Blacksmither Radio

This week I’ve got Pete Mattila from Tasmania, which is off the southern coast of Australia. We talk about his shop by the water’s edge, his US apprentice journey, and his design process.  Before we get to the interview I wanted to mention today’s sponsors, First we have the Adirondack Folk School.  It’s a non-profit school located in Lake Luzerne, in upstate New York.  The blacksmithing program at the Folk School includes 24 classes with an incredible line of blacksmithing instructors this year. To see the complete list of classes or to register, visit their website: www.adirondackfolkschool.org. I’d also like to thank the New England Blacksmiths, the ABANA affiliate serving Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and Rhode Island. Who by the way will be driving the ABANA 2020 Conference in Saratoga, NY Check us out at  http://www.newenglandblacksmiths.org/ Also They will be offering the Age of Iron weekend event at the Hancock Shaker Village in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, It’s happening th

Hello welcome to episode 127 I am continuing my series of 12 podcast interviews (one a month) focusing on Design Process, Forging Process and Tool Making. Today I have Maegan Crowley from Colorado, she started her metal business in 2006 after attaining her Master of Fine Art from Cranbrook Academy. I’d also like to thank today’s sponsor, Even Heat, they manufacture the finest heat treat ovens available, Even Heat Kiln was founded in 1948 and has steadily grown to become a major kiln manufacturer.  Find your next heat treat oven at evenheat-kiln.com.   Maegan's website - www.ironmaeganmetalworks.com 

Hello welcome to episode 126, as I mentioned before in the last episode, I’ve decided to do a series of 12 podcast interviews (one a month) focusing on the guest's Design Process, Forging Process and Tool Making. We begin with Jeffery Funk who has been working iron, bronze, stainless steel, and other metals for over forty years in a small shop outside of Bigfork, Montana.  In our correspondence leading up to the interview, Jeffery said  “Blacksmithing can be a portal to so many fascinating realms, far beyond the iron itself.”  And that is the essence of how our interview went, I’m grateful to have Jeffery on the show to share his wisdom in so many realms and the same gratitude goes, of course, to those of you who continue to listen, thank you. I’d also like to thank today’s sponsor, Even Heat, they manufacture the finest heat treat ovens available, Even Heat Kiln was founded in 1948 and has steadily grown to become a major kiln manufacturer.  Find your next heat treat oven at evenheat-kiln.com. Jeffery Funk's

Hello Happy New Year, welcome to 2019 and episode 125!  I've decided on a different format for this year's podcast. I sat down recently and came up with 3 main topics and questions within each topic. I will ask the next 10 or so guests the same questions and hopefully dive deep into their Design Process, Forging Process and Tool Making.  Those are the 3 topics I’ll be asking my guests for the bulk of this year’s podcasts. This podcast is sponsored by Evenheat, they manufacture the finest heat treat ovens available, Even Heat Kiln was founded in 1948 and has steadily grown to become a major kiln manufacturer.  Find your next heat treat oven at evenheat-kiln.com.  

This week I’ve got Ambrose Burne, a very talented artist blacksmith living in Hereford, England.  He attended the Artist Blacksmith program at the Hereford College of the Arts and then opened his own forge and is a lecturer on the BA (Hons) Artist Blacksmithing program for Hereford.  Today we talk about his background a bit and about the 150mm Challenge he has started.  BTW Hereford College of the Arts is asking for submissions from anyone willing to take on the challenge.  The exhibition submissions need to be sent to Hereford for 1st March: Measured Making Exhibition c/o Delyth Done Hereford College of Arts College Road Hereford HR1 1EB, United Kingdom Please include your full address. Hereford College of the Arts will be posting more details on their Instagram page @herefordanvils. I wanted to let you know this podcast is sponsored by Evenheat, they manufacture the finest heat treat ovens available, Even Heat Kiln was founded in 1948 and has steadily grown to become a major kiln manufacturer.  I know Patri

This week I’ve got Michael Budd back on the show, he’s a very talented artist blacksmith from Sligo Ireland. We talk about his trip to Tomsk Russia this past summer, where he was invited to demonstrate at a festival called “The Festival of the Ax”.  What We Talked About He attended a festival, the Festival of the Ax, as a demonstrator in Tomsk Russia, so he tells us about the festival and how he got invited. There were artists from over 100 different countries and 15 blacksmiths We really go deep into introducing the craft of blacksmithing to college students and how the use of past publications could be more available in college libraries. We touch on the “crowdfunding” idea for blacksmith conferences  We talk about how hard it is to be an artist and to make a living at the same time.   Guest Links Website - https://www.annarkoplik.com/ Instagram @michaeljbudd

This is the monthly Blacksmith Buzz Bulletin.  Where you get the low-down about upcoming classes and events that are happening in the following month, I’ll be telling you about classes and events happening in November 2018.  If you have an event or class you would like to submit, send an email to info@blacksmither.com and I will send you the details I need for the press release.    

This week I’ve got Anna Koplik, a young blacksmith who is currently completing an artist residency at the Touchstone Center for Crafts in Farmington, Pennsylvania.  She talks about her BFA in Jewelry and how she became interested in weaponry during college, which ended up being her intro to blacksmithing. Before we get to the interview I wanted to mention today’s sponsor is again provided on behalf of the New England Blacksmiths, an ABANA affiliate serving Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and Rhode Island. And also will be driving the ABANA 2020 Conference in Saratoga, NY They’ve got a great website, check it out at  http://www.newenglandblacksmiths.org/ What We Talked About Anna is currently finishing an artist residency at the Touchstone center for crafts, during this 4-week residency she has been working on making tools for herself. In exchange for Anna being able to use the school’s resources to make her tools during her residency, she helps out around the school, cleaning and a

This is the monthly Blacksmith Buzz Bulletin.  Where you get the low-down about upcoming classes and events that are happening in the following month, I’ll be telling you about classes and events happening in October 2018.  If you have an event or class you would like to submit, send an email to info@blacksmither.com and I will send you the details I need for the press release. OK, I’ll go in Alphabetic order here:

This is the monthly Blacksmith Buzz Bulletin.  Where you get the low-down about upcoming classes and events that are happening in the following month, I’ll be telling you about classes and events happening in September 2018.    If you have an event or class you would like to submit, send an email to info@blacksmither.com and I will send you the details I need for the press release.  

This is the monthly Blacksmith Buzz Bulletin.  Where you get the low-down about upcoming classes and events that are happening in the following month, though this month I’ll be telling you about classes and events happening in August 2018.  If you have an event or class you would like to submit, send an email to info@blacksmither.com and I will send you the details I need for the press release. OK, I’ll go in Alphabetic order here:

This week I’ve got Bob Bergman from Blanchardville Wisconsin.  He bought an old blacksmith shop 50 years ago in Postville, Wisconsin.  He talks about his beginnings and traveling through Europe working and learning at 15 different shops over 2 months.  He tells us the history behind the Postville Blacksmith shop which started in 1856.  What We Talked About  Bob started working in an advertising agency after college and immediately knew that business suit and desk were not for him! He then accepted a production assistant job for a feature film, it was 1968, the spring Martin Luther King was murdered. NYC was becoming electrified, amped up, so Bob decided to move out of state and look for land in Wisconsin. After purchasing 4 acres and a house, his realtor took him by an old but still operating blacksmith shop that was for sale. He met the 80-year-old blacksmith, who was the second owner of the business, and decided to purchase the business from him for $500 (the building, the tools, the land)! The first owner

This is the monthly Blacksmith Buzz Bulletin.  Where you get the low-down about upcoming classes and events that are happening in the following month, though this month I’ll be telling you about classes and events happening in July 2018.  If you have an event or class you would like to submit, send an email to info@blacksmither.com and I will send you the details I need for the press release. OK, I’ll go in Alphabetic order here:  

This is the monthly Blacksmith Buzz Bulletin.  Where you get the low-down about upcoming classes and events that are happening in the following month, though this month I’ll be telling you about classes and events happening in June 2018. 

This is the monthly Blacksmith Buzz Bulletin.  Where you get the low-down about upcoming classes and events that are happening in the following month, though this month I’ll be telling you about classes and events happening in May 2018.    If you have an event or class you would like to submit, send an email to info@blacksmither.com and I will send you the details I need for the press release.

I talk to a couple of demonstrators while they were demonstrating at events this past weekend. First I talk with Payne Anne Chassen and Sylvia Andrassy, they are in Pampano Beach, Florida for the FABA SE Regional meet.  The meet was held at the Guild, a non-profit folk art school started by Shaun Williams and Sylvia Andrassy.  Payne was demonstrating a corner shelf with antique glass bulbs incorporated into the design. Then I talk to Dennis Dusek who was demonstrating garden tools at the Weaverville Hammer-in, this is held at the Jake Jackson Museum Weaverville, California.  He walked around and spoke with the other demonstrators that were there, Monica Coyne, Brett Moten, Dan Perkins, Victoria Ritter and Mark Aspery.  Links: Facebook page for FABA SE Jake Jackson Website  

This week I’ve got the CBA Spring Conference organizers, the crew that has dedicated countless volunteer hours of their time planning and scheduling the CBA 40th Anniversary Spring Conference coming up April 12 – 14 in Placerville, CA.  The crew consists of Dennis Dusek, the conference chair, aka the big cheese, Dan Perkins, who is the CBA Education director, Victoria Ritter who is in charge of the volunteers and vendors, and Paul Boulay, the Vice President of the CBA.  We talk about what it takes to host an event of this size and what to expect during the conference. And they happen to be the sponsor for today’s episode. There is still time to get the early bird discount of $165 for all 3 days if you register before March 22nd.  The demonstrator line-up is: Zeevik Gottlieb, Lynda Metcalfe, Ellen Durkan, Haley Woodword, Colby Brinkman, David Lisch, Mark Aspery, Darryl Nelson and Paul Boulay. To register, head over to www.calsmith.org and click on the events tab for the online registration button. What We Talk

This is the Blacksmith Buzz Bulletin.  Where you get the low-down about upcoming classes and events that are happening in the following month, though this month I’ll be telling you about classes and events happening in April 2018.  I’ve got a lot of schools and events lined up for the rest of the year coming at you every month.   If you have an event or class you would like to submit, send an email to info@blacksmither.com and I will send you the details I need for the press release.  

Today I’m going to share a few tips and tricks I’ve found in various blacksmith association newsletters.  I’m not sure how many of you are ABANA members and receive the Hammers Blow quarterly Journal, I do and The current editor is, Dan Nauman, wrote a small article titled Picture That about photography, mainly photographing your work.  In my local blacksmith association newsletter, Forge Facts from the Rocky Mountain Smiths, I saw a great tip on riveting I want to share which came from Dorothy Stiegler, a blacksmith out of California. And then from the Appalachian Blacksmiths Association newsletter of December 2012, there was a quick snippet about penetrating oils and testing done on frozen, rusted nuts on bolts.  What We Talked About Hammer’s Blow, Volume 26 #1 article written by Dan Nauman titled “Picture That”. This addresses the importance of having good portfolio pictures early on in your career, even if you are a hobbyist. Riveting tips from Dorothy Steigler Penetrating Oils test from the Appalachian

Guest Intro paragraph This week I’ve got Michael Whipps from Melbourne Australia, btw he goes by Whipps.  He’s a metal worker who makes custom spherical firepits with his wife in Australia and he started blacksmithing about 6 months ago.  The reason I have him on today is to talk about his new podcast “Metal Sculpture Show”.  I think I’ve mentioned this before to you guys, I started a podcast network called The Burn Network, basically, it’s a collection of metalworking podcasts. The reason I started it was to encourage other blacksmith’s or metal workers to start their own podcasts and I would help them get started, show them the ropes of the podcast tech world, provide the hosting and continued support. To have a searchable network that offers relevant and different podcasts to our community of metal workers. So, Whipps contacted me 7 months ago about wanting to start a podcast on the network and have it be about metal art sculpture. We worked through the details of how this is a huge time consumer while bei