Hammerin' away

My close friend, Heath, came by today. We're working on a project for fathers day. More pictures of that fun little surprise to come. I know, I know, you all are probably jealous of my stylish leather apron. But hey, it keeps the sparks off of me. Finally, after a couple months anticipation, I was able to get back to the roots and work with forge, anvil, and hammer. Working with the simplicities that smiths have been working with for hundreds of years is truly a great way to learn. I say this for a couple of reasons.

First off, it made me realize the time old time blacksmiths had to invest into making even the most simple daily necessities, whether they be needed around the shop or the house. I've started my studies, burning through about 6 books that dug out of the dust file cabinets in the shop. Before the 1900's, most things metal were made in a blacksmith's shop by hand.  Second, and quite frankly, it really facilitates your hands on creativity skills. There's just something about taking a boring, half-inch diameter, two foot piece of steel, for example, and rolling a leaf out of it, veins and all. Before, when you look at that piece of steel, it was warm, boring, incomplete. However, when you hammer it into something, it becomes a warmer, more welcoming object to look at.

Just some thoughts from today.
-Benton

Hand-hammered leaves

So, yesterday, I was out in our shop working on a fence panel, and was getting frustrated trying to make a weld, then I thought back to the simplicity of hand hammering, and how things were done in the old days, and it reminded me of the leaves we hammered out for our last gate, which was undeniably the most fun part. There's nothing quite like turning red-hot steel into something beautiful.


More pictures to come of the finished and final gate. 

Why hello there!

Welcome to my blog. Be ready for some humor. What's been on the agenda for the last few weeks? Working on our iron fence project. More pictures to come for some of our other projects. Table bases, gates, and other fences.