Blacksmiths in the Northeast might be interested to know that the Atalntic Coast Blacksmiths Association will be hosting a regional conference at Ashokan, NY on the 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th of September, 2008.  This is slated to be the first in a series of planned annual regional conferences to fill the gap left when ABANA decided to cancel the 2008 National Conference.  It promises to be a truly great occasion with some truly top-tier demonstrators lined up.

For quite some time now I've been wanting a sinusoidal stake.  Every once in a while I actually have a need for one,  and the resto fo the time I just think they're really sexy and have been dying to have one.  A couple of days ago, I actually had a few hours free time so I got busy and made that sinusoidal stake.sinusoidal stake  The overall length is about 25" and the large diameter is around 1-3/8", tapering to 3/8" at one end and 3/4" at the other end.  The arms were forged from a piece of automobile axle stock and the remainder was made from A-36 structural steel.  To forge the sinusoidal arms, I first tapered both ends of the axle on the power hammer, and then made a series of alternating bends using adjustable bending pins in the post vise.  (After I finished the stake, I developed a better bending pin jig for the vise - I'll try to get that posted one day before long.)

Recently I've been working on a rather fun project involving forging and fabricating silicon bronze.  The client has a ship that is being re-fitted to look like a pirate ship, and this project involves making the hardware to decorate the engine cover so it looks like a pirate's "treasure chest."

After reading a few recent posts, I think the time has come to post a reminder of what we’re trying to do here on ArtMetal. This is supposed to be a forum for the exchange of ideas and information on artistic metal working. Somehow though, a few people seem to be losing sight of that objective, and letting the focus shift from art to attitudes and from technique to tirades. That really needs to change.

Not that it has anything to do with artwork, but I did get and complete a nice little commission to do 39 pairs of shutterdogs for a historical restoration project last week. Reproducing an existing design that was done a couple hundred years ago. The client loved the work and I made a decent hourly rate for my work and learned some good things in the process. A good deal all around.