In this issue - Artist Blacksmiths Association South Australia

Issue 1 - Spring 2009
The Dodderidge Forge at Angaston - Maintained by the Angaston & Penrice Historical Society
In this issue
• Editorial
• Presidents Note
• In the beginning
• A.B.A.Vic's 20th Anniversary -
• Stan Briggs - a life of a blacksmith.
• How to - Twisting

The Bellows
SPRING EDITION
OCTOBER 2009
EDITOR
Rob Kenning
(08) 83702137
GRAPHIC DESIGN
Rob Kenning
COMMITTEE MEMBERS
PRESIDENT
Chris Carter
(08) 82625415
VICE PRESIDENT
Sonja Hurst
(08) 83860910
SECRETARY
Rob Kenning
TREASURER
Kirstie Stewart
(08) 83779360
GENERAL COMMITTEE
Terry Johnson
(08) 83825559
Cat Lambert
(08) 81650918
Keren Sutcliffe
(08) 82401363
Stan Briggs
(08) 83568868
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Contents
......Cover
......Contents
......Editorial
......Presidents Note
......'the beginnings'
......A.B.A.Vic's 20th Anniversary
......20th Anniversary Highlights
......A.B.A.Vic Art Gallery
......Stan Briggs..'a life of a blacksmith'
......How to...TWISTING
......Useful sites and Contacts
Purposes & Objectives of ABASA Inc
The objectives of the Association shall be to promote, preserve, and develop the Craftsmanship,
and techniques of all the various disciplines associated with Artistic Blacksmithing to the
highest standards possible. Supporting these aims include:
a) To Provide means of communication between mature people with an interest in
the craft of Blacksmithing, for the exchange of ideas, experience, techniques and
information for their mutual bene�t, by the publication of a regular Newsletter.
b) To Encourage a greater awareness of, and interest in the appreciation of the skills
of Blacksmithing among Architects, Interior Designers, Art and Craft groups, and
the general public, and to provide links between Blacksmiths and potential
customers by means of Exhibitions, Demonstrations, and Publications.
c) To Promote and actively provide the opportunity for training in all the various
aspects of Blacksmithing means of demonstrations, lectures, and special tuition
sessions.
d) To Act as a representative body, in the interests of Australian Blacksmiths, locally,
nationally and internationally.
e) To Undertake community service, providing these services are within the
comfortable limits of time, talents and costs that the association and individual
members can a�ord, in the context of the associations, purpose, objectives, rules
and legal obligations
f) To encourage communication and goodwill among Blacksmiths of all Nations.
g) To co-operate with similar associations in every practical way at the local, national
and international level with the interests of the association’s members and
community
h) To ensure the association achieves the purpose and objectives by all
possible legal means.
Page 2

Editorial
Welcome to our �rst edition of The Bellows Newsletter.
The last few months have been anything but slow during the formation of our new association.
There has been an over whelming interest in the creation of an Artistic Association from
blacksmiths all across South Australia and interstate.
The idea of creating an association in South Australia was born out of necessity. There are a large
number of smiths in the state that have no representative body or outlet to meet or communicate
with other members of the trade. We had the idea of starting a guild or association, after meeting
with metal smiths, knife makers and artist blacksmiths at various functions and shows over the last
3 years. Another factor considered, was the prickly subject of Public Indemnity Insurance.
To secure insurance on an individual basis, was an expensive proposition, especially for those of us
who are practising and learning the craft. We have had o�ers of fee free premises to set up a forge,
only to be ham strung on the insurance side of the deal.
The association of artist blacksmiths will have the facility available to our members for full
insurance for all committee approved events, allowing us to spread out and educate the public on
the many and varied facets of our craft.
Our front cover photo depicts the front facing forge area of the Doddridge Forge in Angaston. Our
good friends at the Angaston & Penrice Society have been managing the forge for many years and
have kept it in the same condition as if Hardy Doddridge had just retired. It still has hand bellows on
the two forges. You can close your eyes and imagine your back in the 1900's. The only thing missing
is the sound of horses in the main street. A days work forging with bellows guarantees a good
nights sleep.
The Doddridge Forge allows us a great opportunity to show the public some of the aspects of the
craft of blacksmithing.
Our newsletter will be our communication outlet at this stage, and hopefully, a web site can be
developed down the track. Our key for success will be in gaining input for subject matter from all of
our members in the coming issues. I hope the format of the newsletter sits well for everyone. This is
my �rst try at Desktop Publishing, so any hints and tips from more experienced members and
friends, will be greatly appreciated. It is hoped that the newsletter can be produced as a PDF
document, as most members have computers. For those members who don't, I will endeavour to
produce a hard copy via my local laser printing house in Blackwood.
Our interstate associations in Victoria and New South Wales have very high quality publications,
with very interesting content, and I plan to attain that level of quality over the next few issues.
From my point of view, I believe the quality of the content is the major point to strive for, so having
a good balance of articles will be a good starting point. We will have a broad section of talented
members to draw on, whose life, loves and passions, will create interesting reading for everyone.
I'd like to thank the members of ABA Vic and ABA N.S.W. for their support and encouragement for
this newsletter, especially Amanda Gibson and Graham Moyses.
Thanks also go to Stan Briggs, for his very interseting article on his working career as a blacksmith.
I trust you will enjoy this issue as much as I have in putting it together.
Rob Kenning, Editor
Page 3

Presidents Note...
Over the past four months we have seen
the emergence of our Association take o�
at a rapid rate.
I would say that it has far surpassed any
thing that we could have imagined. There
is already emerging a strong bond of like
minded people who want to see that this
�ne craft is kept alive and that the general
public are made aware that it still lives on.
The support that we have already had
from the Associations in Victoria and New
South Wales has been a valued
encouragement to us all. With the advise
that we have had from them we hope that
we will not have too many hiccups along
the way.
It has been pleasing to see people accept
positions and take responsibilities as
committee members, this makes the
sharing of the load much easier.
One our �rst challenges is to �nd a
suitable location where we can establish a
home base.
I am con�dent that we will �nd such a
location just based on the way things have
been happening for us. It has been
amazing that as we set our focus on an
issue a solution is o�ered from some one.
The networking with others has certainly
come into play. It is great to see something
that was only a dream three years ago
�nally come to fruition. I look forward to
the future with excited enthusiasm as we
all watch and participate in our new
Association. We are lucky to have been
able to secure a
meeting place, courtesy of the Elephant
and Castle Hotel.
Take Care,
Chris Carter.
President
A.B.A.S.A
Page 4

the beginnings................
THE CREATION OF A.B.A.S.A. Inc
In 2006, a class of fourteen began studying a
Certi�cate III in Visual Arts and Contemporary
Craft (Artistic Blacksmithing) at Panorama TAFE
in South Australia. The course was to be the
�rst of a series of courses o�ered at Panorama
and had the aim of training artist blacksmiths
and promoting their ancient skills. Subjects
covered included Hand Forging, Hammer
Forging, Sculpture, Technical drawing, Manual
and Gas metal Arc welding, Conceptual design
and Communication and Occupational Health
and Safety.
As we approached the end of the course, we
learned that we were to be the only graduates,
as Artistic Blacksmithing would not be o�ered
the following year and the forge at Panorama
TAFE would be closed. It was around this time
that the idea of forming a formal group was
seriously discussed. After completing the
course, we kept in touch with each other and
sometimes met for a hit and a chat, but no
further progress on forming our own
association was made. A number of us joined
the South Australian Farriers and Blacksmiths
Association, but found that the emphasis was
on horses and farrier work rather that
decorative or artistic blacksmithing.
Around the same time, a small team of artist
smiths demonstrating at the Dodderidge
Forge at Angaston realised that the public
perception of what artistic blacksmithing
entailed varied from “I thought it was a dead
trade” comments to “do you make horse
shoes?”. These circumstances became the
catalyst in our forming the Artistic Blacksmiths
Association of South Australia. We see it as a
way of supporting each other in our work,
making contact with more experienced
blacksmiths and promoting blacksmithing in
South Australia.
Contact was made with our immediate
colleagues and then amongst those other Artist
Blacksmiths we could �nd. There seemed to be a
desire of many to have an association that could
cater speci�cally to the requirements of the art
of blacksmithing. Those interested included
professionals, retired smiths, amateurs, hobby
blacksmiths and the younger generation, all
wanting the same thing, - to be involved and
participate in the ancient art of blacksmithing.
With advice and encouragement from the New
South Wales and Victorian associations, we
began the process of developing a constitution
and list of aims for the association. A name was
struck, a constitution loosely formed and our
�rst meeting was held in July.
Our association is already growing! Our
inaugural meeting had 7 members present, the
following meeting had 9 members present with
4 apologies. Our recent September meeting had
14 members and 4 apologies. At this time, we
have a solid constitution, a logo and name for
our newsletter. We are aiming to establish a
residence as soon as possible and conduct
training, demonstrations and workshops for the
bene�t of our members and visitors.
The beginning of something new is an exciting
time for all involved and we look forward to the
future and development of our association, and
to working with our colleagues interstate.
Written by Rob Kenning and Kirstie Stewart
Page 5

AUSTRALIAN BLACKSMITHS ASSOCIATION Vic
20th Anniversary By Rob Kenning
After �nding out about the 20th Celebrations
over in Victoria from conversations with
Amanda Gibson, we decided to make the
journey to Mt Martha to attend.
Our SA association was in it's infancy and it
provided a good opportunity to pay a visit and
meet some of our fellow artisans and
introduce ourselves.
We made the bookings for accomodation and
left on a wednesday morning.
Prior to us leaving, Terry Johnson and his wife
Margaret, Kirstie Stewart, Sonja Hurst planned
to come over as well. So, we had 5 members
from our association on the road to Victoria.
Gabe Bullock was already over in Victoria and
would meet up with us on the weekend.
We arrived in Mt Martha in the evening and
booked in to our accomodation. The following
morning we made our way down to the Briars
Park venue and introduced ourselves to
Amanda Gibson.
Amanda was preparing to give a lecture in the
principals and history of her association to
groups of visting school children.
We sat in on her �rst lecture and were very
impressed with the coverage and detail she
provided in her presentation.
After the presentation, we made our way up
the hill to the blacksmith venue to meet up
with the organisers, who were very busy
setting up the venue in readiness for the
weekend.
Our �rst port of call was the Gallery of artistic
work being set up by Paul Mills and his
colleagues. There was a wonderful display of
beautiful wrought iron work on display with
the promise of more items to come in the
following hours. When complete, there was 64
exhibits from 16 artists.
The project theme for the weekend was to
construct a garden gate. There were a few
groups of members working on the
designated elements in the design. The plan
was to have the gate built and auctioned o�
on the Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately, for
various reasons, time ran out for the �nal
assembly, even though all of the forging was
completed.
Over the weekend, the crowds ebbed and
�owed. The wintery weather most likely sti�ed
the crowd numbers, but the interest
generated was quite substantial. I am sure the
Victorian association gained a lot of exposure
and a few new members to bolster their ranks.
I know that we all came away very impressed
with the quality of work and professionalism
shown in the organisation.
Aside from ourselves, there was a number of
N.S.W members there to help out and we
managed to meet most of the men and
women instrumental in the formation of both
eastern states associations.
Malcolm Paine, from WA was also there to
tutor and demonstrate his extensive talents at
the anvil. Kirstie was lucky enough to gain
some experience in forge welding, and did
herself proud on her �rst attempt.
Saturday night saw us attend a dinner at
'Josephines' restaurant. Michael Dunn, the
secretary of A.B.A.Vic was the master of
ceremonies and provided an opening speech
followed by the induction of Keith Towe as
Patron to the association.
On Sunday, the forges ran hot and furious as
the smiths completed the last of the forging
for the gate. The auction managed to raise
$1,500.00 for the association.
Sadly, it came to an end and we said our
goodbyes over a few drinks at the gallery.
All in all, it was a fantastic weekend and we all
came away inspired.
Page 6

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE ABAVic 20th CELEBRATIONS
Members from ABASA at the gallery.
Forged bowls by Paul Mills.
Ray Gard educating the crowd (Gate pattern on Left wall).
Don Marshall working on the project Garden Gate.
A collection of leaves for the "Tree of Life" project. Kirstie Stewart trying out at forge welding.
Page 7

GALLERY HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE ABAVic 20th CELEBRATIONS
Decorative Bowl by Mary Hackett
Bookends by Malcolm Paine
One branch of many of the 'Tree of Life'
by Blacksmiths worldwide
20th Anniversary Screen by A.B.A.Vic members Music Stand by Paul Mills
Photography by Rob and Jen Kenning
Page 8

Written by Stan Briggs.
M E M B E R S S T O R Y
Stan Briggs...life of a blacksmith
At school my best subjects were woodworking and
metal work. I �nished school at the age of 14 to 15
years. My father, who was employed by the
Southern Railways in England, got me a job in the
railway work-shops where they needed a young lad.
And so my career started.
The workshops were situated in New Cross, a suburb
of London. They were divided into two workshops.
Workshop One had 3 Blacksmiths working on
repairing Carriages and Steam Locomotives.
Workshop Two built and repaired the timber framed
coal wagons. This was where I worked.
We worked a 48 hour week over 6 days, with an
hour for lunch. Everyone worked on
Piece work. You were paid a basic wage and then
the bonus on production. The Railway had a strange
way to pay wages, the Blacksmith was paid, and he
in turn, paid the hammer-man, so they both got a
share of the bonus money. I was paid just the basic
pay.
The Blacksmith I worked with was in his mid
seventies and came from the West country of
England, where his father had his own smithy
shop. He was farrier and wheelwright and repaired
agriculture machinery for many years.
The best way to learn Blacksmithing was as he did,
by watching and asking questions. The forge only
burnt the best coke that came from steam coal. It
was a soft coke but large, about the size of a football,
and was kept outside the work-shop.
A part of my job was to take a wheel barrow and a
large wood mallet and break up the coke into small
pieces, then sieve it to remove the dust, and wheel it
to the forge. A barrow load would last a days work.
The Blacksmith said he would teach me the art of �re
welding. For this I needed a very clean �re, and he
used wet coal dust around the �re and over the hot
coke to make a small oven. I was shown how to
bump up the metal to be welded, as you lose metal
in welding and scurf.
I was told to stand next to him and I was shown how
to bring the metal to a welding heat using silver sand
as a �ux. This also stopped the ends from burning.
The power hammer was electric compressed air
driven, and could used by foot control or hand lever.
I was shown how to use the hand lever when the
Blacksmith was forging.
By the time I was 20 the Hammer-man decided to
retire and I took over his job. Also a 2nd Blacksmith
started. His name was George and he was Welsh, but
only stayed about 6-7 months, as he took another
position on the underground railway. About this
time the old Blacksmith said he was retiring. “About
time” everyone said. He must be at least 81 years
old!!, and so, I took over as the Blacksmith.
Around this time the Labour Government
nationalised the railways and huge cost savings were
put in place. The railway wagon stock was getting
too expensive to repair and they started buying all
steel wagons. Also, steam was on the way out, and
diesel electric locomotives replaced them.
After three years as Blacksmith, I was made
redundant, so I found job with SW Farmer & Sons
Engineering Company. They produced construable
work and balustrade. The government, at this time,
was building multi storey �ats, so balustrade was
needed for the stairways.
Page 9

As you can imagine, there was plenty of work
around.But in time, completion made it to
expensive to keep on with this type of work, and it
was closed down. I was o�ered work in the forging
section, but as I didn't want to do this style of work, I
left. I found work in a small company doing
ballasting work, but within nine months I was
o�ered a Blacksmith position with British Portland
Cement Co. doing forging and repair work, but no
�re welding.
The workshop had an engineering section
Blacksmith shop with 2 Blacksmiths and a boiler
making section.
We had an agreement that the Blacksmiths worked
the bar and round metal work and the Boilermakers
did plate work and Arc Welding. Sometimes, this
was a joint e�ort, with Blacksmiths and
boilermakers working together.
The company gave the employees a number of nonsaleable
shares for each year of service and each
year you received a bonus on each share you held
on the pro�t the company made, this was paid in
cash.
They used to send a van to the bank with six of the
biggest employee's armed with pickax handles to
collect the bonus money. The money as never lost.
The Cement Co. was situated in the Medway town
of North�eet, so we sold our house and moved that
way. I worked there for 5 years, but again the
company said that production was coming to an
end in a year of two, as they were running short of
materials and new ways of producing cement were
being found.
Australia, in 1960's, was looking for skilled
workers so I applied to come to Australia.
As we were government assisted, they advised us to
go to Melbourne. They arranged a place at the
Brooklyn Hostel in Footscray.
Not far from the hostel, a company called K.M
Steels produced metal bar and rounds etc for the
local industries, as there was a shortage of this.
B.H.P only supplied this material when they were
producing that run.
I was able to get a job with them making entry and
exit boxes for the rolling mill, and also cutting tools
for the machine shop that made the rollers. For
reasons I would prefer not to write, this was coming
to an end.
We decided we did not want to live in Melbourne
after that, and we were told Adelaide might be a
better place for us. I told the Hostel Authorities that
I wanted a transfer to a hostel in Adelaide but was
told I couldn't do this. When I asked reasons why,
we were told we were migrants to Victoria not
South Australia. Meanwhile, I was o�ered a job in
Adelaide, and I ended up going by myself.
The Hostel Authority would have to look after my
family while I was gone. I was told not to do this,
they would see what they could do.
In a short time, we were given a transfer to a small
hostel in Glenelg near the airport.
I bought a 2nd hand Holden and drove to Adelaide
and to the hostel. I worked for Horwood Bagshaws
for a short time, then found a job as a Jibing
Blacksmith with the Adelaide Steamship Co.
They had a workshop at Lipson street, Port
Adelaide, where I worked for 2 1/2 years.
Eventually, they made this job redundant, and I
transferred to the Adelaide Ship Construction at
Birkenhead for another 2 1/2 years. When they
closed the ship yard, myself and three others went
to Freighters at Seaton, welding Sea Container's for
a short time.
While I was at Freighters, I saw an advert for a
Blacksmith with the Adelaide Gas Co.
Their workshop was located in Gilbert Street,
Adelaide. The street gangs were also there. I later
moved to the Brompton works, where I retired
after 24 years of service.
Page 10

Stan Briggs...Gallery
Candle Holder
Garden Gate
Stan Briggs at work at S.A.G.A.S.C.O.
Now that Stan has retired, he has a small forge set
up at home and creates pieces of work for friends
and family.
Page 11

How To............. TWISTING
Twisting square stock, is one of the easiest feats to accomplish for beginners. It immediately creates a
pleasant shape with an otherwise boring square pro�le stock.
First thing to decide is how far along the bar do you wish to twist and how many turns to give the bar to
achieve the e�ect you want.
With the simplest of tools, you will need a sturdy vice or post vice to hold the bar, and some form of a
turning device. This can be an adjustable spanner or a custom made twisting bar.
It is easy to make a twisting bar from a piece of similar stock, then weld it together.
Between using a spanner and twisting bar, you will �nd it easier to maintain a straight twist with a two
handed bar than a spanner, as the twisting force can be applied evenly. If you intend to do a lot of twisting
work, it may pay dividends to build a jig frame with adjustable points of clamping. A jig frame allows
repetitive, uniform and straight twists to be created.
Which ever way you decide, another important point is even heating of the bar. An even heat gives you an
even twist. If the bar is red heat one end and orange at the other, you will get a twist that goes from tight to
loose.
by Rob Kenning
As an example, we will do a 10cm twist on some 12mm square stock.
Mark with a scriber or marble chalk, where the twist is going and place that section in the �re to a depth of
one third down from the top of the �re and give the section a good soaking heat. Meantime, set up your
tools ready to move quickly.
When the section is evenly coloured light orange, remove the bar from the �re and clamp the piece on the
outside of one of your marked points. Then �t the tool and evenly turn the tool one or two full turns,
depending on how tight you want the twist.
If you �nd that the twist is distorted, don't use a steel hammer to straighten it out or you will damage the
pro�le. Instead, use a wooden stump and a block of wood or wooden mallet to bring it straight.
Good luck and good forging.
Degrees of twist
Page 12

Blacksmiths Associations
Blacksmiths Association Western Australia
http://bawa.webkroll.com/
Australian Blacksmiths Association Victoria
http://www.abavic.org.au/
British Artist Blacksmiths Association
http://www.baba.org.uk/
Artist Blacksmiths Association of America Inc
http://www.abana.org/
Blacksmiths Information and Forums
All styles of metalcraft information
http://www.metalartistforum.com/
All styles of Blacksmith information
http://www.iforgeiron.com/forum/
Social networking for the metal arts
http://www.artmetal.com/index.php
David Robertson (Ontario Artist Blacksmith)
http://www.artistblacksmith.com/
Useful Sites and Suppliers
Blacksmiths Supplies
Stirling Fuel Supplies
Mount Barker Rd Cnr Gould Rd, STIRLING, SA 5152
Phone: (08) 83392021
Metalcorp Steel
285 Grand Junction Road OTTOWAY SA 5013
Phone: (08) 8301 3777
Email: Bronwyn.Garrick@bluescopesteel.com
Southern Steel Supplies
69- 71 O'Sullivan Beach Rd LONSDALE SA 5160
Phone: 1300 302 993
Horse Shoes 'R' Us
9 Alabar Crs GLOBE DERBY PARK SA 5110
Phone: (08) 8281 0689
Fantech Pty Ltd
17A Seaforth Avenue SOMERTON PARK SA 5044
Phone:(08) 83770502
EBM Blowers
17/ 2 Portrush Rd PAYNEHAM SA 5070
Phone: (08) 88363544
If you have any contacts and web sites you
would like to have included, contact the
Secretary.
Page 13