Traditions: Ohio Heritage Fellows; 302; Roy Adams interview, part 3 of 5

Q:

ROY: The items that I create in my shop, uh, can range a lot. They go everything from my copper work that I do with my copper bowls and vessels that I make all the way up to bird baths, uh, in that type of styling, I do steel vessels, steel bowls. I do fire place pokers, fire place screens, frames, uh, a lot of home décor, uh, items on that level. Uh, just recently I completed a commission for a 30-pound sledge hammer, uh, and so that was for a guy and so of course it was a lot of work moving 30 pounds of steel around in the forge and I do all sorts of things, uh, from that but that’s kind some of ‘em that I do. I do a lot of floral sculptures, roses and, uh, calla lilies and things of that nature. A lot of stuff that’s organic in nature.

Q:

ROY: I drive a lot of inspiration for my work, uh, from the smith’s that I’ve studied under. So, my original instructor... original smith that I ever studied under by the name of Wayne Apgar, he’s a mentor by the name of Wayne Apgar, still is. Um, he did an organic blacksmithing class with me and he taught me a lot about floral forms and things of that nature, leaves, flowers, stuff of that... stuff around that, uh, type of genre of blacksmithing. And, then I got the fortunate to study under Tom Latnay, he’s a master locksmith up in Pepin, Wisconsin and when I did... when I studied underneath him I drive a lot of my inspiration from his work and, uh, he’s a smith that I aspire to be, skill set wise someday. Uh, he... his work has really inspired me to push myself other than to just say good enough on something to really double check it and look over it and is there something else I could add of detail or, you know, or is it truly finished.

Q:

ROY: One of the biggest things that I like about the process of blacksmithing is that you can take something that is either discarded, um, or it’s just a straight, raw, old, plane, lifeless bar of metal just laying around and you can literally sculpt it into anything that your mind can create and the only thing that you’re held back by is your skill level. So, if you can think of it, if you can orchestrate the process, uh, in the right amount of steps to get that project complete, that item, that form, uh, it... that is what I love the most about it is the, the head game that it plays with your, that, that mental challenge of being able to form stuff out of nothing, basically. You know, you got just a raw piece of steel you start with and then you start thinking, well, how am I gonna bend that? Well, how am I gonna... am I gonna put a chisel line there? Am I going to hammer it certain way? That’s... that’s one of the most rewarding things I like in the shop.

Q:

ROY: When I see a piece of steel I see not only a challenge but I do see infinite possibilities, uh, in it. A lot of times with my work I’m kind of locked down to the confounds of what a customer is wanting. So, a lot of the challenge comes into selecting the right piece of steel or the right piece of material, not necessarily steel in my line of work, to accomplish, uh, the goal, the end task. Every smith can forge the same item just a little bit differently and add their own technique and their own flair based upon whoever they have learned from the craft and so to me that’s the... that’s the challenge that I like and I do see that in, in this piece of raw material.

Q:

ROY: In blacksmithing there’s five basic hammer blows and seven fundamental techniques of smithing; beyond that it’s only limited by your own creativity and the outcome based upon how you orchestrated the whole process. So, what of those seven techniques you decide to use first, what’s gonna go in the middle or the last, at the end stage of that process dictates the outcome. So, really skies the limit as far as creativity. The five basic hammer blows, there’s, uh, far side of the anvil, there’s... mo... mostly put on the far side of the anvil but there’s full face hammer blows, half face hammer blows, off face hammer blows or what they call a shearing blow, there’s back face hammer blows and then, uh, I’m gonna forget the last one but... (LAUGHING) (OVERTALKING) but, the seven fundamental techniques there’s welding, there’s slitting and drifting, there’s punching, there’s chiseling, uh, there is bending, twisting is one of those and I probably forgot one or two there but that’s just right off the top of my head. But, those right there everything you see in blacksmithing comes down to those seven fundamental techniques. Everything that you see in metal, that’s ever been stamped, ever been extruded, forged, rolled out; I don’t care if it’s a train trestle, railroad track, a wheel, a hubcap on your tire, they are all locked to those seven fundamental techniques.

Q:

ROY: Some of the challenges that I find in my work, uh, in what I do is heat. So, if... a lot of people don’t think... a lot of people think it’s hot in the shop, uh, but they don’t know how hot it is. So, in the summer months, uh, my shop can range all the way up to 140 degrees in the shop, uh, mid- day heat and then in the winter months it’s not as hot as you might thing because a lot of the heat goes up, up the chimney.

Q:

ROY: Some of the challenges that present themselves in my blacksmith shop are the heat during the summer months. Of course, everybody would assume that blacksmithing is a very hot trade and it is. Uh, the heat can get as high as 140 degrees in my shop in the summer months. I do have some big fans to combat that and I keep cool rags and try to keep myself cools as best as possible and I do alter my schedule to work very early in the morning or very late at night; I alter the schedule there. So, the other challenge is in the winter, it’s not as hot in the shop as you might thing, uh, it’s actually very cold since it’s in an unconditioned shop that I work in. A lot of that could be rectified just by having a nicer shop but, uh, well, we can all wish, we can all hope. Uh, some of the other... some of the other challenges is building up the physical strength to do the work, um, and be able to work for long periods, keeping a certain rhythm and a pace. So, once you find your rhythm as a blacksmith it gets a lot easier once you... once you build up the muscle and the physical aptitude it can take to do it, it gets a lot easier but that can be a challenge especially if you’re just starting out.

Q:

ROY: Some of the most common misconceptions about blacksmithing or blacksmiths in general are that we’re farriers or that we shod horses; so, we put shoes on horses and things like that. That is a farrier, that’s what farriers do. They take care of, you know, equine therapy and stuff like that. Uh, the other misconception, it’s a common misconception now is that all blacksmiths are blade makers. And, that is one of the most recent trends, uh, thanks to a T.V. show that has recently aired and that is also a misconception of blacksmiths. We, we are not all blade makers or farriers, in fact, there is a lot of blacksmiths that all they specialize in is tooling. So, they make tooling for other blacksmiths and then there are blacksmiths that all they do is architectural work, architectural iron and fabrication. That’s, that’s their main thing. There’s people who do organic blacksmithing. They do, uh, organic forms and things, sculptural work, kind of like what I do. Uh, some that are just into the art of blacksmithing whether than the actual finished product or the form that comes from it. And, then there’s also blacksmiths that are more practical or pragmatic in a sense. They forge more utilitarian items, things for the home, the hearth, things like that. You know, everything from skillets to, you know, ladles, bowls, kitchen utensils, stuff like that, things to adorn your house with.

Q:

ROY: So, every day when I start in my shop my processes can change wildly based upon the work that needs to be done, uh, again, adhering to the seven fundamentals, um, and which way you choose to go about them. Most of my work is somewhat repetitious so I can take in... follow a certain process each time. So, say if I’m working on copper work for the day, I know I need cu... cut the material so that starts with... with layout and design work, uh, and I already know some figures off the top of my head that I use when I enter the shop, basically, to make that particular item. And, then, you know, I lay out the buffing wheels and compounds that I’m gonna be using and I make sure everything is set up and ready to go so this way when I’m ready to get in the forge and actually start forging out the copper work, that happens. But, that is a completely process than say, if I have a fireplace frame to do. A fireplace frame is mostly fabrication and so therefore I pack up all the copper work, I pack up all that type stuff and I unpack all the fabrication tools, welders and, you know, chop saws and things of that nature and the stuff that’s focused around there. And, then there’s other things where doing heavy type tooling work, making tools and stuff for custom tooling for other blacksmiths, when I do that type of work that’s all power hammer work or press. And, so I’ve got to make sure that those pieces of equipment are ready to go.