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| Photos and instructions for blacksmithing projects. |
John Sykes’ wizard
Start by drawing out a dull piont on a piece od 1/2 square. This forms the hat.
Using the corner of a 1-1/2 square bar, punch a triangle on each side for the eye sockets leaving about 1/16 in the midle.
With the same bar in the same heat, go below the eye sockets and punch a flat place straight across to reveal the end of the nose
The wizard so far.
With John's helping hand clamp mounted in the hardy hole, get ready to punch the eyes and nostrils.
Use a round punch rounded off to a ball to make the eyes...
and nostrils.
Another punch ground in the shape of a half moon makes the mouth.
A sharp hot cut shears a little metal of the sides to form the mustache.
Same hot cut makes grooves to simulate hair in the beard.
Hammer the sides that the mustache is hanging off of to bring the sharp sliver back against the side of the bar. This is done so it will not stick in you.
Make a decorative star on the hat by center punching a dot....
and with the hot cut, make four marks coming out from the dot to form a star.
Finish with a brass brush.
Smile at handy work.
Jeff Salter
Jeff became interested in working with molten metal when he took a welding class
in 1983 in High school. He joined the US Army in 1988-1992 as a Ranger. During
that time on weekends off, he apprenticed with a local Farrier. Jeff was looking
at becoming a Farrier, as a profession. In 1993 he began the 2 year Farrier
Science Coarse taught by Terry miller, at South Puget Sound Community College,
in Olympia, WA. The Course was very comprehensive, covering Equine anatomy and
form and function of the Equine leg and hoof. It taught business management,
marketing and accounting. Building shoes from bar stock for sound horses, as
well as a large variety of specialty shoes for correcting lameness problems.
Jeff was privileged to study 2 quarters of Blacksmithing, under Dorothy Seigler.
Her classes offered basic all the way to advanced Smithing. Dorothy had guest
Smith’s from all over the world come to teach and do demonstrations. Students
from foreign countries came to study under Dorothy.
Jeff took the American Farrier’s Associations test in 1994 and received the High
Point award as a Certified Farrier. Complete Farrier Services began in 1995.
Jeff worked 6 days a week and was called in by Veterinarian’s to consult on lame
horses. He quickly became the area expert on correcting Lameness issues. He
worked on ponies, donkeys, mules, driving animals and riding horses of all
disciplines. His signature gift to good clients was an ornamental horse head
hoof pick with brass finished mane, 16 years ago.
In 2003 Jeff joined the Special Forces and was stationed permanently in Ft.
Bragg, NC.
In 2008 as a Christmas gift Jeff’s wife paid his dues into the NCABANA. Do to
multiple deployments overseas for the next several years; it was 2009 before he
got his Blacksmithing shop wired for Smithing. In fall of 2009 he returned from
Iraq with an extensive shoulder injury. He had surgery and was unable to hammer
for 6 months. He deployed again in late spring of 2010. While overseas he was
reading his “Hot Iron Sparkle” and saw that they were looking for demonstrators
at the State fair in October! He emailed Marty Lyons and the rest is
History!