The Last Hammer’s Blow for Mark Aspery
Welcome to Blacksmither Radio, it’s Episode number 47 and today I have a very special guest to mark a change in the Hammer’s Blow editorship. If you are unfamiliar with what the Hammer’s Blow is, it’s a quarterly publication of technical blacksmith projects offered by the non-profit org ABANA.  And today I have Mark Aspery here to talk about the end of his time being editor of the Hammer’s Blow. 
What we talk about:

Mark talks about what it takes to put together one issue. He has asked the submitters to send him their forged example pieces for him to photograph because he already has the equipment and set-up.  Then there is a discussion around the wording or text for the article.  Mark creates a press ready pdf document in a specific software for editing and producing a magazine.
Within each issue, Mark likes to have at around 4 to 5 different articles published. The goal for Mark has been to include beginner, intermediate and expert level forging projects.
The Hammer’s Blow editor before Mark Aspery was Brian Gilbert. Brian included a useful tool section, some shop tours, Mark changed the structure a little by focusing on just the smithing.
One of the things Mark has learned over the past 5 years is when anyone writes anything down about a specific technique, by the time they are finished writing, they will know more about that subject than they did at the start, it’s an educational process.
What’s next for Mark? Two books are on the horizon: one all about locks, latches and hinges, and the second book will be a coffee table book about the ironwork in the Cathedral of Learning building on the campus of University of Pittsburg. Some of the ironwork includes pieces from Samuel Yellin.
This winter Mark will have surgery on both of his hands, one at a time, due to a condition called “Viking Hand” (scarring of tissue).
We talk about the upcoming ABANA conference in Salt Lake, Utah, July 13 – 16, 2016. The benefits of going to the conference include the social interaction, the demonstrations, the hands-on teaching tents, the tailgate sales and the competitions.
The teaching tents will be split into two Each with about ten forging stations, with a mix of coal and propane forges. There will be six half-day teaching sessions and will be staffed by Darryl Nelson, John McClellan, Gerald Boggs, Gerald Franklin and Mark Aspery.
Mark is pulling together some lunch time slots in the teaching tent for beginning demonstrators to “cut their teeth” and have a turn at teaching.
Each competition will be divided into three levels: Novice – beginning or novice smith, Intermediate/Amateur smith and Open/Professional or strong
Chain Making competition on Wednesday - How many links can you forge weld together to make a chain in a 20 minutes? Hints from Mark:

Forge welds don’t have to be pretty, if it’s stuck, then it’s good
Make a single link, and then make another single link and make the third “middle” link to chain them together.
Then repeat that again - so you have two lengths of three links, then make another single link to connect two lengths together.
The novice level will probably make 4 to 5 links, the intermediate level will make 6 to links and the open should make around 8 links.
Try using the pritchel hole to make the “u” shape and in your shop (ahead of time) figure out how much of the round stock to put down the hole.


Thursday’s Competition – Animal Heads with Darryl Nelson who will demonstrate a bear head just before the competition starts.

Novice level – Create a two-dimensional animal head, tooling and 1 ¼ x ¼ flat bar provided
Intermediate level – Create a three-dimensional animal head from 1-inch square stock, tooling provided. Open mouth optional.
Open level – Create a three-dimensional animal head from 1 ½” square stock. Provide your own


Friday's Competition – Tong making with John McClellan

Novice level – Create simple twist Jaw tongs from 3/8” by 3/4” flat bar. Tongs should be able