The weather this morning did not want to cooperate. Thick fog slowed our journey back to Harriton House. Once back at the forge, we learned the proper way to start a blacksmith fire, complete with acetylene torches. Five fires were blazing by 10 so we spread out and got to work on our projects.
We began to work on our large projects after that, with our ideas ranging from utensils to musicals instruments. We started the day off strong, hammering away for a couple of solid hours before we broke for lunch. Bruce was a tremendous help as he seemed to be everywhere at once: consulting on plans of action for some, teaching people a specific technique, and holding down projects for others as we smashed away at them. Soon everyone’s idea began to take shape, literally, in the form of a elaborate key, a chain, and a ringing, square-shaped, musical triangle. After lunch as the fires and our first wave of enthusiasm died down, we began to fall into a routine and continued to heat and hammer until it was time to leave.
Taking a break from lunch and blacksmithing, we visited several animals living on the property. There were sheep, horses, cows, and chickens. We fed the horse carrots, pet the cows, and occasionally chased after the chickens. After greeting the animals we returned to the forges ready to start on our projects once again. One struggle we faced was making sure the fire in our forges was maintained. We had to supply the fire with a fresh supply of coal while manually pumping air into the inside of our fires. If it wasn’t done properly, our metal would not be able to be heated to a hot enough temperature to make it pliable. It was a very successful day full of new experiences and blacksmithing!