[TheForge] instructions - books, newsletters and websites?

[Ralph Sproul]

Bruce, I don't know if you considered the fish in Ted Tucker's book - but I
find that a good demo piece to keep folks interested in a demo that takes
two to three heats on small stock. Page 44 of "Practical Projects for the
Blacksmith"  He calls them "wind chimes".

....working from head to tail:

Take 1/4 x 1 flatbar

Brake corners for head

Fuller to isolate tail from body section

Eye punch
-----------------------------------second heat
Curved chisel for mouth

Fullering chisel on body edges to create fins
-------------------------------------third heat
Cut off tail in hot cut - this cut starts head shape for next fish

Spread tail

File any sharp edges off in vice.

Hand to someone who just watched you make it and see them smile when you say
it's theirs.  Works great for kids at demos.

Ralph

-----Original Message-----
From: theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net]On Behalf Of Bruce Freeman
Sent: Friday, December 16, 2005 9:11 AM
To: theforge at mailman.qth.net
Subject: [TheForge] instructions - books, newsletters and websites?


BACKGROUND:

As I'm sure many of you have discovered, when it comes time to demonstrate
blacksmithing, we often have some difficulty coming up with a good demo
project.  A good demo, in my opinion, should not take very long, should
result in an item the audience can relate to or understand, and should not
involve welding.

(The last is mainly because in demo circumstances - typically full
daylight - forge welding is difficult.  Another concern is the splash of
slag hitting the audience, but I don't let that bother me to much.  Finally,
there's the fear that the weld won't take.  I wouldn't be concerned about
that at all, except that it IS so hard to judge a weld heat in full
daylight.  I can routinely make a weld in a shop, but my success rate in
daylight is dismal.)

My purpose in this is to teach a substantial number of NJBA members each
some simple demos so that when they show up at a county fair, etc., they'll
have something to "show off."

What I'm seeking are good instructions for good projects.  That is to say,
the instructions must be sufficiently detailed and well illustrated.  This
proves to be a significant issue.  I've come across many good ideas for demo
projects, but with little explanation of how to execute them.  While I may
be able to do it myself, I really don't care to write up a bunch of demos
right now.  That takes a considerable amount of time and effort.  I'd rather
make use of demos others have already written up.

I have begun going through my library for projects.  For example, Tucker's
book is full of interesting projects.  Unfortunately, I doubt I could
capture an audience's attention with feathers and wedges (rock-splitting
hardware) for example.  So by the time I get through my list of
requirements, there are really very few appropriate projects in that book.
The same is true for other books I've started going through.  I suspect my
entire book collection will yield only about a dozen suitable projects.

Newsletters are another obvious source of such info, and I plan to go back
through back-issues I have.  But I have a limited number, so that's a
limited resource.

Therefore, I'm looking to the Internet for additional demos.  I've already
gone through AnvilFire and the AFC sites and pulled a few demos from them.

THE QUESTION:
1) What OTHER websites (ABANA chapters or otherwise) do you know of that
have project instructions?
2) What books do you know of with such projects?

Thanks.  Your input is appreciated.

Bruce
NJ



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