Melton Forge Works Podcast

Episode 77 - Mike Ganotti Jan 31, 2025

Podcast with Mike Ganotti: From Microsoft & AI to the Blacksmith’s Forge

In this episode, I sit down with Mike Ganotti—an IT professional at Microsoft who’s also carving out a path in blacksmithing and bladesmithing. We talk about how he got started in tech, his role with Microsoft in artificial intelligence, and the journey that led him to swing a hammer in his free time. Mike shares insights into the tools he’s currently using, what he’s saving up for next, his current projects on the workbench and how he balances a demanding career with a passion for metalworking.

Where to Find Mike:

Website: https://saintmichaelsforge.com/

Instagram: @mgannotti

Episode 76 - Jeff Dauterman - Warriors Way Jan 25, 2025

Podcast with Jeff Dauterman of Warriors Way Forge In this episode, I chat with Jeff Dauterman about his journey into blacksmithing and bladesmithing, as well as his work with Warriors Way Forge. We dive into how their nonprofit organization supports veterans through hands-on metalworking, the powerful impact of forging on mental health and community-building, and their exciting partnership with Palmgren Tools. Jeff shares insights into Warrior’s Way’s mission, how they operate, and what it takes to create a supportive environment for veterans learning the art of forging. We also discuss the essential role that quality tools play in their workshops and how Palmgren helps them achieve their goals. Jeff's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dautermanjeff/ Check out Warriors Way Forge: Website: https://warriorswayforge.org/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/warriorswayforge Warriors Way Expo is Nov. 7-9. 2025 in Lima, OH Learn more about Palmgren Tools: Website: https://palmgren.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/palmgren_tools/ If you enjoy this conversation, don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share! Your support helps spread the word about organizations like Warriors Way Forge and the amazing work they do for our veterans. Have questions or comments? Drop them below. Thanks for watching!

Episode 75 - GnomeHammer Forge Jan 17, 2025

This week I got to sit down for a chat with Ryan Brueck of GnomeHammer Forge. Ryan most well known for his hammers and he's been making a BUNCH of them in collaboration with Housemade.us recently. We talk about how he got started, his short and long term goals, why he's getting rid of his hydraulic press, and more. To find more about Ryan and what he's up to check out his Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/gnomehammerforge/ or his website https://gnomehammerforge.org/

Episode 74 - Chat with Hoops & Bifrost Forge Jan 04, 2025

I got together with my friends Michael Hoops and Joey Powell for an hour-long chat for a podcast. We cover a range of topics including induction forging, general business practices, what we're working on in the shop and how many reels we send to one another in a day (too many.) I will be doing many more video podcasts with guests in 2025, looking forward to it!

To see more work from these two great blacksmiths go follow them here: Michael N Hoops (@michael.hoops_bs) • Instagram photos and videos Josiah Powell (@bifrost_forge) • Instagram photos and videos

Episode 73 - Quad State 2024 Recap Sep 30, 2024

Episode 73 - A highly unedited recap of my experience at Quad State 2024 as a demonstrator

Episode 72 - ABANA conference prep Jun 04, 2024

Derek discusses how he’s preparing for the ABANA conference and what he plans to talk about and demonstrate

Episode 71 - Tire hammer or self contained hammer? May 17, 2024

Derek explains his ideas behind this topic and gives an update on what he’s been up to in the shop.

Episode 70 Demos & Life Lessons Dec 04, 2023

This episode covers several weeks and includes information about demonstrations that I’ve given and attended recently.

Episode 69 Oct 07, 2023

The return of the podcast. A wrapup of my recent trips to Alabama and Ohio and some talk about the Coal ironworks power hammer and induction machine.

Episode 68 Mar 27, 2023

A little more social media, rambling and updates from the last few weeks

Episode 67 Feb 04, 2023

Recap of almost two months of blacksmith related 3d printing stuff. News on the second round of swage blocks and more general rambling. Enjoy?

Episode 66 Dec 03, 2022

Shop update and the story of how the Melton Mini Swage came to be.

Episode 65 Sep 17, 2022

Instagram shenanigans & catching up since July.

Episode 64 Sep 17, 2022

Recap of mid summer July 2022

Episode 63 Jun 20, 2022

Recap of my trip to blade show 2022

Episode 62 May 30, 2022

A recap of the last MFC Meeting as well as info on using 3D print technology for helping to learn blacksmithing and hammer control.

Episode 61 May 21, 2022

Lessons learned in two years of induction forging

Episode 60 May 17, 2022

Are you cheating?

Episode 59 May 09, 2022

I’m back! Catching up and getting back in the podcasting saddle. A chat about where I’ve been and what I’ve been up to.

Episode 58 Feb 18, 2022

Getting the MFC shop cleaned up, working on new coffee scoop ideas

Episode 57 Jan 31, 2022

I demonstrated the coffee scoop and gave a talk about social media and blacksmithing at the Texas blacksmith conference in La Grange, TX.

Episode 56 Jan 20, 2022

How learning guitar and learning blacksmithing are similar. Website updates and getting ready for the Texas blacksmith conference in La Grange, Tx January 28

Episode 55 Jan 10, 2022

Just catching up from the holidays. What I’ve been up to and some things coming in the next few weeks.

Episode 54 Nov 17, 2021

Quick recap of the last tire hammer build and some suggestions for increasing your sales using social media and web pages

Episode 53 Oct 28, 2021

Shop talk about using technology in the blacksmith shop, a new anvil and another tire hammer.

Episode 52 Sep 04, 2021

Using material with a story, catching up after hurricane Ida and a cool story about a couple of new hammers I received.

Episode 51 Aug 17, 2021

Shop maintenance tasks. Induction forge problems, coffee scoops and railroad spike knife classes

Episode 50 Jul 21, 2021

Catching up on the last few weeks. Talking about the process of product development in a small shop in regards to the coffee scoop project.

Episode 49 - Blade Show Jun 13, 2021

A short review of my weekend at Blade Show 2021 in Atlanta

Episode 48 Jun 03, 2021

What I’ve been up to during the end of May and into the first week of June. Laser cut bottle opener blanks and 3D printing.

Episode 47 - A bit of personal info and catching up on the last week May 15, 2021

Mental health & how I try to keep it in check. Catching up on the last weeks of April

Episode 46 - John Rigoni Apr 27, 2021

Today's episode is an interview with John Rigoni of Rigoni Ironworks. John is a blacksmith and firefighter from Texas. He's one of my heroes in the craft and he's got an amazing YouTube channel with some of the cleanest forging you'll see. He's a very talented guy and I was thankful to be able to talk to him about his background, some of his tools and his thoughts on his work ethic in the shop. Enjoy! You can find out more about John here: http://www.rigoniironworks.com/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1pIZaFcd2sTC65bijHrgYw John Rigoni (@rigoni_ironworks) • Instagram photos and videos

Episode 45 Apr 24, 2021

What I’ve been up to this week. Unloading tire hammers, unboxing the mr volcano forge

Episode 44 Apr 12, 2021

Workshop talk and a short re-cap from my 3rd tire hammer workshop.

Episode 43 Apr 07, 2021

Catching up on what I'm doing, shop cleanup and a bit of talk about the ABANA virtual learning class "Business of Blacksmithing"

Episode 42 Mar 23, 2021

What I’ve been up to the past week and a recap from the LAMA conference

Episode 41 - The Facebook Rant Mar 13, 2021

We’ve all had negative experiences on Facebook in blacksmithing or bladesmith groups, Some of those groups are really helpful, some not so much. I’ll give a few thoughts on the topic.

Episode 40 - 2nd interview with Nils Ögren Mar 09, 2021

Episode 40, interview with Nils Ogren, blacksmith and axe maker from Sweden. We catch up on what he's been up to this year including his experience with Forged in Fire in Sweden, his new Power Hammer and some talk about how we both are using the web and social media for our blacksmithing businesses.

Episode 39 Mar 03, 2021

Catching up over a long break from podcasting and a bit of small business talk

Episode 38 Jan 09, 2021

Year in review Q&A

Episode 37 Dec 09, 2020

Tire hammer lessons and miscellaneous ramblings

Episode 36 - October tire hammer build workshop Oct 28, 2020

We built 32 enhanced Clay Spencer tire hammers in 2.5 days. The episode has audio before during snd after the build.

Episode 35 Oct 22, 2020

Gearing up for the tire hammer build. Finishing another batch of steak turners and talking about letter stamping in steel.

Episode 34 - September-October updates Oct 12, 2020

A recap of the last few weeks and a look ahead to the end of October

Episode 33 - Railroad spikes Sep 09, 2020

In this episode I talk about the merits of using railroad spikes in blacksmithing Work and some of the controversy around them.

Episode 32 - business & website chat Aug 31, 2020

Talk about my business process thoughts, social media and websites

Episode 31 - induction forge part 2 Aug 16, 2020

More talk about the induction forge and how the cooling system is working for it.

Episode 30 - Starting my journey into induction forging Aug 09, 2020

In this episode I give some details about the induction forge and you can follow along as I collect the items needed to get it running in the shop

Episode 29 - Perfection vs good enough? Jul 27, 2020

Just a quick chat about something I’ve been thinking about in regards to personal work standards and efficiency in the shop.

Episode 28 - new tools, eye injuries and a hammer class Jul 03, 2020

Dust collection comes to the Melton forge works shop, I had an eye injury this week and a friend came by for a hammer making class

Episode 27 Jun 21, 2020

Had a couple of questions come up about how I take orders so I thought I’d discuss that a bit this week.

Episode 26 -Damascus and the new maker Jun 14, 2020

In this episode I talk a little bit about my feelings regarding Damascus and new knife makers.

Episode 25- weekly updates Jun 09, 2020

Weekly updates and a chat about artistic free form forging versus detailed layout

Episode 24 - Grinders, to build or buy? May 31, 2020

A talk about the grinders I built and some suggestions on a few people and companies to buy one from, if you’re not into building one yourself.

Episode 23 - Out of practice May 19, 2020

Come along with me as I talk about my week in blacksmithing

Episode 22 - Forged in Fire interview process and my weekly updates May 09, 2020

In this episode I chat a bit about what to expect if you’re wanting to apply for Forged in Fire and some info about what I’ve been up to this week.

Episode 21 - Weekly update for May 2020 May 02, 2020

Updates on the week. A new leg vise, more power hammer tooling and some good advice from a listener

Episode 20 - Recap of my week Apr 25, 2020

I talk about the things I got done this week, a little revisiting the tire hammer vs air hammer discussion and some info about the first things forged on the 88

Episode 19 - Tire hammers vs Air hammers Apr 18, 2020

A suggested topic on Instagram for this episode. I go over the pros and cons for the tire hammer and the self contained air hammer based on my experience

Episode 18 - Finishing up the 88 hammer install Apr 16, 2020

I finish installing the 88 and moving most of the tools in the shop back in place

Episode 17 - Mask supports & a new hammer Apr 12, 2020

This week I talk about the mask supports I’ve been making, a bit of a struggle with motivation and details on a power hammer upgrade

Episode 16 - Hump tools and acid. Apr 06, 2020

I give muriatic acid a try for descaling forged hammers and talk about a hammer making jig I made.

Episode 15 - Flypress tools and a chat about my day job Apr 02, 2020

I talk a bit about the way I’m making my Flypress tooling interchangeable with other tools in the shop and a bit about how the coronavirus has affected my day job.

The Melton Forge Works Podcast EP14 Mar 30, 2020

Advice & arrowheads. I chat a little about some general advice for staying motivated as a new Blacksmith and a bit about a crazy thing I found in a creek.

The Melton Forge Works Podcast EP13. Flypresses and hammers Mar 27, 2020

Talking about the last few hammers I made and some work done on the big red flypress

The Melton Forge Works Podcast Ep12 Mar 21, 2020

I talk about die saddles and answer a few questions from Instagram

The Melton Forge Works Podcast Ep11 - Nils Ogren Mar 16, 2020

A chat with Swedish blacksmith Nils Ogren!

The Melton Forge Works Episode 10. Burned tools & frustration Mar 16, 2020

A recap of my weekend activity centered around getting two power hammers moved to new locations in the shop

The Melton Forge Works Podcast EP9 - Jordan Goodwin Mar 12, 2020

My first guest on the podcast. A conversation with blacksmith Jordan Goodwin. We talk about the business of blacksmithing, narrowing the scope of your work and a few other topics over the course of an hour.

The Melton Forge Works Podcast Episode 8. Shop talk and failure Mar 12, 2020

A couple of short chats about what I’ve been up to in the shop, a little talk about failure and a tidbit on upcoming tire hammer classes

The Melton Forge Works Podcast Ep7 Mar 09, 2020

In this episode I talk a little about how I do batch work and a random chat about my flypress

The Melton forge works podcast episode 6 - Websites and blacksmithing Mar 05, 2020

A short chat about what website I use

Melton Forge Works Podcast Episode 5 Tire hammer workshop short recap Mar 03, 2020

A few details about what I learned, what I thought made the workshop a success. A few audio issues in the latter half, still figuring out the audio.

Melton Forge Works Podcast Episode 4, Tire Hammer Build workshop Mar 02, 2020

In this episode I talk a little bit about what went on during the tire hammer build work shop, a little bit about what my role was and I answer some questions about future workshops.

Melton Forge Works Podcast Episode 3. Have kiln, will travel. Feb 28, 2020

In this episode I talk a little bit more about getting ready for the Tyer hammer class, give me a few details about me and about why I wanted to go and build another tire hammer.

Episode 2 - Hammer build talk Part 2 Feb 26, 2020

I talk a bit more about the upcoming tire hammer build workshop

Episode 1 - The Melton Forge Works Podcast intro Feb 26, 2020

An introduction to the Melton Forge Works Podcast.