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7418 Branch Point
Houston, TX 77095-2649
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Dave Koenig
at Tudor Forge
in Magnolia
Dave Koenig continues to develop his skill at bowl making which he will share with us at a hands-on demo and workshop at his Tudor Forge in Magnolia. Dave was recently featured in ABANA's Hammers Blow publication with the instructional handout he provided for our Feburary meeting Bowling with the Smiths. Click Raising a Bowl, Raising Awareness for a reprint.Dave recently replied with an email to an inquiry from an out-of-state smith who enjoyed the recent Hammer's Blow front cover and article...
Glad you like the vessel on the cover of the Blow!
The vessel is made from 14 gauge sheet metal. There are a number of textures on the vessel. Here they are starting from the outside and working inward:
- The variations on the edges are the result of cutting the vessel stock out of a larger sheet with a chisel.
- The corners are the result of lightly sanding the steel as it comes out of the fire and with no tool manipulation.
- The outside and inside rings are made with two different sizes of chasing 'butchers' purchased from Mark Gardner at www.floodplaneforge.com. The smaller butcher is used on outside and the larger one is used to ring the edge of the depression.
- The narrow and wide rings cut by the edges of the vessel are sanded to a smooth finish prior to being colored with "blacksmiths's gold'....brass brush with heat.
- The interior of the depression is the result of sinking with two different sizes of embossing hammers...hammers with ball faces on each end. One hammer weighs two pounds and the other weighs one pound.
The first step is to thin the 14 gauge by hammering the depression area with the large hammer. The result is overlapping 'crater' depressions. Step two is to begin sinking the area in a stump. During this process the 'crater' patters is smeared resulting is what you see in the photograph. Note that the craters are pretty much erased when the bottom of the vessel is formed. The smaller hammer was used to create the rounded corner of the bottom. - Once the vessel is formed it is sanded to a smooth finish....down to a 400 grit in this case. When someone picks the vessel up it feels expectantly smooth and heavy. Several people say it feels soft. Whatever the term, the tactile results are unexpected and pleasant.
I have this fascination to see what can be accomplished with only hand tools.
Attached are a couple of pix of the vessel in color. (click to enlarge)
If you have any other questions, please ask away!
