Yup, this is my 100th episode. Bob Menard from the New England Blacksmiths just asked me the other day did you envision the 100th when you started? The answer is NO Way!

The reason I started this podcast 3 years ago was to help create a tighter knit blacksmith community around the world, to aid and encourage forging new connections by having casual conversations every week so we can learn a little something about our peers. I thought I would talk about a few of the connections I’ve made over the past 3 years and about some of the connections that a few listeners have made by listening to the podcast. Then I’ll jump right into another JayBurn Journal (an article written by Jay Burnham Kidwell) about different kinds of forging connections such as riveting, hot metal wrapping, mortise and tenon and such.

Thanks to our sponsor this week: www.SBAconference.com , their 18th bi-annual conference is May 18 - 21, 2017 in Madison Georgia. Check out the website for the demonstrators and registration.

Summary:

Hot Connections

Forge Welding

Arc Welding

MIG Welding

Tig Welding

Oxy/acetelyne, oxy/propane gas welding

Oxy/acetelyne, oxy/propane gas brazing and soldering

Forge brazing

Forge soldering

Mortise and Tenon

Hot Rivets

 

Cold Connections are:

Copper rivets

Collars and wraps

Claydon Connections

Tension connections

Nuts and bolts

Articulated connections

Socket bearing connections

 

Collaring - to determine the length of the collar material: measure around the pieces to be collared plus 2 ½ times the thickness of the collar material. This will be the cut length before beveling the ends.

 

 

 

Square Tenons - Upset the end of the bar a ½”, then do another upset just under the first upset, use a side set or spring fuller to establish the tenon and the shoulder. Then draw out the tenon, even up the shoulder edges with a monkey tool and check for size and fit with the mortise. The tenon should extend about 1 ½ times the diameter of the tenon through the mortise hole.

Pass- through connections - using a slitting chisel and a swage block that is a little bigger than the pass through stock.

 

Stuart Hill’s connection using a square tube that is twice the thickness of the pieces to be joined.

 

Arno Muller’s corner connection ? forge a square corner with an upset at the 90 degree bend and then forge out a tongue from the outside corner. Repeat this with another piece of square stock and join the two tongues in an opposite fashion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oval Rivets by Mark Aspery - from his Volume III book titled, “Mastering the Fundamentals of Traditional Joinery” available at www.MarkAspery.com.