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BobL
11th Jul 2010, 02:06 PM
Today I had the opportunity to attend some of the World Blacksmithing Championship heats in Calgary during the Calgary stampede. Competing for Australia were Dean Lewis and Fred Savage. I don't know the outcome (these a posted after I left) but I think Dean and Fred didn't get into the final because they didn't finish shoeing. Nevertheless I found the whole thing fascinating.

Here are a few pics

Here's the setup - 14 forges, staged start, this heat was make and fit two heavy horse shoes within one hour. Dean and Fred are the blokes in the blue singlets in the middle of the shot
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We got there early and managed to sneak into the competitors area, spectators were supposed to be on the bleachers.

Shortening the stock to build up the middle of the shoe
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Rounding over the ends of the shoe.
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Dean shortening the stock
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I dunno, is that hot enough?
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One of the Canadian Teams in action
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Some more shots of Dean in action
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Fred at the forge
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FInal rounding over
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Cutting the nail groove.
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Woodwould
11th Jul 2010, 03:08 PM
If your images depict the nature of the competition, I'm surprised the event is called the World Blacksmithing Championships. Blacksmiths are general forgers and metal-workers, while farriers are individuals who combine horse shoeing with a level of veterinary care for horses' feet.

Any farriers I've met would be more than a little miffed to be called blacksmiths!

BobL
11th Jul 2010, 03:54 PM
If your images depict the nature of the competition, I'm surprised the event is called the World Blacksmithing Championships. Blacksmiths are general forgers and metal-workers, while farriers are individuals who combine horse shoeing with a level of veterinary care for horses' feet. Any farriers I've met would be more than a little miffed to be called blacksmiths!

Well, all I can say the contestants didn't seem to be too worried about the name of the competition .


Here is what they have to do over 3 days :
*************************************************************************************
THURSDAY, JULY 8
A full day of Forging
Class 20/30: 60 minutes
Competitors to shoe one foot with appropriate concave barstock. Shoe to have a hammer drawn toe clip. Specimen shoe must also be forged during time limit to be identified at competitors meeting. Both the shod foot and specimen must be complete to be judged.

Class 40/50: 50 minutes
Both the aluminum bar shoe and the Morgan hind must be complete to qualify for judging. Each shoe will be judged individually and must be completed to specifications.

Aluminum Bar shoe
Specs: ¾ fullered straight bar to be forge welded. Toe insert to be made from stock provided. 140mm wide. Hammer finish only. Six nails punched for MX60. Barstock: 330mm of 10mm x 25mm aluminum flat and 305mm of 7mm round for toe insert.

Morgan Hind
Specs: Toe of shoe to be forged for break over. Plain stamped for six nail holes to fit a city head 6. Heel caulks to be forged. Quarter clips to be drawn. Hammer finish only. 115mm wide.
Barstock: 265mm of 10mm x 25mm flat.

FRIDAY, JULY 9
Forging and Team Events
Class 60 continues to see time on the clock reduced and this time competitors have only 40 minutes to build a pair of tongs. Our Eagle Eye class, Class 70 requires competitors to forge a heart bar shoe to a foot model provided in 25 minutes. Contestants return in the afternoon to compete in the Four Man Team Draft Horseshoeing…always a crowd favorite.

Class 60 – Tong class: 40 minutes
Contestants to forge a pair of V-jaw tongs to fit a piece of 5/8” square stock from the blanks and rivet provided. Finished tongs will be judged on fit, forging and finish.
Barstock: Blanks to be forged from ¾” round with 4” of length before the transition to the reins. Blanks may be cut shorter prior to class start.

Class 70 – Eagle Eye: 25 minutes
Contestants to forge a ¾ fullered heartbar to fit foot model provided. Appropriate barstock selection provided suitable number of holes to be punched for MX60.

Class 110 – Four Man Team Draft Horseshoeing: 120 minutes
Click here for Class 110 Shoe Picture
This has always been one of our premier events and looking towards the future, we have decided to up the ante. A very generous local Calgary oilman has donated a large sum to enable us to make winning the four man well worth the tremendous effort.
Barstock: 13mm x 32mm flat
Specs: ¾ Fullered flat shoes toe clips front and hind to be hammer drawn. Shoes to have definite inside and outside branches.
Nail: Size of choice.

SATURDAY, JULY 10
Fast and Fantastic
The Two Man is a shoeing class this year with teams shoeing a front and a hind foot of a light draft horse within the 60 minute time limit. This is the last chance at points to qualify for the Top Ten. The “potluck” Artistic Forging follows directly after and is bound to generate some interest on the part of both spectator and fellow competitors! Saturday night is a great night to socialize and soak up the talent at the Metal Art Auction.

Class 80 – The Cyril Standen Signature Class (Two Man Team Shoeing): 60 minutes
Click here for Class 80 Shoe Pictures
Two person teams will shoe a front and a hind foot of a light draft horse using appropriate flat barstock provided. Shoes to be ¾ fullered with toe clip drawn from masselotes. Both feet must be finished in order to qualify for final judging.

SUNDAY, JULY 11
The Grande Finale
The pressure is on as the Top Ten Finalists battle it out to make the Top Five and a chance at the World Championship. The World Champion, along with the top competitors, will walk the stage in front of 17,000 people in the Grandstand. A Banquet and Awards Ceremony will follow in the evening.

Woodwould
11th Jul 2010, 04:22 PM
Fair enough. I meant to say before, great pictures!

Dave J
11th Jul 2010, 04:26 PM
If your images depict the nature of the competition, I'm surprised the event is called the World Blacksmithing Championships. Blacksmiths are general forgers and metal-workers, while farriers are individuals who combine horse shoeing with a level of veterinary care for horses' feet.

Any farriers I've met would be more than a little miffed to be called blacksmiths!

I thought it would have been the the other way around
The blacksmith would be miffed to be called a farrier
and the farriers would be honored to be called a blacksmith.

Bob,
I never even imagined that these type of contest existed, thanks for posting with photo's.

Dave

Woodwould
11th Jul 2010, 04:35 PM
I thought it would have been the the other way around
The blacksmith would be miffed to be called a farrier
and the farriers would be honored to be called a blacksmith.

Anyone with developed forearms, a hammer, hearth and an anvil can set themselves up as a blacksmith, but becoming a farrier requires knowledge of equine anatomy, which entails much regulated learning at specialist colleges.

Woodwould
11th Jul 2010, 04:39 PM
Wikipedia has some info. "In the United Kingdom, it is illegal for anyone other than a registered farrier to call themselves a farrier or to carry out any farriery work under the Farriers (Registration) Act 1975". (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farrier)

I don't know about Australia, but the US has similar guidelines all in order to protect horses from untrained blacksmiths.

Manuka Jock
11th Jul 2010, 04:40 PM
'Blacksmith' champs seems about right to me . The emphasis on things relating to shoeing fits with the overall nature of the Calgary Stampede .

Bob , were there any blokes wearing silver ferns on black singlets there ? :)

Manuka Jock
11th Jul 2010, 04:42 PM
Anyone with developed forearms, a hammer, hearth and an anvil can set themselves up as a blacksmith, but becoming a farrier requires knowledge of equine anatomy, which entails much regulated learning at specialist colleges.
You do realise that Blacksmithing is a highly skilled trade don't you ?

Woodwould
11th Jul 2010, 04:48 PM
You do realise that Blacksmithing is a highly skilled trade don't you ?
Yes, I happen to know a fair bit about blacksmithing and a fair bit about farriers too.

BobL
11th Jul 2010, 04:52 PM
MJ there probably were some "all blacks" but I couldn't see any.

I spoke to one guy who was a spectator and he said he was a farrier of Vic racehorses. When I asked him if he every competed? he said he would find it too hard, he never makes any shoes, just buys pre-made blanks and resizes them.

Dave J
11th Jul 2010, 04:57 PM
Not sure about other farriers but we have 2 horses that get shod. All the farriers we have ever had over the last 30 years (and everyone around us) have been taught from older people, that have either passed on or are too old to do it any more, not taught at any at specialist college. I will also add no one has ever had a lame horse from it being shod either.
Maybe for high dollar race horses etc I could see this being a necessity, but for country people, it is taught by years of look and lean.
Dave

Manuka Jock
11th Jul 2010, 04:58 PM
Yes, I happen to know a fair bit about blacksmithing and a fair bit about farriers too.
So the reason for your comment above was ?

BobL
11th Jul 2010, 05:05 PM
Bob,
I never even imagined that these type of contest existed, thanks for posting with photo's.

Cheers Dave, yeah the competition was fascinating to watch. Every team was different. Some blokes run between what they do - others go slow and steady. You can see the nerves with some blokes dropping their shoes while the beat them. The timing of the blows and moving the tools is awesome.

These Canadians looked pretty coordinated to me.
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The littler guy is using a short grip on that hammer and it was ping-ping-ping-ping - very impressive. Obviously a lot of practice and years of experience involved. You'll not that not many are wearing safety glasses or proper boots or aprons/chaps!

At one point Dean shortened off a piece of stock and the red hot piece went flying off into a smal group of spectators!

Manuka Jock
11th Jul 2010, 05:05 PM
MJ there probably were some "all blacks" but I couldn't see any.

I spoke to one guy who was a spectator and he said he was a farrier of Vic racehorses. When I asked him if he every competed? he said he would find it too hard, he never makes any shoes, just buys pre-made blanks and resizes them.
Yep , until they come across a big fella , and they gotta get out the full kit and work up a sweat eh .
My brother had a trotter that wore shoes that would have done a Clydesdale proud . 18" bar stock :U

BobL
11th Jul 2010, 05:08 PM
If anyone is interested I have posted a heap of pics about the Calgary stampede Parade here:
http://www.woodworkforums.com/f122/pics-calgary-stampede-parade-120579/

BobL
11th Jul 2010, 05:14 PM
Yep , until they come across a big fella , and they gotta get out the full kit and work up a sweat eh .
My brother had a trotter that wore shoes that would have done a Clydesdale proud . 18" bar stock :U

Here's the size of some of the shoes these smithies were making.
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Dave J
11th Jul 2010, 05:18 PM
Had a look at the photo's in the link, their great, thanks for them.

Dave

Manuka Jock
11th Jul 2010, 05:35 PM
Here's the size of some of the shoes these smithies were making.
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Yap , thems the buggas :D

Bob , here is a bit more info in the event Fran Jurga`s Hoof Blog: Up-to-the Minute News from Hoofcare & Lameness Journal: Calgary Stampede: World Champion Will Be Named on Sunday (http://hoofcare.blogspot.com/2010/07/calgary-stampede-world-champion-will-be.html)

danielhobby
11th Jul 2010, 10:51 PM
if you were to look at the stock of different sizes and styles of shoe available you would know that not many shoes are needed to be made these days,even for corrective work,minor adjustments are done on site in a gas fired hot box and some of the roughest bastards around make bloody good farriers.the tafe hierachy spotted a good opening for a fee charged course an presto!if you dont have adiploma or a batchelor degree,according to some you dont know a donkey from a broodmare.

wheelinround
12th Jul 2010, 10:22 AM
Bob amazing insight thanks :2tsup:

Pops
12th Jul 2010, 12:26 PM
Hi Bob,

Another set of fine photos. What a great holiday. Thanks for posting.

Cheers
Pops

Christos
12th Jul 2010, 02:31 PM
Thanks for the posts.

BobL
12th Jul 2010, 03:08 PM
Cheers guys.

I spent all day at the semifinals and finals today.
The semis were a run off for the top ten from which they cut it down to five for the final.

The final was between, an Englishman (current world champ), 3 Scots and 2 Yanks. The pom won, a yank was second and a scot was 3rd.

Oh yeah and Aussie Dean Lewis won the 2 artsitic classes.

Photos coming soon.

wheelinround
12th Jul 2010, 03:48 PM
Cheers guys.

I spent all day at the semifinals and finals today.
The semis were a run off for the top ten from which they cut it down to five for the final.

The final was between, an Englishman (current world champ), 3 Scots and 2 Yanks. The pom won, a yank was second and a scot was 3rd.

Oh yeah and Aussie Dean Lewis won the 2 artsitic classes.

Photos coming soon.


what more can be said after all they have been shoeing horses for longer.:2tsup:

Unlike the Irishman who's still out in the paddock shooing them:D

wheelinround
12th Jul 2010, 03:50 PM
Bob if I was there I'd be all over the wagons photographing the works of art so one day I can build a scale model one. Lets hope Aussie doesn't find this page he's after photo's also same thing. He really like the stagecoaches though.

BobL
12th Jul 2010, 04:21 PM
Bob if I was there I'd be all over the wagons photographing the works of art so one day I can build a scale model one. Lets hope Aussie doesn't find this page he's after photo's also same thing. He really like the stagecoaches though.

I took heaps of pictures of carriages today - I'll post some later on
Check this one out for now.
http://www.woodworkforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=141604&stc=1&d=1278912009

Manuka Jock
12th Jul 2010, 04:33 PM
Hey Bob , did they catch the bugga who started the stampede yet :U

BobL
13th Jul 2010, 01:03 AM
Hey Bob , did they catch the bugga who started the stampede yet :U

Yeah, they tied him atop a bull and left him in an open paddock for a while - that's how they invented bull riding isn't it?

BobL
13th Jul 2010, 01:13 AM
Bob if I was there I'd be all over the wagons photographing the works of art so one day I can build a scale model one. Lets hope Aussie doesn't find this page he's after photo's also same thing. He really like the stagecoaches though.

All the carriages are parked outside in a big parking lot and you can get right up close for a butchers hook. Here's a few picks of Wagons I found amongst my pics.

This purple one won an award
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I like the wooden ones - both of these had disc brakes.
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This one is not bad.
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There is another green one and a black one that are real beauties but they were under tarps and I was not in time to see it come out of the ring and get close ups.

wheelinround
13th Jul 2010, 10:30 AM
Bob they are incredible thanks for that
:D:D:D

Ray

BobL
13th Jul 2010, 12:41 PM
Finally some pics from the finals.

The winner was Englishman Steven Beane, second was Texan Jake Engler, Scotland’s Derek Gardner was third (Engler placed ahead of him because one of shoes was a slightly better fit to his horse) another Scot,David Varini, was fourth, and Texan Gene Lieser, fifth.

Shots from the semi-finals
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Shoe made in the semifinal - just a single front clip
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One of the Scotts getting into it
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Shots from the finals
Jake Engler in action
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Check out how close the champ works to the job, and no face/eye protection either.
In the first two shots he's using the ball head of the hammer to shape the twin shoe clips required in the finals shoes.
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The champ awaits the judges checking of his shoes before finally nailing them on.
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wheelinround
13th Jul 2010, 01:29 PM
Bob last photo of the carriages no thats not me in the back ground.......wish it was though camera would be like ours working OT.

Love the photo of the red hot shoe being fitted all a good but its fantastic worth $$$$ a shot like that.

Ray

BobL
13th Jul 2010, 01:53 PM
Bob last photo of the carriages no thats not me in the back ground.......wish it was though camera would be like ours working OT. Yeah I notice the facilities seemed to be quite wheelchair user friendly.


Love the photo of the red hot shoe being fitted all a good but its fantastic worth $$$$ a shot like that. Yeah - I quite like that one - that competitor was the only one to get his shoe that hot for fitting

.

Lignum
13th Jul 2010, 02:16 PM
Any farriers I've met would be more than a little miffed to be called blacksmiths!

And vice versa, my Dad was a Blacksmith and would turn in his grave at the thought of being compared to a Farrier.

I wonder if those Farriers could put a steel rim around the timber spoked wheels :)

Woodwould
13th Jul 2010, 03:36 PM
I wonder if those Farriers could put a steel rim around the timber spoked wheels :)
I doubt it, that's wheelwrights' work! :q

QC Inspector
13th Jul 2010, 08:25 PM
I doubt it, that's wheelwrights' work! :q

Not everywhere. :no: My Dad was apprenticed to a Cartwright when he was 14 in Denmark. He said they did everything for wagons/carts including some cooperage work on wagons with a water tank on them. All their wheels went to the Blacksmith to have the tires put on the wheels they fixed or made. Blacksmith also made or repaired all the metal parts for the wagons they worked on. The "old man" retired when Dad finished his apprenticeship, and he went to work in furniture factories.

Good thread. I recently got a small propane farriers forge, anvil (hundred weight) and leg vise, along with a few tools from a guy on Craigslist for $400Can. Just waiting for a propane tank a buddy is giving me when he gets his new barbecue. I'll be able to bring happiness to my neighbours making woodworking tools. :~ :doh:: :2tsup: :D

Pete

Woodwould
14th Jul 2010, 12:17 AM
I was being facetious. I restored several horse-drawn hearses that belonged to a publican/funeral director back in Ireland. I had to remake four wheels IIRC. One of our local blacksmiths had a huge tire plate and he and I dropped new tires over the felloes on the plate.

BobL
14th Jul 2010, 01:50 AM
My maternal grandfather died before I was born and lived in a small village of a few hundred people about 50 km north of Venice. As was typical of small villages he was a self taught "blacksmith" that did everything from cart and carriage work, shoeing, farm and house fixtures and fittings and animal care. His real passion was to attend monthly horse sales and buy sick horses and nurse them back to good health. His knowledge of farm animal illnesses was considered one of the best in the district and some of the local vets would sometimes call him in for a second opinion. Maybe this is where my interest in smithying comes from - but curiously I have little affinity for farm animals.

Harry72
14th Jul 2010, 07:08 PM
I took heaps of pictures of carriages today - I'll post some later on
Check this one out for now.
http://www.woodworkforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=141604&stc=1&d=1278912009

I like this one... but I like the shed its in more:D

Manuka Jock
14th Jul 2010, 07:24 PM
Its almost as big au yours Harry :D

BobL
15th Jul 2010, 01:26 AM
I like this one... but I like the shed its in more:D

It's actually a big long tent - they call it the BIG TOP. Even with 10 smithies going at it full steam it coped with the forges and fumes but it was not big enough when they did the tractor pulls inside it and even though there are two huge extractor fans at each end I still got a headache.

This is about a half of it, it's as long the other way.
http://www.woodworkforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=141847&stc=1&d=1279117387