H A N S P E O T
New Carlisle, Ohio
B R I A N T H O M P S O N
Fairborn, Ohio
Hans Peot, a retired electrical engineer and former Assistant Program Director for the B-1 Bomber, is a master blacksmith and longtime SOFA supporter. Hans began blacksmithing in 1981 and has served as SOFA's President and Secretary-Treasurer for a total of 18 years. He continues to support the club by serving as one of seven board members. Hans generously donated his time this past February (2007), on a very frigid Saturday afternoon, to demonstrate and give the history of the Clayton Knot. He and Brian Thompson also demonstrated how to slit and drift a hole in half-inch mild steel square stock.
Brian Thompson, a skilled welder, has been blacksmithing since 1985. He has been commissioned to design and build architectural pieces, including a gate for Corinth Presbyterian Church and a wraparound railing for the deck of a Dayton home. Brian is a long-standing member of SOFA, and he served as Quadstate Coordinator for seven years. He continues to support the club by serving as one of seven board members. Brian assisted Hans in the demonstration.
CLAYTON KNOT
[ Clayton Knot, Slitting and drifting ]
Hans begins by explaining the history of the design of the Clayton Knot;
then, he describes the process and the tools that he will use to bend
the
six rods needed to make the Clayton Knot.
He has several sets of these tools in different sizes, and the set
he
uses depends on the diameter of the round stock.
.
In these two frames, he places a 13" long, 3/16" round mild steel rod
between the two pins. He slides the bending tool over the
pins
opposite
each other;
then he pulls each bending tool
approximately 120 degrees
away
from its original position
Once he bends six rods, it's time to form the Clayton Knot.
This becomes tricky - it's a puzzle not easily solved and it
takes more than two hands to assemble......
[ continued... ]
