March 2007 HABA Houston Area Blacksmith's Association

Houston
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Blacksmith's
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7418 Branch Point
Houston, TX 77095-2649

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To Preserve and Promote the Art and Craft of Blacksmithing Through Education.

Welcome to HABAIRON.ORG, the website of the Houston Area Blacksmith's Association, the Internet resource of choice for the blacksmith in and around Houston, Texas. We have the technology!

March 17, 2007

Busy Smiths will Buckle Up and Get Lucky

with

Dave Koenig
at Tudor Forge
in Magnolia

March will be a very busy month in the region, and especially with HABA, and will go full speed into April! If you can help with the several public demos give Tee Hines a call.

March 3-4 - Barrington Farm Texas Independence Day Demo
March 10-11 - LAMA's Conference "Banging On the Bayou " at Beaver Park in Lafayette, LA.
March 17 - Belt Buckle Hammer-In at Dave Koenigs in Magnolia
March 23/25 - Bayou City Art Festival
March 31 - Katy Folklife Festival featuring a HABA demonstrator.
March 31/April 1 Balcones Bluebonnet Workshop with Dorothy Steigler.
April 6/8 - Spring Blacksmith Roundup at Oldenburg will be focused on Friday and Saturday this year. Download the info at Round-Up 2007

The purpose of the belt buckle workshop is to have fun making a functional belt buckle from a piece sheet metal. The proposed design will be an anvil but participants are not limited to an anvil design. Butterflies, boats, hammers, tongs, flowers are all possible. The only limitation to any design is your imagination.

For those who have the book Practical Project for the Blacksmith by Ted Tucker, go to chapter 39 on page 180. The belt buckle project is just one of many projects in Tucker’s book. What to bring:

Forge, fuel, anvil, and vise if you have them.
A forging hammer
A tong to handle sheet metal up to three sixteenths inch stock.
A chisel with no sharp corners to cutout the initial form.
Any special punches you think you will need to decorate your buckle.
A half round double cut file or two to clean up the edges.
Soapstone or silver pencil to draw on the sheet metal.
Sandpaper...100, 200 and 300 series grits to create a smooth finish.
Some of your favorite paste wax.
Any scrap metal about 3/16 inches thick or a little less. A thicker gauge will give more depth to the buckle.

Tudor Forge will provide an eleven gauge piece of carbon steel four inches long by two and a quarter inches wide for those members who want to emulate the anvil buckle in the picture.

PLEASE NOTE: As is the custom at most workshops, sharing tools is common. Please remember to do a couple of things if you borrow a tool. One, remember from whom you borrowed a tool and make sure you return it by telling that person you are returning it. Two, make sure you look over your tools before you depart to make sure you have only what you came with...nothing missing and nothing extra. It takes more effort to return or find a tool than to double check before leaving the meeting!

See you at the March HABA meeting!!

These web links may be of further interest to you....

Here are some photos from the day featuring some of the dozen+ buckles made.....click to enlarge....

These are some photos from Les Cook.....

When & Where :

Saturday, March 17 :

The schedule looks like this for Saturday morning:

8:00 am : Sign in and setup
8:30 am : HABA Meeting and Announcements
9:00 am : Begin Demo
9:00 am : Begin Workshop
12 pm : Break for Lunch
1 pm : Continue Workshop
5 pm : Conclude before dark

Where :

Dave Koenig's Tudor Forge in Magnolia, Texas

Directions to Tudor Forge

From Houston:

Take 249 NW from Houston. Travel through the towns of Tomball, Decker Prairie and Pinehurst. At Pinehurst 249 changes to 1774. Stay on 1774. About three miles ahead on 1774 look for a Shell station on the west side of the road. One half mile past the Shell station, turn left or west on Tudor Way. There is a small white realtor office on the corner. You will find the forge about a mile down the road on the left.

Or if you are coming from Magnolia:

From the intersection of 1488 and 1774 in Magnolia, go south on 1774 about 4 miles. Look for Tudor Way just after the Country Jamboree building. Turn right and follow the signs. If you see the Shell station you went too far.

What to Bring

Bring safety glasses with side shields. This is a requirement!

Bring your forges and tools. A number of forges will be available.

Plan to bring a lunch or eat at a local restaurant.

Bring a chair to sit in.

You do not have to be a member to attend our meetings! Bring a Guest!

Bring your Membership Dues if you want to work at a forge and are not a current Member !

Minors are welcome but must be accompanied by a responsible adult.

Notes about this Website

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Please send all feedback/correction/omission/suggestions to your webmaster, Richard Boswell .
Enjoy!