
the car was modified to serve as a funeral
car. One of the decorative end railings was
removed and replaced with a simple roller
system to facilitate removal of the coffin for
the eleven open coffin funerals.
When the railing was removed from
one end of the car, so was the hand brake
mechanism. Since the Lincoln car had half
the normal brakes, it was always coupled to
another car after modification and rode second
to last in the train. Air brakes were invented
in 1869. The car had only leaf springs since
coil springs had not been developed. A
“volute” spring was employed in the coupler
system. This as a flat spring made into a roll
and then pulled out from the center.
After the war, the Military RR System
was disbanded. Any drawings and records
of the building of the car were apparently
discarded.
Without a railroad, the government sold
the car to the Union Pacific RR for an exec-
utive car. The car changed hands four more
times and ended up with interurban magnate,
Thomas Lowry, who set about restoring it as a
relic. While on display in Columbia Heights
near Minneapolis, MN, the car was consumed
in a prairie fire on March 18, 1911. Local resi-
dents were invited to take souvenirs, so only
pictures and a few relics remain. f
Editor's Note: A recent National Geographic
magazine issue featured the story of the Lincoln
Funeral Train. To read it online, visit:
abana.org/lincoln-funeral-train. It's a very
interesting story and includes many historical
photographs.

32. From May 31 to June 6, 2015 the Center for Metal Arts in Florida, New York hosted
a seven-day collaborative sculpture project with visiting artist, Jake James. James, a
British born sculptor now residing on Vancouver Island, BC is world-renowned for his
large scale forgings that stretch the material of steel from a weighted mass to a delicate line
pushing balance and form throughout his compositions.
Fifteen blacksmiths from across the country and abroad joined James to participate in
a collaboration exploring his unique forging style. James brought with him “the creation of
wine” as a sculptural theme and on the first day outlined the concept and myth surrounding
the aesthetic. A group discussion followed detailing the composition, body, and figurative
interaction within the proposed sculpture. Life-size drawings were freely sketched and edited
by the group as James shared his vision of a superior nature figure—the satyr Pan—giving
wine to a needy and hungry god figure—Bacchus, the god of celebration and excess.
Groups formed with skill levels ranging from beginner to master. Under James’ instruction
the various parts of the sculpture were broken down into manageable forgings. At the Center
for Metal Arts, smiths had access to a fully equipped forge and fabrication shop, taking full
advantage of a range of metalworking techniques. From hand hammer accuracy to the mas-
sive capabilities of power hammers, with torch technique and elaborate connection methods, the
complicated shapes were forged and joined into the life-size sculpture.
With so many minds and skill levels involved, conversation and applied knowledge
produced directions, suggestions, and recovery from mis-forgings. The group quickly
learned to work together and offer each other assistance; strengthen-
ing both individual skill and ultimately the entire piece.
Days were a long and exhaustive dance from forge to
anvil and back again. Nights were spent in conver-
sation and relaxation, as many of the participants
elected to camp together, sharing food and stories,
and taking full advantage of the uniqueness of the
situation.
As the final connections were made and
the finished sculpture hoisted into position, an
open-house after-party began. Members of the
community came to share food and drink, dis-
cussing both the methods and myth behind
the piece. Pan Bacchus is now part of the
collection of the Center For Metal Arts,
on view in the second floor gallery.
f
Sculpture: Team-Building
with Jakes James
~ Patrick Quinn
Center for the Metal Arts
info@centerformetalarts.com
photographer: Laurie Marshall
30 Anvil’s Ring

33. Fall 2015
31
photo essay
continued on p. 32

34. 32 Anvil’s Ring

35. Fall 2015
33
In the creation of this sculpture, everyone
had a part . . . each team member was
a necessity for a successful outcome.
It was as well choreographed as a dance
performance.
Together they had to flow as one.
photo essay
continued on p. 34

36. 34 Anvil’s Ring

37. Fall 2015
35
photo essay
continued on p. 36

38. 36 Anvil’s Ring

39. Fall 2015
37
Editor's Note:
Jake James will be one of the demonstrators at the 2016
ABANA Conference in Salt Lake City. Join him and watch his
sculptures come to life in person. Jake is one of the formost smiths
in the plasticity process of forging steel.photo to the left:
The Team
top row: Kyle Martin, David Bradley, John Erianne, Kevin Stanford, Jake James
middle row: Dave Kurdyla, Alec Steele, Tim Schaeffer, Rodger Labrash,
Andy Dohner, Haling W. Dwang, Nick Leo
bottom row: Dan Widolff, Stefan Karfakis, Patrick Quinn

40. 38 Anvil’s Ring
Ayear ago, I created a video of the beautiful architecture
and ironwork I had photographed eight years ago while I
was in Buenos Aires on a tango pilgrimage. Subsequently,
my video won a grant which allowed me to return to Buenos Aires
to research the designers and builders of the ironwork. I spent three
weeks there in October, 2014.
In those three weeks, I discovered that since the 1930s there
had been a loss of training in the crafts due to a lack of new construc-
tion. I also discovered a universal appreciation by the locals for their
architecture and their strong sense of urgency to restore and preserve
this heritage.
During my visit I made many new friends—a blacksmith,
architects, taxi drivers, dancers, artists, and many others. I liter-
ally walked holes into my tennis shoes while hiking the cobblestone
streets so definitive of the old city. My journey ended with a party in
a local bistro where I showed my images of the architecture and the
local people sang and danced tango—a great end for the trip. It made
me feel that we should create an architectural heritage group and do
more with our positive energy.
In April of 2015, I decided to return the favor and brought
blacksmith, Fabian Rossi, and architect, Salvador Napoli, from
Buenos Aires to California for an extended visit. Fabian worked in six
shops around the state improving his smithing skills, while Salvador
met with key architects specializing in preservation and adaptive
re-use of historic structures in San Francisco.
Fabian’s visit began with our walk in the steep streets of San
Francisco and a welcome party in a Berkeley home with blacksmiths,
artisans, and architects. Fabian is self taught and I was the first black-
smith he had ever met. He lives in the suburbs on the edge of Buenos
Aires and manufactures metal doors, stairs, lighting, and functional
metalwork but he wanted to add forging of iron and restoration to his
skills. Our project was to have him work in our shops to increase his
skill level and be able to practice the craft, teach others, and hope-
fully organize blacksmithing in Buenos Aires. From the Bay Area,
Fabian went to the shop of John McLellan in Loomis in the Sierra
foothills, where John employs eight to 12 blacksmiths on functional
~ Jerry Coe
oestudios.com/custom
photographer:Jerry Coe
Typical private residence in Buenos Aires 2014
On the Path to Preservation:
Buenos Aires’ Architectural Heritage

41. Fall 2015
39
art projects coming in from all parts of the country. Here Fabian
spent his first day forging with a power hammer—his first time ever.
From there, he was taken to Reno and taught forge-welding by Brett
Moten and local Reno smiths. Fabian then flew to LA and worked in
the shop of Heather McLarty, an expert in repoussé and chasing of
copper and bronze. Fabian worked in several more LA shops before
flying north again to spend a week in the shop of master blacksmith,
Tim Cisneros, learning to make tools he would need on his return
to Argentina. From Tim's shop, Fabian spent three days with over
500 other smiths at the Western States Conference hosted by the
California Blacksmith Association. His last stop was in the Berkeley
blacksmith shop of Dan Dole, who meticulously coordinates his work
to involve the least hammering to achieve the finest of forms.
During Salvador’s visit, he met with the most prominent archi-
tects in the San Francisco area involved in preservation and adaptive
re-use. They included Jay Turnbull of Page and Turnbull, who super-
vised the restoration of the historic San Francisco Ferry Building and
turned it into a thriving shopping and restaurant area; and Charley
Stott of Letty, Matum, and Stacey who wrote the master plan for
the re-use of the Presidio. Other architects he met with were Susan
McComb of the BAR, who have set a high standard in preservation
and re-use of historic structures; David Wessel of the Architects
Resources Group, which has a legacy in preservation of historic build-
ings throughout the city; and finally Stephen Rynerson of Rynerson
O’Brian Architects, who has focused on restoration projects in old
Oakland as well as San Francisco.
At the end of their visit, the three of us spoke at the University
of California Berkeley Center for Latin American Studies, with a
video of our talk made for the center’s library. Our talk was entitled
“The Path to Preservation of Architectural Heritage in Buenos Aires.”
Buenos Aires has had both good and bad restoration. It needs to set
guidelines for future projects and develop a solution for the reintro-
duction of key crafts.
Upon his return to Buenos Aires, Fabian organized the first-ever
Conference on Blacksmithing, held July 24-25 in the town of Oliva in
Cordoba province. One smith was flying in from Peru for the confer-
ence and there are 43 other interested craftspeople who want to attend.
A Chance to Travel to Argentina!
Now it’s time for the next chapter in our project. Next year,
February 28 to March 10, 2016, I will lead a group of craftspeople
and architects to Buenos Aires. There will be several days of crafts
workshops for smiths while the architects hold a forum on preserva-
tion and adaptive re-use. Together we can share our experiences and
seek solutions to architectural preservation in the city. In the black-
smith and craft workshops, we will design and create a sculpture to
donate to the park where we will hold our demonstrations. The mayor
of the district that the park is in will be involved and everyone will
have an opportunity to help assemble the sculpture. One night, we
will hold a community dance and have live music and folk dancing,
with all the neighborhood invited. And the entire group will spend a
day in the countryside after the conference to enjoy a typical estancia
(ranch) with gauchos, folk dancers, and an asado (barbecue). We will
have a few days on the front and back of the workshops to allow tour-
ing the city on foot through the old neighborhoods. I am hoping we
can invite educational groups, both secondary and university, to our
events as well as other community members to increase awareness in
the crafts. We are also seeking local government involvement and
participation of various museums, such as the city’s decorative arts,
immigration, and architecture museums.
It’s time to help in the re-introduction of crafts in Buenos Aires
and share our own history in preservation to aid our Argentine neigh-
bors in preserving their wonderful architectural heritage.
If you would like to travel with us, all are welcome, whether or
not you are a craftsman or an architect: please contact me at info@
coestudios.com. This looks to be a trip of a lifetime.
About Jerry Coe
Jerry Coe has been a full time blacksmith for thirty years, with
a shop in Berkeley California. f
left to right: Salvador Napoli, Tim Cisneros, Fabian Rossi,
and Jerry Coe April 2015

42. 40 Anvil’s Ring
It started as a joke, many things in life
do. It was pitiful, held together by a
few frayed threads somehow fighting to
confine contents that wanted to be set free to
experience gravity. Yes, my girlfriend's purse
was in a state somewhat less than “fully
intact”, but still far from “trash.” That tex-
tile bag could never properly hold up to any
person's real life, no fiber bag could. It was
obvious what she needed: a metal purse!
She disagreed, but sound reasoning
and good logic is no impediment for a good
idea. I decided to start small, and with easy
to use materials. I had no idea how to make
a metal purse, and the How-To book on it
hadn't been written yet. It needed to hold
some stuff, open and close securely, and look
kinda neat.
The first one barely met any of those
requirements. It was all sheet copper, sewn
together with brass wire. It opened and
closed, but in the way that suggests it will
not do so forever. Nevertheless, it was a
purse. Problem solved. I triumphantly gave it
to her. I got a chuckle and a head shake.
At that point, I knew I HAD to work
this out.
I decided it needed a bit less rigidity,
but I still wanted all metal. Chainmaille
would do for the sides, and instead of a lunch
box-style way to close it, I simply made a
clasp and let the sides get pinched shut. It
still was barely functional.
Chainmaille was not going to cut it.
I had to use some sort of fabric so it could
open and close with a bit more grace. I went
to my stash of misc fabrics and found some
nylon. Rivets seemed to hold the fabric best,
so rather than doing the intelligent thing
and ordering some, I did the metal worker
thing, and spent all night creating a rivet
making jig and hand forging rivets.
The nylon worked well, but it sagged
a bit it places and was too tight in others.
It didn't follow the form well. It was time
to try leather. I went out to the local leather
shop with a purse and talked to the owner.
The Evolution of a Purse
~ Mike Edelman
http://www.medelmanart.com
1

43. Fall 2015
41
He took me through everything he had and
sent me away with a hide he promised would
be both durable, hold a rivet, and would
stretch perfectly. He was right. I went home
and finished a purse that was waiting for the
new material.
It stretched perfectly, and held tight
enough to the metal that nothing would fall
out in between rivets. Now it was simply a
matter of experimenting with design.
Each completed purse I would hunt
down my girlfriend and ask, “This one, will
you finally use THIS one?” I never expected
a Yes, nor did I ever get one, but one of
the times a mutual friend chimed in, “I do
leather work and can help you make one
that is leather-lined, closes perfectly, and is
extremely functional.” So came the creation
of the final purse of the series, the biggest
and most functional one of them all.
There is a certain value in rejection.
Every No I got, pushed me to work harder
and be more innovative. The final, Yes,
I could use that, while exactly what I was
going for, stopped the series in its tracks.
The problem was solved, the series over (for
now), but it was a great process! f
images continued on p. 42
2
3

44. 42 Anvil’s Ring
4
5 6

45. Fall 2015
43
7
8 and final, for now!

46. 44 Anvil’s Ring
Education Calendar
September
Adirondack Folk School
Sep 12–13
Forging BBQ Utensils • Patrick Quinn
Sep 25–28
Introduction to Blacksmithiing
Matthew Parkinson
John C. Campbell Folk School
Sep 11–13
Forge Welding • David Tucciarone
Sep 13–19
Fundamentals for Beginners • David Tucciarone
Sep 20–26
Forging Nonferrous Metals • Eddie Rainey
Sep 27–Oct 2
Adventures in Blacksmithing
Susan Hutchinson
New England School of Metalwork
Sep 7–12
Lockback Folder • Dellana
Sep 21–24
Unity of form, Function, and Process
Jeffrey Funk
Sep 29-Oct 2
Scandinavian Pukko • Nick Rossi
Pieh Tool Company
Sep 25-27
Blacksmithing • Gordon Williams
Tillers International
Sep 10–11
Blacksmithing I
Sep 12–13
Blacksmithing II
October
Adirondack Folk School
Oct 3–4
Introduction to Bladesmithing
Matthew Parkinson
Oct 17–18
Forging a Toasting Iron • Derek Heidermann
Broken Hammer Forge
Oct 3–4
Blacksmith Beginner Class
Oct 17–18
Blacksmith Intermediate Class
John C. Campbell Folk School
Oct 4–10
Candlesticks and Crosses • David Smucker
Oct 11–17
Dragons, Wizards, Horses • Steve Williamson
Oct 18–24
Blacksmithing Fundamentals • Gary Roath
Oct 25–30
Blacksmithing Techniques with a Twist
Kevin Foster
Oct 30– Nov 1
Finishes on Metal • Kevin Foster
New England School of Metalwork
Oct 5–9
European Quillon Dagger • K. Cashen
Oct 13–16
Hitting a Moving Target: Beginners
Roberta Elliott
Oct 20–23
Traditional Axe Forging • Steve Ash
Oct 27–29
Basic Damascus Steel
Pieh Tool Company
Oct 23-25
Blacksmithing • Gordon Williams
Tillers International
Oct 16–17
Blacksmithing I
Oct 23–24
Blacksmithing III: You Ain't Got No Tongs
November
Broken Hammer Forrge
Nov 7–8
Zombie Class
John C. Campbell Folk School
Nov 1–7
Traditional Joinery Projects • Clay Spencer
Nov 8–14
19th-century Blacksmithing, Shaker Style
Michael Saari
Nov 15–20
Bring Out Your Inner Ironmonger
Lyle Wheeler
Nov 20–22
Making Useful Items from Junk
Bob Alexander
Kaviar Forge Gallery
Nov 7–8
Tool-making Workshop • Craig Kaviar
New England School of Metalwork
Nov 17–20
Beginner Blacksmithing
Pieh Tool Company
Nov 20-22
Blacksmithing • Gordon Williams

47. Fall 2015
45
Mark Aspery in the Teaching Tent
at the Conference in Delaware
School Contact
Info:
Adirondack Folk School
www.adirondackfolkschool.org
Lake Luzerne, NY
518-696-2400
Broken Hammer Forge
www.brokenhammerforge.com
Henderson, MD 21640
410-310-4560
davcollier@gmail.com
John C. Campbell School
www.folkschool.org
Brasstown, NC
800-folk-sch
Kaviar Forge Gallery
www.craigkaviarforge.com
kaviargallery@gmail.com
Louisville, KY
502-561-0377
New England School of Metalwork
www.newenglandschoolofmetalwork.com
Auburn, ME
888-753-7502
Pieh Tool Company, Inc.
www.piehtoolco.com
Camp Verde, AZ
928-554-0700 or 888-743-4866
Tillers International
www.tillersinternational.org
Scotts, MI
800-498-2700
If you’d like your school’s class schedule
listed in the Education Calendar, please
send the info to
areditor@abana.org.
We’ll do our best to get it all in there!
Tillers International
Nov 6–7
Blacksmithing I
December
John C. Campbell Folk School
Dec 2–5
Beginning Blacksmithing • Lyle Wheeler
Dec 6–12
Delicate Forging • Patricia Morris
New England School of Metalwork
Dec 1–4
Beginner Bladesmithing: Forged Kitchen Knife
Dec 10–12
Here There Be Dragons!
Dec 17–19
Damascus Steel Jewelry
Pieh Tool Company
Dec 11-13
Blacksmithing • Gordon Williams
Tillers International
Dec 3–4
Blacksmithing I
Dec 5–6
Blacksmithing II

48. 46 Anvil’s Ring
JOHN C. CAMPBELL FOLK SCHOOL
folkschool.org 1-800-FOLK-SCH
BRASSTOWN NORTH CAROLINA
Bob Alexander
Jim Batson
Caleb Burress
David Burress
Julie Clark
Dave Custer
Jerry Darnell
Mike Dixon
Ernie Dorrill
Roberta Elliott
Kevin Foster
Paul Garrett
Mark J. Hopper
Lucas House
Susan
Hutchinson
Matt Jenkins
Ryan Johnson
John Kraus
Allan Kress
Mitchell Latsch
Jason Lonon
Doug Merkel
Pat McCarty
Joe Miller
Jeff Mohr
Patricia Morris
Dale Morse
Ron Nichols
Chuck Patrick
Howard Pohn
Greg Price
Bill Robertson
Eddie Rainey
Gary Roath
Elmer Roush
Michael Saari
Robert Schulz
John Scroggin
David Smucker
Clay Spencer
Kenneth
Thomas
David
Tucciarone
Don Witzler
Lyle Wheeler
Jack Wheeler
Steve
Williamson
Chris
Winterstein
Marty Young
John Zeigler
Lance Zeigler
2015 Instructors
THE FOLK SCHOOL
CHANGES YOU.
Come enjoy learning the craft of the smith
and making good friends on 300 natural,
scenic acres in western North Carolina.
Dog by Allan Kress

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COMING FALL 2015
ORDER NUMBER: AP-SJ305...$45.00
Blacksmithing
Advanced Classes for
Fall 2015
Blacksmithing II
Improve your hammer•
skills
Make shop tools- one set•
for you, one for Tillers
Forge welding and tem-•
pering experience
Class#311c, Sept 12-13•
$210 tuition matlsYou Ain’t Got No Swing, If
You Can’t Tang That Thing
Take a pair- Leave a pair•
of TONGS!
Make Tongs for your shop•
and Tillers
Practice Techniques•
Taught in class
Class#312e, Oct 23-24•
$150 tuition matls
“Outstanding Instructors!”

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Classifieds
For Sale: Tools Supplies
ERNST REFFLINGHAUS ANVILS. Highest
quality. Made in Germany since 1886. Hardness
guarantee of RC 59. Double horn, with or
without side shelf. USA Dealer is SHADY
GROVE BLACKSMITH SHOP LLC. Visit:
www.blksmth.com. Call 308-384-1088.
50lb LITTLE GIANT TRIP (POWER)
HAMMER located in South Dakota. Shedded,
good condition. You pick up. $3,000 OBO. Call
DeLaRonde Forge 970-533-7093 or
Delarondeforge@msn.com
BLACKSMITHING PROPERTY in Central
Vermont. 24' x 48' forge workshop (220 amps),
two houses, pond, 10.5 acres, on hill outside
village. $330K. Email for photos and info:
squibba2@myfairpoint.net or (802) 229-0890.
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY in Historic Sauder
Village OH. Studio/business for six-month
season. Double coal forge, overhead cranes, two
power hammer foundations, in-floor heat, gallery,
and office space. Located at Ohio’s largest Living
History Village. Visit: www.saudervillage.org or
Call 1-800-590-9755.
NAZEL 3-B SELF-CONTAINED HAMMER,
P-9 Pullmax (new) with extensive tooling, 125lb.
Beaudry Champion hammer, 75 lb. Beaudry
power hammer, Bridgeport milling machine,
8 double-sprocket post vice, 300lb. Hay Budden
anvil, two platen (Acorn) tables, power hacksaw
(Marvel), Beverly B-3 shear (new), Johanson
drill/radial drill, industrial bandsaw. Call John at
912-655-9448 or flemingsmith@aol.com
PIEH TOOL CO.—Dealer of Sahinler air
hammers. Huge selection of anvils, swage
blocks, tongs, hammers, dies, rivets/lags, fluxes,
patinas, fly presses, forges, more. Over 600
metalworking books/videos. Call 928-554-0700
or 888-743-4866. Visit: www.piehtoolco.com
Classes and Workshops
DOROTHY STIEGLER instructing forging
classes all skill levels. Bronze and steel.
Contact Pacific Coast Horseshoeing School
at www.farrierschool.com.
Books and Videos
$2 BACK ISSUE SALE! Fill in your collection
of the original Blacksmith’s Journal issues while
they last! Find these hard copy back issues and
more in the Store at:
www.blacksmithsjournal.com.
HOW TO REBUILD A NAZEL
POWERHAMMER, 1.5 hour CD, two Nazel
brochures, setup diagram, Mark Krause book
with diagrams of how these hammers work.
$125.00 delivered. Call 608-527-2494. Visit:
www.oldworldanvils.com
Classified Ads Policy
Ads are $20 each limited to 35 words
(six lines). Longer ads are $5 per line. Please
submit your classified ad in writing:
ABANA Central Office—Attn: JoAnn
259 Muddy Fork Road
Jonesborough, TN 37659; or
email: centraloffice@abana.org;
or fax: 423-913-1023
Do not send a check; you will be billed.
Designate whether the classified ad is for the
Hammer’s Blow or Anvil’s Ring or both.
Old World Anvils
(www.oldworldanvils.com)
Old World Quality, Manufactured in Europe
Fantastic Ring and Rebound!
One Piece, High Carbon - Solid Steel Anvils
Lowest Cost on Shipping in the US.
Five Styles to Choose from
NEW STYLE - 450 lb Habermann Anvil
“Focusing On Low Tech Tools
For The Blacksmith”
www.oldworldanvils.com
Warehousing shipment
of Old World Anvils
Merchandise is now
handled by:
New Presses for Forging
Hot and Cold Stock
8 Sizes Available
‑24‑ton hydraulic presses
Five Styles of Anvils
5 lbs. to 542 lbs.
Postville Blacksmith Shop
N. 8126 Postville Road Blanchardville, WI 53516
Bob Bergman
608-527-2494 • fax 608-527-6908
Old World
Anvils

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Pieh Tool Company
Academic Discount Program!
The Academic Discount Program
is rooted in our longstanding
commitment to support and encourage
blacksmithing, metalworking, and
horseshoeing. Our program is designed
to make it easy for schools, colleges,
universities to partner with us in
offering a discount program that makes
our products even more affordable
for students, faculty, and staff.
Not sure if your school is
participating in the program—call
or email today to see if you qualify!
call: 888-743-4866 • email: piehtoolinfo@piehtoolco.com • www.piehtoolco.com
We are always listening to
your tooling needs and have
recently added these items
you've asked for!
• Fly Press Tooling
• Handstamps—numbers,
letters, and now you can
order custom stamps of your
touchmarks!
• End Mills Carbide Burs
for Milling Machines
Pieh Tool Company
New Items!

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Striking
titles for the
artist blacksmith
coming soon
available now
w w w . s c h i f f e r b o o k s . c o m
Seeking Authors for New Titles:
technique • inspiration • history
Visit “Author Resource Center” on our website

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To find out more and register, visit:
abana.org/2016SLC
OR
Artist-Blacksmith’s Association of North America (ABANA)
259 Muddy Fork Road, Jonesborough, TN 37659
423-913-1022; Fax: 423-913-1023; centraloffice@abana.org
Utah State Fairpark: Information
155 North 1000 West, Salt Lake City UT 84116
www.utahstatefairpark.com
REGISTER NOW. . .
and take advantage of
the great savings!
2016 ABANA
SALT LAKE CITY
CONFERENCE
JULY 13-16
at the FAIRPARK
• Beginning to advanced demos: architectural and sculptural
blacksmithing, repoussé, foldforming, damascus billet-making
• Expanded teaching tents and new youth and farrier tents:
participate with the demonstrators
• Experience the design and building of a custom railing
with an on-site install
• Professional seminars on building and marketing your business,
how to photograph your work, and the future of blacksmithing
• Reserve your hotel NOW, pay later; on-site camping available
• Demo sites: on grass in air-conditioned buildings
• Gourmet food trucks, Saturday night dinner
• Fine art gallery with auction, and marketplace

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53 American Farriers Journal
52 Anyang USA Power Hammers
46 Arrowhead Forge
51 Artist Blacksmith’s Assoc.
NSW, Inc.
47 Astragal Press
49 Big Blu Hammer
50 Blacksmith Supply
54 Blacksmiths Depot
50 Blue Moon Press
46 Broken Hammer Forge
53 Hammer Source
44 Hephaistos—Artisan Ideas
46 John C. Campbell Folk School
IFC King Architectural Metals
47 Kovalska
48 Lawler Foundry Corp.
53 NOMMA
49 NC Tool Co, Inc.
47 New England School of
Metalwork
51 Nimba Anvils, Inc.
48 Old World Anvils
51 Pieh Tool Co, Inc.
52 Schiffer Publishing
47 Tillers International
45 Touchstone
53 Van's Gun Blue
Ad Index
The Anvil’s Ring (USPS 02602, ISSN 0889–177X) is the official publica-
tion of the Artist–Blacksmith’s Association of North America, Inc. It is
mailed to the members on a quarterly basis in Winter, Spring, Summer, and
Fall by ABANA, 259 Muddy Fork Road, Jonesborough, TN 37659.
Membership is available to any individual or organization interested in the
art of blacksmithing. The annual fee for a regular membership is $55; $24 of
this amount is for a subscription to The Anvil’s Ring for one year. Permit to
mail at periodical postage rates is registered at Jonesborough, TN, and addi-
tional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Anvil’s
Ring, 259 Muddy Fork Road, Jonesborough, TN 37659.
Postmaster Info
Membership Renewal Reminder
Check your ABANA membership
expiration on the mailing label.
If the date there is 9-30-2015,
it is urgent that you renew now
to continue your ABANA mem-
bership. If the date is 12-31-2015,
please look for your renewal notice
in the mail in early December. You can
also renew by visiting www.abana.org.

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Advertising Mechanical Specifications
Anvil’s Ring
Hammer’s Blow
The Anvil’s Ring and Hammer’s Blow, premier publications
of the Artist-Blacksmith’s Association of North America, delivers
your message quarterly to the blacksmith community—comprised of
blacksmiths at all levels, artists, interested afficionados, and profes-
sionals in the architectural and interior design fields.
Both publications are mailed quarterly to all members.
Membership of approximately 4,000 with a pass-along rate of three
(3) readers for every magazine for a total of 12,000 highly targeted
readers per magazine per issue.
COPY AND AD DEADLINES
Anvil’s Ring
ISSUE DUE MAILED
Winter October 15 December 1
Spring January 15 March 1
Summer April 15 June 1
Fall July 15 September 1
Hammer’s Blow
ISSUE DUE MAILED
Winter December 1 January 15
Spring March 1 April 15
Summer June 1 July 15
Fall September 1 October 15
AD SIZES
CALLOUT WIDTH X HEIGHTH
Full Page (FP) 7.5 x 10
Full Page w/Bleed (FPB) 8.75 x 11.25; trims to 8.5 x 11
Half Vertical (1/2 V) 3.63 x 10
Half Horizontal (1/2 H) 7.5 x 4.875
One-Quarter (1/4) 3.63 x 4.875
One-Third Vertical (1/3 V) 2.34 x 10
One-Sixth (1/6) 2.34 x 4.875
FILE FORMATS PRODUCTION
• Create the Ad document to the final size. Do NOT add crop and
bleed marks.
• Full page ads with bleed MUST have a 1/8” bleed on all four sides.
Crop and bleed marks should be indicated. “Live area” for type and
images is one-half inch (1/2”) in from trim size of 8.5 x 11” on all
four sides.
• Ads should be designed in InDesign, Photoshop, or Illustrator.
Create files in a CMYK format, and at 300 dpi resolution when
using Photoshop or Illustrator.
• All images placed in the document should be CMYK images at
300 dpi. We will not be responsible for images that do not print
correctly.
• In Illustrator, convert all type to outlines. We will not be respon-
sible for type that does not print correctly.
• Do NOT create ads in Word or any similar word processing
program.
• Save ads in a .jpeg or PDF format, at highest quality setting. Both
of these file formats will create a small enough file to send in an
email, even if the ad is a full page full color file.
If you need design services, or assistance with creating your ad,
please contact the editor of each for information. Ad design and pro-
duction are available on an individual-fee basis. The Publisher reserves
the right to reject advertising copy and/or artwork.
Anvil’s Ring Editor: Valerie Ostenak: areditor@abana.org
Hammer’s Blow Editor: Mark Aspery: editor@ocsnet.net
CONTACT
For advertising rates and space reservation:
JoAnn Bentley
ABANA Central Office
259 Muddy Fork Road
Jonesborough, TN 37659
P: 423-913-1022
F: 423-913-1023
E: joann@abana.org
Special Position, Inserts, Classified Ads, and Color or Black
White pricing are on the Insertion Order.
Inside Front Cover and Inside Back Cover are reserved for Full
Page Color Ads only.
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