May be taking over a blacksmith shop....

[Glenn]

The business books or accounting is full time job and should be first task to set up. Operate from day one as a business. As Bruce suggested, keep the business unencumbered and free of debt. Take time on a regular basis to enjoy life.

[ThomasPowers]

So how are you covering health insurance? I had a swordmaking friend lose several months of production due to one shop accident and then the costs of the medical care on top of that.

If you go in as a partnership DAY 1 mark ALL tools as to who they belong to. A complete inventory is a good idea too. When a historical site laid off their smith of over ten years they were quite disturbed to find out that all the tools he had been buying and bringing in, (since they wouldn't provide them), were his and would leave with him. A good inventory of meum et tuem helps a lot in those cases.

It also helps to have a production product; usually nothing fancy but something you can tool up and make a lot of and have a wholesale outlet for to tide you over slow periods.

Advertising?

One way to deal with visitors is to have an observation gallery either glassed in---safety glass! (I've seen it done with recycled sliding glass doors), or fine mesh screening to allow viewing but keep the shop and the visitors seperate.

[Candidquality]

Glenn, Business it will be from day one, just things like visitors and teaching will come in at a slightly later date. I'll have a tax attorney handling the books after the first few months. I need to get the system down during that time. My grandfather made the mistake of having his wife do the books and it's sadly why they went out of business. I have no plans to ever go into debt without a guaranteed ROI. Hopefully this never needs to happen. I like growth, but at a controlled pace.

Thomas, insurance is a large concern always, it almost seems at times that it's cheaper to pay out of pocket than pay the vultures that are the insurance agency now. Before leaving the day job I need to consider good insurance, and a secondary policy for cash expenses during time off. probably have to double the shop rate just to budget that in though from a quick glance at current costs.
Plan on making a photographic record of tools in house and stamping all my tools as I purchase them.
production work. ugh. I know it's a necessity for the off times, but none of us like the thought. I'll have two lines though, one for the real money and another for the smaller day-to day things that are more of a novelty item. Haven't even considered festivals or fairs yet. candle holders and other items that go for under $100 in a production standpoint are never a bad thing. never know when something small will lead to a much larger job, but i don't expect it.

Actually have access to something better than safety glass, stretched acrylic. Have been thinking about setting up an observation area for a while in a shop, but first though about it for video's. Would be interesting indeed to be able to forge weld at a public demo without worrying about the crowd getting a shower of steel. I'm lucky in that I can get this as it's scrap here. Just need to test it to see how well it holds up under the direct(short term) contact.

[ThomasPowers]

Dang you can afford to shell out 80,000-200,000 dollars in cash if you have a bad accident! Forget what I've said about capitalization and get to it! OTOH you could look into insurance with very high deductables.

I am of an age now that I have known several people who have had quite expensive medical issues: Heart attacks, cancer, accidents---my aunt and uncle were down in Texas and were hit by someone going the wrong way on the interstate---I think their bills are over a million so far. I was 28 when I had emergency gall bladder surgery. My daughter had emergency surgery on a christmas visit to my parents---later she was complaining about the high cost of health insurance on her first job and I reminded her that she had already used up 20K on my policy that would be *years* of premiums at her job's rate.

This is why I suggest people move to a country with socialized medicine if they want to be a bladesmith and do not have a spouse providing insurance for them from *her* job.

How does the acrylic do in sunlight? How resistant to scratching? Sounds like something I should look into for the travel set-up.

[Glenn]

Thomas Look for a product called Lexan.

Lexan polycarbonate is one of the most widely known "plastics". Lexan sheet with its unique combination of high impact strength, flame retardancy, and thermoformability makes it ideally suited for security applications. No other plastic can match Lexan's combination of light transmittance (clarity), and the ability to withstand extreme impact.

Lexan is far more durable than acrylic, often to the point of being described as "bulletproof" (depending on the thickness of the sample and the type of weapon used). Lexan is used in the aerospace industry for aircraft canopies, windscreens and other windows, but can be found in household items, such as bottles, compact discs, and DVDs. Perhaps the most visible Lexan consumer product is the Apple Computer iBook and the iPod; the gleaming white plastic is Lexan. It is also used in racing cars to replace heavier (and breakable) glass windshields and windows.

[mike-hr]

In my shop, plastic face shields and safety glass lenses have a tough time. A little grinding dust combined with a hurried wipe from a shirttail makes for intolerable streaks and rainbows. I'd use discarded glass patio doors.

[ThomasPowers]

Just make sure they are *safety* glass; they should be marked in a corner of the door.

[mcraigl]

Patio doors are made from tempered glass. It's very strong, but when it goes, it goes. That's the stuff that turns into a billion little bits when it breaks like the side windows in your car. What I think you'd want is laminated glass, which is more like the windshield in your car. It might get a crack, but it won't shower in on your observers. For the best of both worlds get a double pane that has tempered on the shop side and laminated on the spectator side. That's how we built skylights that were engineered to withstand a 30' snow load.

[Candidquality]

I know I need catastrophic insurance, I was referring to the small stuff out of pocket. Also need to look into that insurance that covers your cash needs during a major accident.

Had a nice talk with him for a few hours this weekend and it looks like it's a go. At least for a few months to see how well things work out. Option to back out later if needed. it's at an old feed mill. I'll try to get some pictures of it this coming weekend.(brought that camera but the conversation went so well I'd forgotten before I left) Equipment's in good shape. Great guy that I've had dealings with before. Top notch. It's a welcome change from some I've met recently.


The acrylic I have access to is much stronger than lexan, though there is an issue with the UV (good for about a year before replacement) and the scratch resistance is not as good as lexan, but I can coat it here and it becomes fairy scratch free. I also have the ability to polish it back out if scratched. Main reason I use it, it's free.

To give you an idea how tough this stuff is. If you have the bandwidth to see it then go here and check these out. The one of the birdstrike on the F16D canopy is really interesting to watch. They're huge videos (9 to 40 mb depending on the format)
http://www.texstars.com/Videos.html

Let me know if you want a piece, up to 20" wide and 8' long is fairly easy to find. Someone else also asked about scrap Kydex, but I can't remember who it was.

[ThomasPowers]

Note patio doors are *NOW* made from tempered glass; be wary of *old* ones that may predate the safety rule. Some folk live where there is an age to things! I've lived in three houses now that had lead pipe waste plumbing...