Badger Village Blacksmithing

View From the Forge
January, 1999

Happy New Year from Badger Village Blacksmithing!

The end of 1998 turned out to be busier than expected but there are a few new products that are being added to the site at this time.

We now offer our version of a Basket Twist Floor Lamp. The biggest challenge in the engineering of this product was to redesign it so that it could be shipped more easily. This was accomplished by designing the base and the upright so that the customer could assemble them and they could ship in two containers. We were able to do this in such a way that you cannot tell the difference between the new design and the original prototype that did not disassemble for shipping.

There are two new additions to our Hardware section as well, the Armana Pull and the Pinwheel Pull. One of the goals of Badger Village Blacksmithing is to offer a work environment that fosters creativity. These two pulls were designed by Richard Nelipovich who is wrapping up a degree in Art Metals at the University of Wisconsin. Richard is currently employed part-time while he finishes work on his degree. We are looking forward to the possibility of working with him on a full time basis. You may see more from Richard in the future!

The Artifact, Cosmos, and Paws Key Rings are imaginative designs that may be featured as Pulls in our Hardware section at some point in the future. Let us know what you think in our Speak Up! area.

BVB Bookstraps are a unique and decorative way to hold books on a counter or desk.

Work on designing this newsletter has progressed as well. This month we are introducing the Developments section. The Developments section will take you through the processes involved in bringing a specific product to you. It will offer information about current design and development taking place in the forge.

DEVELOPMENTS

The Cattails Shelf was first designed as Christmas present a number of years ago. The popularity of the piece led us to redesign it so that we could offer it as a retail item. Following are photos that show the design and development process:

First a full size drawing is made on some type of durable background. In this case it is masonite. Measurements for test pieces are taken directly from the full size drawing.

Test pieces are made and compared to the drawing. At this point the stock sizes for all of the different elements in a project are determined and notes are taken regarding starting lengths of stock as well as forging procedures.

One of the most challenging aspects of design work for retail items comes in the development of tooling to make the process more efficient and bring the final price down. This must be done without sacrificing the look of the final work in any way.

This is a photo of our first anvil mounted grass-forming tool. The hot stock is forged into this tool using a hand hammer.

After forging out about fifty feet of grass it was clear that the anvil mounted forming die was not efficient enough. It was also a little hard on the arm! The same type of die was made to fit in our Kerrihard #2 power hammer.

Tooling is tested prior to production of the elements required. Adjustments to the tool or the process of using the tool often need to be made. Again, good notes are essential in this stage of the development process.

The pieces that have been forged are checked to the original layout drawing. Adjustments to stock sizes are made and more notes are taken. At this point all of the joinery and assembly procedures are ready to be tested.

The cattails are formed by heating and shaping free hand. This is one of the examples of how each piece develops its own character.

The finished project. Once the prototype is completed we refine the notes taken during the design phase by doing a limited production run. The limited run is also where we establish the final price for the item. Other things that need to be designed include the shipping and packaging procedures.

NEW OUTLET

Our work is now available at the Village Artisans shop in Watertown, Wisconsin. The Village Artisans is located in The Market, a unique retail mall housed in a renovated lumberyard that was built in the 1870s. One of the uncommon features of the Village Artisans is the opportunity to see the artists working on their crafts. Each artist that is involved is required to demonstrate a minimum of four times each year.

Watch this newsletter for information on the dates that we will be demonstrating. We will also provide detailed information on the content of each demonstration

The Village Artisans
210 S. Water Street
Watertown, WI 53064
1-920-206-1397

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Jaime Sundsmo
Web Newsletter Editor

Check out our Newsletter Archive for past issues and
articles on Badger Village Blacksmithing.

Happy New Year from Badger Village Blacksmithing!

The end of 1998 turned out to be busier than expected but there are a few new products that are being added to the site at this time.

The Artifact, Cosmos, and Paws Key Rings are imaginative designs that may be featured as Pulls in our Hardware section at some point in the future. Let us know what you think in our Speak Up! area.

BVB Bookstraps are a unique and decorative way to hold books on a counter or desk.

DEVELOPMENTS

The Cattails Shelf was first designed as Christmas present a number of years ago. The popularity of the piece led us to redesign it so that we could offer it as a retail item. Following are photos that show the design and development process:

First a full size drawing is made on some type of durable background. In this case it is masonite. Measurements for test pieces are taken directly from the full size drawing.

Test pieces are made and compared to the drawing. At this point the stock sizes for all of the different elements in a project are determined and notes are taken regarding starting lengths of stock as well as forging procedures.

One of the most challenging aspects of design work for retail items comes in the development of tooling to make the process more efficient and bring the final price down. This must be done without sacrificing the look of the final work in any way.

This is a photo of our first anvil mounted grass-forming tool. The hot stock is forged into this tool using a hand hammer.

After forging out about fifty feet of grass it was clear that the anvil mounted forming die was not efficient enough. It was also a little hard on the arm! The same type of die was made to fit in our Kerrihard #2 power hammer.

Tooling is tested prior to production of the elements required. Adjustments to the tool or the process of using the tool often need to be made. Again, good notes are essential in this stage of the development process.

The pieces that have been forged are checked to the original layout drawing. Adjustments to stock sizes are made and more notes are taken. At this point all of the joinery and assembly procedures are ready to be tested.

The cattails are formed by heating and shaping free hand. This is one of the examples of how each piece develops its own character.

The finished project. Once the prototype is completed we refine the notes taken during the design phase by doing a limited production run. The limited run is also where we establish the final price for the item. Other things that need to be designed include the shipping and packaging procedures.

NEW OUTLET

Watch this newsletter for information on the dates that we will be demonstrating. We will also provide detailed information on the content of each demonstration

The Village Artisans 210 S. Water Street Watertown, WI 53064 1-920-206-1397

The Village Artisans
210 S. Water Street
Watertown, WI 53064
1-920-206-1397