The May hammer-in hosted by Brad Weber was close to a perfect day weather-wise. Brad's place is off the beaten track and quite peaceful. The shop is very open with lots of room for visitors.

John Steel and Chris Holt from PAABA started our day by sharing an etching recipe. Everyone had the chance to decorate their own piece of steel and it was placed in the etching bath to be revealed later. They then gave us tips on creating the frame of the personalized plaque, which was donated to our auction, shown in the photos below.

They kept us guessing about the outcome of their next demo while they shaped and formed the piece. It wasn't until the scraper portion was introduced that someone came up with the right answer. Chris and John chose this demo because it is a "can't go wrong" piece. The caps and tendrils can come out different every time, and it will still be right.

Don Pfaff continued with the nature theme of the day by instructing how to make the adorable snails shown below. Can't you just picture these as door knobs on a garden shed? You can download Don's instructions here.

Chuck Hughes rounded out the day by showing us how he uses air chisels to shape the features on his animal heads. Chuck revealed that he has an interest in sculpting heads and hands, and he's obviously been honing his skills as is evident from the photos below.

Click on any photo to see a larger view.