Indiana blacksmith shows off skills in blacksmithing classes
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - The mild smell of burning coal fills a warm workshop stocked with beefy equipment that dates from a century or three ago. John Latowski takes a blacksmith's hammer and whacks at a glowing metal rod to shape a narrower point. It goes more quickly when he pops the rod under a machine, built in 1906, that continuously pounds away.
Then, to show off, the heavily bearded retiree re-fires the rod and lays it between an electric-powered hydraulic press with 22 tons of pressure that he calls 'œsquish-o-matic.'ť
The metal flattens like a pancake within seconds.
Latowski is forgemaster and one of the seasoned regulars who come to this blacksmith shop in South Bend for the free monthly gatherings of the St. Joe Valley Forgers, where they individually guide first-timers on the basics and where others practice their skills. The next session is this Saturday.
'œYou get to play with fire and hit things,'ť Latowski says.
Fellow retiree Bill Conyers, who owns the shop next to his home, also putters around on this weekday, as he and members do on a daily basis.
'œIf you need something, you can make it here,'ť he says, having led classes for both youths and industrial employees.
He's made stair railings and now is drawing designs for a Gothic-style, 20-foot-long steel enclosure for the baptistry at St. Stanislaus Catholic Church in South Bend. Not to forget the sawed-off old fire extinguishers that he turned into wind chimes and painted gold.
Club members pitched in to make bike racks for Kelly Park in South Bend. They will again demonstrate their skills outdoors with a portable forge at Bendix Woods County Park in New Carlisle for the annual Sugar Camp Days on March 21-22, where they'll also sell a few of their goods.
'œEverybody's got a little bit of art in them,'ť Conyers says.
The club is one of 14 satellite groups of the Indiana Blacksmithing Association, with roughly 400 members, which are among the 4,000 members nationwide of the Artist-Blacksmith's Association of North America.
Conyers has noticed a resurgence in blacksmithing as a hobby for several years. The weapon-making competition 'œForged in Fire'ť on the History Channel included three local members a few years ago, with some of it filmed in Conyers' shop.
About 10 to 20 people come to the monthly meetings. Beginners will see the gray beauty of Damascus steel, used in swords, with squiggly lines like rings of a tree - dark for the high-carbon steel, light for the nickel-based steel, that have been layered together in the forging process.
But they'll start by making an S hook to hone the basics of twisting metal. They learn the precise way to strike the blacksmith's hammer, using its fat or narrow edges.
'œI've seen some ugly S hooks come out of here,'ť Latowski says.
They must protect their shoulder by using just their elbow and wrist (Conyers has duct-taped kids' shoulders in place).
They may pound metal atop the 187-pound anvil that was made 250 years ago or an even heavier one, also made in England, that's 350 years old. (Yes, Wile E. Coyote cartoon fans, there really is an Acme brand of anvil, too, but not in this shop.)
The shop uses a gas-fired forge that can climb to 2,200 degrees. Basic forging, Conyers says, requires 1,400 to 1,800 degrees, though welding pieces together needs more than 2,500 degrees. So the shop also uses a coal-fired forge that can hit more than 3,000 degrees. He says it uses a low-sulfur coal from West Virginia that doesn't have such a high flame.
Another toy in the shop is a punch press called the Ironworker, made during the Civil War, that once was powered by a steam engine, now by an electric motor, to cut square holes in half-inch metal. A drill press here came from the old Studebaker auto plant. Milling machines were made by South Bend Lathe.
When the weather warms up in spring, members will use an outdoor foundry to pour metal into casts.
In another shop, Conyers keeps an array of woodworking tools and machines that members can use, too, plus a small oven to heat-treat metal. Wood and metal arts complement each other, he says. He made one church railing with a metal frame that he wrapped in wood.
There are inherent dangers, such as burns but also oxygen that gets sucked out of the shop when the forges are fired. The door is purposely drafty, and there are fans.
If you come, wear long-legged jeans or work pants. Leather work boots are best, but sneakers will do. Protective eye wear is provided.
Two of Latowski's great-great-grandfathers were blacksmiths at Studebaker wagon works. He worked a career in engineering metallurgy, helping local foundries with the chemistry and physics of metal, but he'd picked up the blacksmithing bug before college.
Conyers was attracted to the craft as a kid but says, 'œI couldn't afford to because I was raising kids.'ť An Illinois native, he got out of the Navy, married and took turns as a sailboat rigger and fire chief in Florida, hardware store owner in North Carolina and designer of adaptive devices for people with disabilities at South Bend's Memorial Hospital. Then he opened a local shop about 20 years ago with forges, anvils and a creative itch.
'œYou're only limited by your imagination,'ť he says.
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Source: South Bend Tribune