Larry's Blacksmith Shop

The original barn
The barn dates from the early 70's. He and Nancy bought their original two acres and this was the first thing he built. At first it was a real barn with dirt floor and livestock stalls but he later added a floor, insulated it, and turned it into a workshop. The wood came from a nearby sawmill that had been in operation for close to 70 years. (Parker's sawmill) Looking closely you can see the door he made with a little bit of carving on it. Behind the double doors sits a huge, 24" wood planer. It weighed so much we left it where it was. How he ever got it there is a mystery. The blacksmith shop is to the right, out of the picture. It was added about 10 years later. The extension is actually larger than the barn. I'll try to get a better picture at some point. He planted bamboo all around the barn. Giant Gray Henon in the back, Yellow Groove on the driveway side, and Black bamboo right outside the forge area. The blacksmith shop is located at the far end of the barn extension. The next picture shows this from outside the blacksmith shop.

The forge and equipment
There is an extension to the barn that was added later and at the very end of this is the actual blacksmith shop. This is where lots of scrap steel was stored and where we sat while relaxing or waiting on a furnace to heat up. We both enjoyed melting and casting brass and copper and this is where we would set the furnace and molds. To the right is a concrete block wall and behind this is where Larry stored coal used for forging. He had a huge amount of coal stockpiled and his friends and I called it his coal mine as it was much larger than you realized.

This is the forge. The dark rectangle in the middle of the steel hearth table is the firepot. Air is forced in from the bottom and coal or charcoal gives a fire hot enough to bring steel up to a cherry red glow, perfect for bending and forging. The round "tank" in the top left is a propane furnace used for knifemaking. The second tubular looking item in the lower center is another propane forge (vertical) also used for knifemaking. The slightly smaller tubular structure directly avove that is an oil bath for tempering. The large rack above it all holds the various hammers and tongs.

This is the "automatic" hammer Larry built. I remember going to see Don Fogg once with Larry in order to see some type of hammer he had. I guess he looked at a couple more here and there and then built this hammer. He poured a massive concrete footing and the hammer was bolted to this. The round anvil weighs about 200 lbs. The first time I saw it in action it was scary. Seeing the massive hammer going up and down at full speed makes you naturally want to back away. Later when we worked on a project together I learned how to use it with respect and only a little aprehenson . Behind me is a grove of giant Moso bamboo. I gave this to Larry years ago and over the next several years he planted dozens of other bamboo species.

We dragged the hammer outside after removing the anvil and motor. Behind the hammer is the original chimney. This was a 12" galvanized piece of pipe. This was difficult to get down as it went up two stories thru the roof. We found some brackets on the top which allowed us to get a grip on the pipe with chain hoist so that we could lower it to the ground.

This is a large hydraulic press that Larry built from various parts he scrounged. This is a shot of the hoses and valves with the large hydraulic cylinder. It is built around a 14" I-beam. The press went from the ground up between the ceiling joist. This meant we couldn't just attach a hoist to it and lower it sideways to the ground. We managed to move the base to one side until we could lay it down.

This is the anvil, the most iconic of the blacksmith's tools. Larry used an anvil that a relative loaned him for about 20 years. At some point they asked for the return of the anvil to insure that it was kept in the family. Larry told me he did not mind so much returning the anvil but he hated that it would end up in a garage or shed, not being used. He told me it was hard not to form a kind of bond with the anvil as it was the central tool used to shape the metal. This is a replacement anvil he purchased after the return. I think it is a 150 pound anvil. It rest on a piece of oak log. The steel band around the top of the log has clips to hold the hardy tools that fit into a hole in the anvil. The grooved piece of steel on the anvil is a hardy tool. The log is not in the best shape but still solid so wwe kept it for sentimental reasons. Plus, if we replaced the log we would have to reform the steel band!