Market Fair Wrap-Up

We had a wonderful weekend at Market Fair -- I did a lot of fun blacksmithing and my wife interpreted right alongside me.   We were so pleased to be able to share the craft with so many people, especially children.  

While we talked to the visitors, the boys had their own version of a wonderful weekend as they had a never-ending playdate with my mom and all their friends who came to the Fair.  Just as some friends left, another group entered -- the boys hadn't had that much fun in ages.   

  

The only glitch was that the colonial bake oven got so hot after days of cooking that it burned through its base (2 layers of brick and wood underneath).  At the end of the fair, someone from the bake staff came up and said that they were dousing the fire and they were discussing whether it could be moved onto a new base or whether the whole oven would have to be rebuilt.   At least it was the end of the fair and, before then, the oven worked perfectly!

We want to say a huge "thank you" to everyone who came out to support us -- it was incredible to see so many friends!   We'll be back at Claude Moore for the next Market Fair on July 16-17th.

In the meantime, we need to get ready for our first ever Civil War demonstration June 4-5 in Manassas -- we're looking forward to it and will have details to share soon.  

The Rooker

Even as we were loading the cars with all sorts of tools, colonial-style clothing, and everything else needed for tomorrow's Market Fair, I was finishing up the "rooker" (sort of a fire poker) for the new colonial bake oven we made at Claude Moore.

We'll test all these tools this weekend, so I will likely have revisions to make for July's Market Fair. No one we know has ever actually used tools exactly like this, so we are all expecting to learn some things as we try them out.  But, for now, we've run out of time in the forge, so these will have to do for this weekend.

Tools for the Colonial Bake Oven

With a covering of mud, clay, sand, lime and dung over the bricks (and plans to put another layer of the same materials, plus some straw, on top of the 1st layer), the oven is pretty much finished....just in time for this weekend's Market Fair where it will be put to work baking bread.  It looks pretty amazing.

Final details still remain, though, and I have been hustling to forge some tools for the baking process using colonial-era drawings and photos.  I made a "scuffle" (which I keep calling a "kerfluffle" for some strange reason), which seems to be basically a colonial-style mop - a rag will go through the iron hole and a wooden handle will go on the other end.  We have some doubts about how well it will work.

I've also made a sort of a hoe to rake ashes out of the oven:

And, now I am headed into the forge to make a "rooker", which is similar to a fire poker.  Other folks are fashioning the wooden handles, building a peal, and various other implements.  In the meantime, a fire has been lit in the oven and the mud covering is drying out. 

There are still two days before Market Fair....plenty of time!

A Campfire Tripod

About Us

Jeff Dunkelberger started blacksmithing after catching the bug in early 2008.  The idea of having his own forge came in time and now Black Forest Iron Works is a home-based forge that operates on small projects for sale at several outlets carrying his work.

Jeff has studied under notable blacksmiths Elmer Roush, Doug Merkel, Mark Aspery, Gerald Boggs, Mike Tanner, George Anderton and Albin “Albie” Drzewianowski and continues studying and practicing his craft.

Jeff actively participates in several local blacksmith guilds, but the area of his trade that currently gives him the most satisfaction is working as a living-history re-enactor.  He was chosen in 2009 as the primary blacksmith for the Claude Moore Colonial Farm’s Market Fair events, held three times per year in McLean, Virginia.  During these events, Jeff demonstrates the craft to several thousand people in a typical weekend while dressed appropriately in 1771 attire and using Colonial tools and methods.  In this regard, blacksmithing is a creative outlet Jeff can share with his family since Jeff’s wife and 2 young sons also attend the fairs in period attire.

Jeff was recently asked to join the staff of the Blacksmith Shop at George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens as a part-time smith demonstrating to many of the 40,000 people per week that visit the historic estate.  In August 2011, Jeff was elected to serve on the board of ABANA, the Artist Blacksmith's Association of North America, where he hopes to make a positive impact for the benefit of the wider blacksmithing community.

Jeff and his wife also recently built a log cabin in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, working weekends and vacations for nearly three years.  They now rent Chestnut Oak Lodge so others may enjoy it also.  When not blacksmithing or building, Jeff is a Services Account Executive with Dell.  He lives with his wife, their two sons and two cats in Alexandria, VA.

As anyone who knows Jeff will attest, he has a strong desire to see the growth of the trade as together all current smiths "rediscover" what the blacksmiths of old faced each day and, in the process, serve the common good by educating people about the important role blacksmiths played in the development of our country and our shared culture.  

Jeff can be reached at 703-765-3000 or at inquiries@blackforestironworks.com.

A New, "Portable" Anvil

Perhaps, we should bake some cookies for the delivery person since this package couldn't have been easy or pleasant to bring to our front door!

We now have a "portable" anvil (in blacksmithing, portability is definitely relative!) for my upcoming demos.  We're looking forward to seeing some of you this coming weekend at the Market Fair!

Back Scratchers & Candlestick Mast

I have been busily working on items for the quickly approaching May Market Fair.  I finally completed a new candlestick mast for a great customer that wanted another one and I also took the opportunity to make a couple of backscratchers for a bit of warmup.

I did something new with these two - I hammered a flat spot on the handle to make room for my touchmark.  I really like this idea and I think it adds a special charm to the piece.

Building a New Forge at Claude Moore

Jeff has been working to build a new forge at Claude Moore Colonial Farm, where he blacksmiths during their Market Fairs three times a year.  The folks at Colonial Williamsburg and Mt. Vernon have been extremely helpful, and we headed out to the farm this weekend to take some measurements and get ready to place an order for bricks. 

First, though, the guys had to build a door to the tobacco-drying shed. 

And, when we opened the door to the the building where the forge will be located, we discovered that it was being used for storage. 

While Jeff and his friend Tim struggled to manuever through the various piles of stuff, the kids decided to take full advantage of the abscence of any other kids at the games' area.  

In the end, Jeff and his friend Tim managed to get their measurements and the brick order will be placed any day now.  Who knows?  Maybe Jeff will be smithing in a new forge by the next Market Fair in May?

Claude Moore Colonial Farm Market Fair

The Market Fair is upon us again and we are looking forward to it!  Hopefully you can join us up there for the event on May 21 and 22.  As usual, the chicken and suasages are outstanding and there will be lots of colonial craftspeople and many fun games and activities for folks of all ages.

And, don't forget to print the 50% off coupon from the website to save on your gate tickets!

Hope to see you there!

In the Forge: Completed Coffee Table

My latest project is a coffee table, which is still missing its glass on top and glass shelf since the client is providing those items.  The client provided the iron gate, which is forming the top of the table, and I made the base by hammering the legs and welding it all together.

After that, I sent it to be sandblasted and powder-coated to match the grill and I am very pleased with the results!

Three Legged Staff

Below is a picture of the surveyor's tripod buily by my friend and fellow re-enactor Paul Parish.  Paul plays a colonial era surveyor at various events and recently found a period compass that will grace this stand.

BFIW provided the metal tips and we are pleased to have played a small part in this interesting project.  Look for Paul and his compass at the various Colonial events in the DC metro area!

Blacksmiths, Beekeepers and Tractors Go Well Together

My good friend Michael and I took a day trip to visit famed blacksmith Nol Putnam recently.  Nol is a great guy to hang out with and a wealth of wisdom about blacksmithing.  It is a great pleasure to spend time with him.

Even though we had fun together, we actually did have a purpose (hard to believe, I know!) -- to pick up some huge stumps that are very good for anvil stands because of the rebound they provide.  When we heard about them, we couldn't pass them up.  Add in Nol's tractor that they used to load the stumps into Michael's truck, and we were some happy guys..... 

The plan from here is that Michael (who is a beekeeper on top of his day job and is turning into a blacksmith, as well) is going to saw the stumps down to make two properly-sized anvil stands.  Or, something like that.

My wife says it's a good thing Mike and I don't live closer together.  Can you imagine the "trouble" we would get into?!  :-)

Tips for an 18th Century Surveyor's Tripod

Here is a picture of some tripod tips I had a friend make for a customer who is an 18th century re-enactor friend.  He is very skilled in his role as a revolutionary era surveyor and I was happy to participate in his project to rebuild the tripod that will support his period compass.

These tips are about 3" long and 3/4" round(ish).  Notice the ends are actually round but more like square with rounded corners, but they will do the trip to support the tripod.

Also in the shot is the hanger bolts that will be used to tap the tips so they can be threaded into the bottom of the tripod legs.  They have half machine thread, and half wood screw thread.

Definitely a nice team effort to solve an interesting problem!

In the Forge: Repairing a Door Latch

I recently repaired a door latch for the American Horticultural Society.  It was a bit intimidating to work on something that Colonial Williamsburg originally made, but years of usage had made the latch to not fit properly. 

It now works great!

Some of My Work

A very nice note I received from a customer showing where he hung the cross I made him as a gift for Father's Day from his son last year.  It is tremendously gratifying to hear from someone who has my piece in a special place and that it holds special meaning for them.  It makes what I do special as well.

In the Forge: A Table Frame

I made this frame for a neighbor's table I have been working on. 

It's still in process - it'll next be sandblasted and painted. 

When that's all done, glass will be placed on the bottom shelf and an iron gate & glass combo will go on the top shelf to make a nice coffee table for a hopefully happy customer.

The Forge on a Cold Winter's Day

There's nothing like a hot forge on a January day!

In the Forge: Chamfering the Legs for a Table

I am chamfering (i.e. shaping) the edges of the legs for a contemporary-style table I am making:

A New Technique for Letter Openers