[TheForge] Dan Nauman's Letter

[Vincent Nakovics]

I agree with Dan Nauman. The dilution of ABANA's focus has been a discussion of mine since joining and became more so after 2004. While it wasn't evident at that time in AR and HB  it  was and still are in the attitude of  many members that I have met. I have always found it problematic to not require joinery techniques to be spelled out. 

Then there is the "Machine Mentality" (Peter Ross) and I can see that several comments have come down to the blacksmiths invented the vise grip and if they had had a welder they would have used it debate. That isn't what Dan is saying at all and maybe everyone needs to stop and look back at how they came to do forge work and why they do it. You do not need to do forge work to fabricate most anything made in a Blacksmith's Smithy.  So what makes forged work so special and why do you do it at all then?  Why would you want to promote stick and paste techniques that can be learned everywhere, Hobart, Miller, Online, Local Welding Suppliers hold classes on this in some areas and the list goes on. So it is not about using a welder it is about the purpose of ABANA promoting and educating the public and apparently our members on the significant difference between fabrication and forge work. 

I am sure there will be much more said by others both in agreement and who are confused (?) as to Dan's point. 

We may have become a victim of our own promotion as the interest in Blacksmithing continues to grow so does the modern thoughts on producing them. I use the analogy of buying a used anvil - we look at them as a tool,  a designer looks at them as an accent piece,  a fab shop looks at them as an antique that belongs in an antique shop and if you try to buy one you have to pay based on that interpretation. So goes Fabrication and Forged Work. Forged work requires extra processes to be included in any fabrication work, but at best it still becomes a combination of processes, necessary to make a living, very different from promoting the forging skills necessary to do a good forging job. Nuff said!

 Still fascinated with punching 1" holes in 1"wide  flat bars, and taking something and forging it into a completely different shape.  ☺
 

Vince Nakovics