Issue 2 - Summer 2009

The Doddridge Forge at Angaston - Maintained by the Angaston & Penrice Historical Society

In this issue
• Editorial.
• Presidents Note.
• Members Story... Cat Lambert.
• Angaston Forge.
• How to...Making Collars

• Workshop Review..Making Tongs

• Blacksmith Doris Day
 The Bellows Contents
SUMMER EDITION
DECEMBER 2009 ....Cover.. Angaston Forge / Chris Fuller taking a heat
1
EDITOR ....Contents
2
Rob Kenning
(08) 83702137 ....Editorial
3
GRAPHIC DESIGN

Rob Kenning ....Presidents Note

4
....Members Story...Cat Lambert
5
....Angaston Forge...Then and Now
7
....How To...Making Collars
COMMITTEE MEMBERS
9
PRESIDENT ....Workshop Review...Making Tongs with Geoff Barnes
11
Chris Carter
(08) 82625415 ....The Birth of Blacksmith Doris by Kirstie Stewart
12
VICE PRESIDENT

Sonja Hurst 13 ....Useful sites and Contacts

(08) 83860910
SECRETARY
Purposes & Objectives of ABASA Inc
The objectives of the Association shall be to promote, preserve, and develop the Craftsmanship,
Rob Kenning and techniques of all the various disciplines associated with Artistic Blacksmithing to the
highest standards possible. Supporting these aims include:
TREASURER 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
Kirstie Stewart information for their mutual benefit, by the publication of a regular Newsletter.
(08) 83779360 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
GENERAL COMMITTEE customers by means of Exhibitions, Demonstrations, and Publications.
c) To Promote and actively provide the opportunity for training in all the various
Terry Johnson aspects of Blacksmithing means of demonstrations, lectures, and special tuition
(08) 83825559 sessions.
d) To Act as a representative body, in the interests of Australian Blacksmiths, locally,
nationally and internationally.
Cat Lambert e) To Undertake community service, providing these services are within the
(08) 81650918 comfortable limits of time, talents and costs that the association and individual
members can afford, in the context of the associations, purpose, objectives, rules
Keren Sutcliffe and legal obligations
(08) 82401363 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
Stan Briggs and international level with the interests of the association’s members and
(08) 83568868 community
h) To ensure the association achieves the purpose and objectives by all
possible legal means.
Page 2
 Editorial
Welcome to our second edition of The Bellows Newsletter.

It has been a hectic couple of months. We have finally achieved our association registration
and set up our administrative bits and pieces. I feel like we are ready to fire up and get into it.
Interest has been coming in from our colleagues all over the state as regards to enrolment
into our association.

On Tuesday 10th, a hand full of committee members attended the Old Tailem Town site for a
look around and chat with Peter Squires, the owner manager. We took a 'Cooks Tour' of the
town and the forges to see what was available and what promise it held. There are three
forges in various states of repair, ranging from possibly workable to 'heavy maintenance' prior
to firing up. The anvils are in pretty good condition, as are some of the tongs. Most of the post
vices require a strip down and possibly renewed spring plates. It's all do-able with a bit of
elbow grease and the power of fire. A few weekends spent getting everything ship shape
prior to forging, will pay dividends. A volunteer working party will be organised next year to
start the ball rolling.

We have had our first demonstration workshop in tong making, courtesy of Geoff and Adam
Barnes. The demonstration was attended by 10 members and proved to be very enlightning,
especially for our members starting out in the profession.
In the newsletter this quarter, we look deeper into the workings and history of Angastons
Doddridge Forge. An invitation from The Angaston & Penrice Historical Society has been sent
to the ABASA volunteers to attend a BBQ on the 8th of December. I hope that we can coax a
few more members to hop on the roster and have the opportunity to work in such a historical
setting. It certainly makes you appreciate the modern trappings in the smithys today.
We also have a planned BBQ at Kerens place in Rosewater on the 23rd of January next year, to
celebrate the association formation and the commissioning of her forge. Members are asked
to bring all you need in the way of food and drinks and lets hope for a wonderful day
weatherwise and a good turn out of members. Details will be sent out shortly.

It has been a fantastic six months since we began and I hope my feelings of a positive New
Year are felt by all our members.

I trust the Newsletter is fitting in with the tastes of you, the members. Don't hold back if you
want to be involved with the newsletter. Kirstie and Cat have taken the leap in putting pen
and camera to work. I hope you find their articles interesting.

In the New Year, we will hold our first meeting on February 25th. I'd like to see everyone turn
up if possible, so that we can plan out the year ahead and get everyone inspired to fire up and
forge ahead.

With all that said, I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Rob Kenning, Editor

Page 3
Presidents Note...

Well time seems to have slipped past us as we fast

approach Christmas and the end of the year. The last two
months have seen the growth of our Association. Since
our registration we have now 18 financial members and
about 20 who have expressed an interest in joining. Our
first demonstration day which was held at Geoff Barnes’
forge was well attended with 10 members there. Thanks
Geoff and Adam for a great teaching session on tong
making. We look forward to future demos’. We continue to have good attendance at
the meetings and our thanks go to the Elephant and Castle Hotel for their hospitality.
Thanks to One Steel for their donation of coke and to Andy Hartup for transporting it
down to Adelaide for us. Looking towards 2010 we have a great challenge in ensuring
that we have an exciting and educational program, which will be of interest to all
members. The list we have for workshops now will give us a good base to start with.
How we can participate as blacksmiths at the Royal Adelaide Show will be an
interesting exercise. However I think that the more we are in the public arena the
more people will be aware that the craft of blacksmithing is alive and well. As a
committee we will have to look at the structure of our meetings to ensure that the
needs of the members is being maintained.

Trusting that you all have a Merry Christmas and a happy and peaceful New Year.

Regards
Chris Carter
President
ABASA

Page 4
 MEMBERS STORY
Cat Lambert....
After returning from the UK with two children to look after, Cat didn't want to
return to her previous job in PR based office work. She happened to read an ad in the
local paper about an Artistic Blacksmithing course at TAFE.
An appointment was made at the Panorama TAFE college, where she met with the
instructor and the other students, and received a briefing of the course curriculum.
It sounded perfect for her plans to work at home and be with her children.
After starting the course with a dozen other students, Cat found great enjoyment
from the fellowship and camarderie that developed.
I asked Cat,"What were your favourite elements to forge?" (Cat) Twists and collars,
strangely enough. I found that scrolls didn't come naturally but I did love combining
the elements to get an overall effect. I also enjoyed working with the group and
seeing how others attacked the same task in our brief.
"How did your Norwood Primary School
Commission come about?"
(Cat) I went to the school interview to enrol my
son, Felix. During the interview I mentioned my
plans to undertake working as a Blacksmith and
that got the attention of the principal, Rob
Harkin.
Rob had previously floated a commission for a
sculpture to two other local blacksmiths, who
didn't show any interest in taking it on.
When I said that I would be interested, he
organised a Community Arts Grant through the
Norwood and St Peters Council. The school
had a fairly well planned design in mind that
would need to be followed and it involved
a lot of consultation with the students and aboriginal tribal members of the Narangga clan.

"Could you describe the commission brief in detail?" (Cat)The brief was based on the reconciliation and healing
of the Point Pearce community and was to include a wrought iron panel, featuring the tribal totems of the
Narangga tribe. Their totems included the Red Kangaroo, Emu, White Shark and the Sea Eagle. The panel was
part of Norwood schools acknowledgement of their part in the journey of healing, and to celebrate Norwood
schools relationship with the Point Pearce community.
I involved the senior students in the design of the elements of the panel. We talked about simplicity of design,
structural strength and that the panel should be double sided with the design visible from both sides. The
children sketched the tribal totems and the other elements, to represent their interpretation of the Narangga
people. These elements included the sun and clouds, fire and waves. Unfortunately, because of extensive
renovations at the school the sculpture couldn't be mounted on site for the ceremony.

"Any trouble building it?" (Cat) It was helpful to have the skills of a fellow blacksmith, Rob Kenning, to help with
welding of the frame and converting the sketches in Rhino, to a format that the laser cutters could use. He also
helped with working out the radius of the arch and other structural bits and peices. Also, having advice from
others, like the laser cutters, in the structural requirements allowed me to concentrate on the artistic elements of
the commission. I found it a big advantage to draw the design out in real size on the concrete floor, that way, I
found it easier to provide the third parties with the correct dimensions to work with. I think that such a strong
structural design wouldn't have been achievable without the help of a lot of knowledgeable people.

Article and Pictures by Cat Lambert and Rob Kenning. Page 5

(cont)
"Would you do things differently on a similar
project?" (Cat) I would probably follow the same
process but I would allow myself more lead time
between stages. I mean, you can push yourself but you
can't push the third parties involved. I was lucky that
this job seemed to take on an organic flow to it and
that the end result was an artwork that was simple in
it's translation. I think that any child between 5 and 12
can interpret the scroll work and know that it
represents waves, for instance.
The biggest disappointment I had was with the Porters
product I used for the finish. It didn't turn out as I
expected and it has created a patchy appearance that
was impossible to correct. I think more trialing with
finishes is needed and I hope we can do that with
Applying the finish.
A.B.A.S.A in the New Year. I think that would help us
all out in finding out what works and what doesn't.

Since both graduating from TAFE as Artist Blacksmiths, Cat

currently shares a workshop with Kirstie Stewart.

Waves of Scrolls. Aboriginal dancers

The unveiling ceremony was attended by the entire school assembly, School Principal Rob Harkin, Local Member Vini Ciccarello and Artistic
Aboriginal dancers and guests. Blacksmith Cat Lambert
Page 6
On any Weekend or Public Holiday, the ring of the Angaston rallied together to purchase the many tools
anvil can be heard in the main street of Angaston. It is and equipment. The forge was run as a private
the sound of blacksmiths playing out the cycle of concern in the interim until the 25th October 1996,
forging at the Doddridge Forge. when the forge opened to the general public under
Visitors strolling along the street can wander through the care of the Angaston and Penrice Historical
the forge and immerse themselves in the history, and Society. The society has managed to maintain the
culture, and get a feel of what life was like all those historical heritage of the forge and have resisted the
years ago. urge to update the equipment, prefering instead, to
The well informed volunteers can relate the workings keep it in the condition it was in at the time of
and surrounding of the forge, and the blacksmiths Hardy's passing.
will gladly answer questions on the ancient art of Over the years, a steady stream of volunteer guides
blacksmithing. and Blacksmiths have been present each weekend, to
The A&H Doddridge forge remains one of the very fire the forges and display their skills to the public.
few forges that operate on a regular basis in the main Much of the equipment in the forge is from the
street of a South Australian town. A well populated bygone era. Items such as plough seats, wheel rims,
list of blacksmiths volunteer their afternoons, firing bridles and farrier equipment, line the walls and
the forges using traditional bellows to fire the coke. rafters.
The history of the forge began with the arrival to
South Australia, of William Doddridge, in 1873.
William bought with him a couple of forges and a
large bellows. He settled down at Kangaroo Island for
a few years before moving to Port Adelaide and then
onto Penrice.
In 1873, Williams son, John, established the current
smithy and, along with his brother Charles, ran the
business.
In 1881, the business was transferred to Charles and
his family. The two sons of Charles were Albert and
Hardy.
In 1902, Hardys father passed away and Hardy took
over the reins with his brother Albert till 1946, and
then became the sole proprietor until his retirement
at the age of 80. Even then, Hardy was still tinkering
around the forge till the age of 90.
The forge was the industrial center of the town of
Angaston, and provided all the services required for
shoeing horses, making and mending wheels and
providing the necessary hardware for the farming
sector.
After Hardy's passing, the property went up for
auction in 1982.
With the risk of losing the town icon, the residents of
The late Hardy Dodderidge Page 7
Blacksmiths volunteering for duties in the forge come
from a wide range of locations, including Lindsay Park
Stud, young people keen to learn, and in the last three
years, members of the Artist Blacksmiths Association
here in S.A.
A.B.A.S.A. Secretary, Rob Kenning explaining the finer points of
drawing down to a young apprentice, Tina Herd.
A.B.A.S.A. currently have seven members on the
roster and there is plenty of room for more. The forge
attracts many tourists through the door and they are
always amazed at
the amount of
objects on display,
and the forging
work undertaken
by the blacksmiths.
The enthusiastic
band of volunteers
from the Angaston
and Penrice
Historical Society,
man the doors and
give the visitors a
guided tour of the
forges history and
workings. At the
rear of the forge,
visitors can view
the vintage Turners
Butchers truck and
a power hammer from the Tanunda winery, that was
used for producing barrel hoops. There is also a large
bellows and wooden wagon on display.
The Butchers truck still runs and takes part in the
various ceremonies and parades that occur Angaston.
As well as blacksmithing equipment, there is also a
stationary belt drive engine and the wheelwright
tooling used in producing wagon wheel tyres.
The stationary engine is sometimes started up at the
open of business and runs continuously during the
afternoon producing a rhythmic thumping beat in
tune with the sound of hammers on hot iron.
Ron Schilling and Brian Schubert (pictured below)are
two of the mainstays of the Angaston & Penrice
Historical Society. Along with Joe Doddridge and the
new volunteer coordinator Dean Messner, they do an
admiral job of maintaining the forge and organising
the volunteers.
A.B.A.S.A. looks forward to our association with the
Doddridge Forge, and together, we hope to conduct
workshops and demonstration days, as well as assist in
maintenace and organisation of the site.
The Angaston Forge is a fantastic forge to work in, for
any smiths starting out and for any one who enjoys the
historic surroundings and working with the public.
Anyone from within the Artist Blacksmiths
Association South Australia, who wishes to be part of
the team or even visit for the day, please contact Rob
Kenning on 83702137 to arrange for a trip up to the
forge.
Story by Rob Kenning
Research by Ron Schilling
Page 8
How To............. COLLARS
by Rob Kenning

Collaring of iron work has been in use in So, what do you need to forge and fit collars.
Blacksmithing from the beginning. There were very Other than a hammer, anvil, mandrel and a jig, you
few options available for securing multiple elements will need some reverse opening tongs to prepare the
of iron work. Riveting and fire welding could be used collar for fitting, and a pair of flat nose tongs big
in limited ways, but collaring gave an enhanced look enough to close around the opened collar to close it
and strength to the final finish. up around your work.
When the collar is fitted hot and closed up you may
There are many styles of collaring, depending on the need a dolly block held by a colleague, while you use
type of iron work to be secured. The types fall into a hammer to work the collar tightly closed. And all of
two main catagories of Artistic or Decorative banding this has to be performed while you have a workable
and the other style is Structural collaring. heat in the collar.
Like forge welding, failure to work quickly can result
The Artistic style collaring usually has fullered lines or in a sloppy fit. Unfortunately, there isn't any easy fix if
textures forged onto its face and is hot forged around the collar is loose other than cutting it off and starting
the iron work to form a band. It usually has little in again.
the way of squareness to its edges and faces and
provides a decorative feature as well as a functional
property to the work.
Structural collaring, on the other hand, can be
formed from any size stock that suits the work, but
using a 2:1 ratio profile provides the best look and
provides the best strength. 2:1 ratio material can be
20mm x 10mm, 16mm x 8mm, 12mm x 6mm etc.
For instance, a gate made with 16mm square bar stock
verticals and 16mm x 8mm scrollwork would look
best fitted with 16mm x 8mm collaring. The same gate
made from 12mm square verticals and 12mm x 6mm
scrolls could use 12mm x 6mm stock.
The jig can be made from a piece of flat bar and pieces
Collaring , like many other facets of forging, requires of square stock with chamfered edges welded in place.
frequent practice to achieve consistant results and can
be frustrating on your first attempts. But, stick with it,
as there is no better feeling than closing up a collar
and quench shrinking it aroung the ironwork to
achieve a vice like grip.
Page 9
How To.............
The mandrel is made up to the measurements of the
profile or cross section to be collared.
In this example, that would be a length of 16mm
square stock with a piece of 16mm x 8mm stock each
side. Cut the side stock at least three times the width
of the collar material. This will give you a bit of room
to move as the collar may travel a bit while shaping the
corners.
'V' grind the stock and weld together. After welding
the pieces together, grind the faces back to original
size and put a slight chamfer or draught angle about
1/3rd of the distance from the end, on all sides, to
allow the collar to slide off easily after forming.
Once you have the jig and mandrel made you can cut
and mark out the collar. The formula for working out
the collar length is the length of all sides and twice the
collar thickness.
In this example: 32+16+32+16+16=112mm.
COLLARS
I mark the centre and bottom inside bends with a
light chisel mark.
Take a heat on the collar to bright orange, place on
the jig block , line up the mandrel and strike the
mandrel to force the collar into the jig.
Once the edges are 90 degrees you can finish off the
forging on the anvil. Take another heat on the collar
and then hammer over the sides to close up the collar.
At this point, the corners need to be formed. This is
achieved by striking the collar close to the corners
and rotating the mandrel around and working the
corners as you go. Care must be taken to keep the
hammer blows to the bare minimum to prevent
drawing out the stock too much.
It may take a few heats to achieve, but eventually you
will end up with nice sharp corners. Any side bulges
can be adjusted by using a flatter.
Refer to the picture below to see the work flow.
Once the collar has been formed, it is a matter of
taking a heat and using a pair of reversing tongs to
open the collar up wide enough to fit around the
ironwork.
After one more heat, and working swiftly, place the
collar around the ironwork and close the collar up
with suitable tongs and adjust the closure using a
hammer and dolly block. As the collar cools, it will
shrink around the ironwork and provide a secure
fastening of the elements.
Page 10
 WORKSHOP REVIEW
Making Tongs
Our first workshop demonstration hosted by Geoff
Barnes was very well attended and highly informative.
Ten members undertook the mornings event.
I have seen a few tong making demo's before, but none
of them matched the standard set by Geoff.
With the temperture in the 40's, I envisaged the
members sweltering away and losing concentration,
but everyone was riveted to the spot (pardon the pun)
with Geoffs thorough explainations and clear tuition.
Geoff made up a set of light weight flat nose tongs
using the powerhammer on one half and fire welding
reins on the other side. Each step of the process was
clearly explained, with the pit falls and common
mistakes pointed out. At the end of the day, I'm sure
everyone would have had a clear grasp of the methods
required to produce their own tongs at home.
In the coming weeks, we may be able to persuade
Geoff to demonstrate the forging of other types of
tongs. This will be of great help to those of us starting
out beginning our own collections of specialised tongs.
The most important point that was born out of the
demonstration, was the need to plan and have a shape
and purpose in mind of the type of tong and the shape
required before putting hammer to metal. Geoff used a
piece of 16mm square to make a lightweight set and
described the sizes of stock required to make the next
size up for holding the larger stock.
Geoff began his demonstration by heating one end and
then placing an inch of steel over the front edge of the
anvil and reduced it down to half its original thickness,
striking the stock in line with the anvils edge.
The next step was to take a heat, turn the piece 90
degrees to his left, and then place the piece on a slight
angle on the far edge of the anvil with the previous
drawn out section over hanging. Again, striking over
the edge of the anvil, reduce the stock to one half its
thickness.
The final move for the rough out shape, was to again
turn the piece a quarter of a turn left and place on the
far edge of the anvil perpendicular to the anvil and
draw down the stock behind the boss.
!"#$!%&'"!()*+&,
After drawing down behind the boss, Geoff, with
Adam as striker, hot cut about an inch and a half
down the piece in preparation for welding on the rein.
The other half was a replication except the reins were
drawn down under the power hammer. Using a piece
of 10mm round, Geoff upset and scarfed the end. He
then forge welded the rein onto the first piece, then
riveting followed by setting the tongs in the vice with a
piece of stock in the jaws.
Of course, this all sounds easy to describe, but pictures
say a thousand words. For this reason, we have two
DVDs of the session, taken from different perspectives,
available to members.
Following the demonstration, we retired beneath the
Wisteria for a few drinks and a chat. We would like to
thank Geoff and Helena for their hosting of the event
and the excellent demonstration by Geoff and Adam.
The second position for forming the boss.
Hopefully, we can plan a few more demonstrations
with Geoff and organise to have a series of small
workshops at various members forges in the New Year.
Once again, Angaston forge would be a good location
to have some of the more experienced members
demonstrate and teach some of the basics of
blacksmithing.
Page 11
 The Birth of 'Blacksmith Doris'
by Kirstie Stewart
The idea for a women’s only day of blacksmithing
emerged during an enthusiastic chat over a glass of
wine at Mt. Martha on the occasion of the 20th
anniversary celebrations of the Australian Blacksmiths
Association of Victoria. The name ‘Blacksmith Doris’
was a result of recycling the lettering on the sign for the
20th anniversary to use for the women’s day, and was
unanimously approved by the executive committee.
We owe many thanks to Mary and Nick Hackett for the
organisation of the day, and to Brendan Hackett for the
use of his studio. Thanks also to Doug Tarrant, Paul
Mills and Steve Nicol for their time and patience on the
day.
Saturday 21st of November saw five men and twenty
one women and girls gathered around forges and
anvils at Blueprint Sculpture in West Melbourne. The
men were there to demonstrate and instruct, the
women had come to try their hands at blacksmithing,
many of them for the first time. It had been a stinking
hot week and we were concerned that it might be
another hot and uncomfortable day, but the weather
god was kind and the day turned out to be overcast
with the temperature in the low twenties. Perfect for
smithin’! The gantry was pulled out from the studio, a
tarp slung over it for shade and the forges set up Nick was keen for us to try the spring hammer (‘Uber
underneath it. Doug began with a demonstration of Doris’) which was huge fun, and allowed us to make
making a rat’s tail – a good place to start for a group of huge spoons! Spoons kept most of us occupied for the
mostly first-timers, but pretty soon we were all rest of the day, but those interested were able to try
attempting to make spoons after Mary asked Paul to making and forge-welding chain links under Paul’s
show us this technique. instruction.
It was a great group. Not many of us had any
experience with blacksmithing, but everyone there
was interested in the craft and quite a few of us were
jewellers and silversmiths, and so were used to
working with metal. We shared a delicious lunch,
made many wonky spoons and a few good ones, and
found time between heats to get to know each other.
For some it was a once-off experience, for others the
beginning of learning another craft. For all of us
though, it was definitely an experience well worth
having and I’m looking forward to the next Doris day.

Page 12
 Useful Sites and Suppliers

Blacksmiths Associations Blacksmiths Supplies

Blacksmiths Association Western Australia Stirling Fuel Supplies

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/
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

Blacksmiths Information and Forums 9 Alabar Crs GLOBE DERBY PARK SA 5110
Phone: (08) 8281 0689

All styles of metalcraft information Fantech Pty Ltd

http://www.metalartistforum.com/ 17A Seaforth Avenue SOMERTON PARK SA 5044
Phone:(08) 83770502

All styles of Blacksmith information EBM Blowers

http://www.iforgeiron.com/forum/ 17/ 2 Portrush Rd PAYNEHAM SA 5070
Phone: (08) 88363544
Social networking for the metal arts
http://www.artmetal.com/index.php
If you have any contacts and web sites you
would like to have included, contact the
Secretary.
Discount Blacksmith books in UK with Free postage

http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/search?
searchTerm=blacksmith&search=search
David Robertson (Ontario Artist Blacksmith)
http://www.artistblacksmith.com/
HOT OFF THE PRESS
Allan Ball, up at the Village Blacksmith, in QLD, has
recently had a sale of equipment, surplus to
requirements, and has posted a list of equipment.
As of today, 9th December 2009, he still has a
collection of gear ready for sale. Have a look at this
link if your interested in any anvils, post vices or
tongs.
http://www.villagesmith.com.au/html/
ItemsForSale091209.htm

Page 13