Elija's first CDBA demo at the forge was terrific. Very nice job. Not only did he clearly show how to make a wizard bottle opening he explained in detail how and why he had special tools for each process, emphasizing the two eye punches and the sequence in using them. After the demo, Elija generously spent one on one time helping a greenhorn make his first opener. They ended up with a beautiful Wizard Bottle Opener. Good job Elija and Chris!

January 27th 2019 Elijah will be demonstrating how to make wizard bottle openers, and will also be making some of the tooling necessary to make them. This will surely be a good meeting!

NOTE: PARKING DUE TO SNOW ON THE GROUND IS LIMITED. PARK IN THE PARKING LOT AND WALK UP. VERY LITTLE SPACE AROUND THE SHOP. THE CITY IS PLANNING ON SALTING AND SANDING SO IT WONT BE TOO SLIPPERY FOR THE WALKING.

LOCATION

Posted in the shop is a sign up sheet for you to note when and if you would like to demonstrate some aspect of working with any type of metal. Keep in mind that the demo does not have to be long, it can cover any topic even remotely connected to Blacksmithing.

If you have never demonstrated before, we can help you organize what you want to do before you do it. We are all friends by now and no one needs to feel embarrassed or uncomfortable. Few of us are public speakers. If you have an idea, let us know (Rob: 339-2058 or Elijah: 742-0343 or Jack 439-0232) and we can work with you towards developing a demo.

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2018

January 28: Matt Brady, weekend blacksmith @ Hancock Shaker Village, will demonstrate how to make a 1 piece corkscrew. Don't miss this one!

February 25: Off site in Central Bridge at Cataldo's new shop: 1485 Grovenors Corners Rd.

March 25: Lee Harvey making a bell

April 29: Noah will be demonstrating how to forge out bolt tongs and this design was taught to him by Japheth Howard and Noah will be making copies of his step bystep plans to hand out. Pictures attached below of what we will be making.

May 27: Jim Moran will demonstrate making a set of calipers and will discuss , "The Golden Rule" (not THAT one, the other!)

The bulk of the day will be dedicated to completing a personal project each member is expected to bring. The goal will be to completely or nearly completing your project within the 3 hour time frame available. So, start thinking and preparing. You will also need to bring your own hammer and safety glasses.

Paul Crosby surprised us today with a demo and his first attempt at Canister Damascus. He used a 1/2" hollow square stock with powdered steel and nail pieces for contrast. Forged out to a solid piece. Only issue was that there were not enough nail pieces for a good contrast.

Jim Moran simultaneously with Paul's demo also demonstrated making a ball at the end of a square stock.

Good turnout in spite of the fact we had no official demonstration scheduled. Next month we also have no one scheduled, so we will wing it once again!

Today's meeting got started on time with Jim discussing the need for members to step up and help out with a variety of tasks as he has been doing most of them for years. Foremost was the monthly need for someone to open up and lock up the shop for every meeting and to prepare the coffee and clean up after. Secondly, we need someone to arrange for monthly demonstrators and to make sure that we have the needed supplies for the demonstrators by keeping track of the current coal and steel in stock. Lastly, we need someone to arrange (get commitments) for the June volunteers to demonstrate/discuss blacksmithing to the Albany School kids which is how we "pay the rent", making CDBA possible. This person will handle this extremely critical task of handling the details and coordination of lining up each volunteer with a time slot and class. Without someone stepping up for this task , our future at Normanside would be in jeopardy

We also had Rand Condell from the Adirondack Folk School in Lake Luzerne discussed in great detail the 2020 National ABANA Blacksmith Conference which will be held in the Saratoga area at the Washington County Fair Grounds. This is a VERY BIG event of national scope and will have some of the foremost national and Canadian smiths demonstrating all levels of smithing - from traditional colonial smiths to high end fabricators to master farriers who work on million dollar horses. There will be many merchandisers, tail-gaters, on-grounds lodging, food courts and several opportunities to actually make something yourself as well as working and volunteering along side some of the best in the blacksmithing field. See the ABANAor the Adirondack Folk School website and the soon to be up and running 2020 specific website. This is a complex event to put on and Rand spoke about how many hands and minds go into pulling something this grand off successfully. Consequently, many volunteers at all levels are needed. If interested, call Rand at the Folk School @ 518-696-2400

This meeting concluded with Jim demonstrating how to make tongs the quick and dirty way he just learned from a fellow smith.

Jim would also like to personally thank Gil Bullock, Paul Crosby and Doug Shepard for their terrific job of cleaning and picking up the forge after the meeting.

There were no takers on the two "auction" vises and are still available at the set price noted earlier. See pictures of them on the cdblacksmith Facebook page. Or, call Jim @ 518-439-5439.

NOTE: SEPTEMBER MEETING IN CENTRAL BRIDGE AT MIKE CATALDO'S HOME SHOP.