Both site concept proposals had the fire access ending to the west (right side in the picture MAtherton has posted above) of the basketball court.
here are some heavily cropped selections of the proposed fire access with turn around. The important thing is that they get a truck within 200 (if I remember correctly it’s 200) feet of the inside corner of the courtyard.
So what is the 1234ABCDE blocks in the site overlay intended to be? And is the weird shape area some type of proposed gazebo? Sorry for all the questions but I’m new and just the amount of all the site planning for a relatively new space is impressive.
I mean by the looks of the site overlay everything is pretty much spoken for.
My bad. I’m a full throttle sort of individual with projects so I want everything to do with the forge committee done three days ago.
We will be taking pictures and I’ll probably bring someone to take video when we ask some questions so 1) everyone gets to see the awesome regardless of commitment and 2) so anyone can review what we learn just as if they were there when we grilled them for answers.
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As far as I know the “Full Site Master Plan” proposals are just concepts. There was intended to be discussion concerning the various aspects, but I don’t think that discussion has really happened yet.
The reason I posted it was solely to illustrate the proposed fire access which in my mind is a little more set as that part of the proposal is meeting code rather than just combining a wish list of ideas.
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There’s a recording posted from the March Quarterly Membership Meeting on the wiki where the site plan was discussed if you want to dive into that.
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Sounds much more fun the round 3 with international fire code so I’ll give it a dive.
in the previous Douglas building we were not allowed to have propane tanks larger than your typical bbq grill size(20lb). We had a 100lb tank at one time until we were told we couldnt use it. The old forge was then connected to natural gas. We once again had issues with safety. needed to add more shutoff valves, longer gas pipes etc. At that time the metal shop was getting very crowded with the addition of powder coating, cnc plasma, etc. So We discussed different options. decided the forge should go away, the anvil would stay , and we would build a propane forge based off of the small forges at the blacksmith guild. It was also decided it was easier for people to join the blacksmith guild for $20 a year as they have multiple forges, anvils, hammers etc. and are very knowledgeable. It didnt make sense for us to try to get to their level when we didnt have the space, or someone willing to teach the classes. We were in talks of having special Makeict classes at the blacksmith guild.
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Thanks for the historical information on forges at the space. I know the Douglas Design corridor had quite a few restrictions placed on businesses so I’m wondering if it was an issue in the special zoning or just due to building size.
So I guess my big question as there is a nearby collection of forges and skilled blacksmiths is does forge add value to the space or are we tilting at a hot windmill? For me while I’ve been at the metalshop I’ve watched multiple makes weld up Damascus billets in hot metals and the leave. I assume they head south or to a personal forge to forge weld and work the metal. For example making a knife wouldn’t it be great if that same person could forge weld the billet by taking 100ft or so walk. And even better talking the wood stock he is going to use to make a handle and step across the hall and work it out in the wood shop. Or a leather cover in textiles. Or go super crazy and attemp to set stones or filigree work. Or electroplating with magical angry voltage pixies. Or laser engraving the blade for a special occasion. All in one area. It’s super head in the clouds aims but it has massive potential to add something big to the space.
Anyway my ten cents on it.
Swords with stones get my vote 
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Does the blacksmith’s guild offer 7 day a week 365 day a year access? If not, then a forge at make would definitely offer something of value. Even with limited hours so as not to disturb the neighbors I think it would be worthwhile.
As far as the site-plan proposal discussion at the quarterly meeting, I was there and participated. We were supposed to “take feedback from the membership for 30 days, then maybe an online poll to finalize feedback” which never really happened. We do need to have that discussion, and at length.
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I think a carved out piece of the blacktop would be an ideal place. Ceramics could take a piece as well and I’ll definitely speak for the garden committee that we would love the ability to repair tools or craft small widgets that the garden might need but are expensive to procure, like reinforcement bars for the raised beds or decorative items to spruce up the area.
I can be ready to go with classes as soon as we have a space and a few materials. I can haul my two burner propane forge over from across the street for “know your forge” classes. I also have a couple designs ready for a charcoal forge that we can review in our next meeting
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My pie-in-the-sky, all yeses given, self-funded blank check, pick where, multiyear dream idea is about a 200sqft section of ground with a 6 to 8 inch slab of concrete over most except for one area around 30-50sqft where there is a 2-3ft block poured. On the slab all snuggly close is a hand built brick forge and wood fired ceramics kiln under a vaulted fire-proof roof. Maybe there are some barn-style doors on all four sides to secure the area when it’s not in use but the ability to make it almost open air so you can work ‘comfortably’. Big burly anvil for hand working and twist/scrolling and on the thick boy slab a baby power hammer for when you get tired of asking the metal to move nicely and need to command it to. Small hopper of charcoal we can draw from. Feeding air to the forge is a MakeICT-made old fashioned bellows but nicely hidden an electric blower motor for when you just aren’t feeling all 16th century-ish.
Anyway, back down to earth. Definitely think we need to have some possible classes and a base authorization path roughed-in.
My initial thought on an authorization path (including new, hot stuff specific training) is:
Metal Shop Safety > “Don’t Be On Fire” Basic Fire Safety/Extinguisher Training > Know Your Forge > Basics of Blacksmithing
If someone is dedicated enough to go through that list they should be responsible enough to be trusted with non-cherry flavored red metals.
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I think a lean-to off the metal-shop south wall with gravel floor would be a good start
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I do not want to derail this thread or group. @james.a.seymour mentioned something on the board meeting. He mentioned casting. I had not raised it while reading your post since it was focused on black smiting.
It has been on my list to start poking other members for interest about metal casting. I was going to start a parallel thread. There could be some overlap (secure outdoor propane storage), noise from blowers or aspirated propane burners. There would be some co planning of outdoor space allocation. poring area.
If you as a group would like to keep the scope restricted to black smiting or expand it to other forms of hot metal please let me know and I will proceed accordingly.
Happy Hammering.
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Would burn bans ever become a problem with the outdoor forge? I know that charcoal cooking and chiminea fires can be targeted - thought I’d ask the question.
Burn bans, such as annually in April for Sedgwick County, have exceptions. I’m not saying a hot dog on a stick gets you around the ban on outdoor fires during April, but …
(April outdoor fire ban is to reduce ozone sample readings while pasture and stubble burns are potentially enough to trigger remedies that no one wants, due to federal laws).
OTOH, during red flag warnings, common sense should prevail.
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Before you decide to carve up the blacktop, check with the general population. I know we had a group wanting to put the basketball court back in business.
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Metal casting, at least for me, seems like a logical progression for a forge/blacksmith committee. I know we crush soda cans for recycling/selling so smelting cans to bars of aluminum to sell/use would save space and keep a less then reputable scrap buyer honest. It also opens the door to casting ingots of alloys from cheap/scrap base materials. Or just good old mold pouring.
A burn ban could probably shut down an open top forge in the same way recreational fire pits would. A enclose, hooded, or gas fuel forge would be more in a gray area with a burn ban. And a small gas forge that we could use in the hot metals shop gets around a burn ban altogether but goes into whether the insurance underwriters would self-ignight.
And as for right now I don’t think there is any talk of chunking a section of the blacktop. I think the committee overall is trying to be as out of the way as possible. The black top area makes a really nice launch pad for my drone at the space so if someone needs help trying to resurface it I’d help out.
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The burn ban question needs to be asked at the Haysville club.
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