T-Gold Posted March 21, 2005 Share Posted March 21, 2005 I've had very few "dumb spectator moments" because the only places I've done anything remotely like demonstration have been at a hot glass shop and at a campout where everyone knew what was going on. The best one for me was when I had just welded together a set of jacks (glassworking tool), cooled off the weld, and handed them to a female friend of mine who fiddled with them a little, handed them back, and then shrieked "My hands smell like metal! Xxxx you, Tyler!" I, of course, laughed my behind off. The point of this, of course, is to get y'all to share your Stupid Spectator Tricks, because I so love to read 'em. So if you've got one, post it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephan P Posted March 21, 2005 Share Posted March 21, 2005 when forging at an outdoor exibition, be careful not to light fire to the dry grass ground that your spectators are standing on :oops: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quenchcrack Posted March 21, 2005 Share Posted March 21, 2005 A good friend of mine from the Longvew, TX area and I set up a demo at a Country Music festival. It was supposed to rain that day so we cobbled together a tent made from a 12x14 ft blue tarp from HF. We had it hung from four 2x2's so it sagged a bit in the center. On the first heat, my friend pulled out the red hot iron and held it up for the crowd to see.....and burned a hole in the tarp right over the anvil! :cry: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Grizz Posted March 22, 2005 Share Posted March 22, 2005 my personal favorite is the guy who just has to try to pick up the drop from your hot cut to hand it back to you, as his 9 year old kid's looking at him going" daddy that's hot....." then there's the "drip of sweat on the anvil trick" and the resulting bang from striking hot steel on the wet spot scares some poor guy right out of his lawn chair....not that I'VE done that to anyone.....i mean..it wasn't my fault the sun came out on a cool spring day and he fell asleep.....GRIN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daryl Posted June 15, 2005 Share Posted June 15, 2005 I have never minded the redundant questions and what may be to we blacksmiths as stupid questions which we all get during demonstrations. To me, any questions show at least a passing interest in a craft that not long ago was in its death rattles, maybe with any luck, a new younger generation will follow with all the enthusiasm we showed when we first started! :idea: I have a suggestion for those who demonstrate and have children running amok in the shop: do this especially if the parents are within earshot or better and haven't pulled the leash in on the little beggars. First, get the undivided attention of the youth, ensuring that all those in the shop can see and hear you, and present him/her with a small lump of coal along with the words "Santa phoned me and left a message for me to give to you, he said to give you your Christmas present early this year". Reserve this for the one that comes along every two or three years, and really should deserve to be wound a little more tightly. Word gets around, and the other 99.9999% of the kids are a joy to have in the shop! - For those who have adult spectators who insist on 'helping', it is important to have made up a fake sledge hammer. I made one out of a piece of 5"x5"x10" square - took half a day to drill a hole in it. Provide your new helper with safety glasses - and have them stand at the ready next to the anvil with the sledge raised to a point just above the level of the face of the anvil, yet not over. While still forging and doing whatever it is you are doing, keep asking them if he/she is ready. Constantly remind them that a good apprentice is always at the ready, correct them if the hammer begins to falter from its designated height. After a few minutes, most will decide that being so close isn't so fun - mind you, if they HAVEN'T faltered, hire them and put he or she to work. Otherwise, before they leave, it is worth it to give them one of your trinkets, after all, I do pay for my own entertainment and the person should still be appreciated. I find that employing the 'Apprentice Sledge' with the associated helper/victim is normally a sublte enough hint. Another helper task is to keep them at bay by having he or she retrieve and put away punches, hardies, files etc.. One fellow stuck around for three quarters of an hour! I had to buy him lunch. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWooldridge Posted June 15, 2005 Share Posted June 15, 2005 A 5x5x10 head would weigh close to 70 lbs. I'm not sure I would mess with anyone who could hold that up for very long. :shock: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don A Posted June 15, 2005 Share Posted June 15, 2005 I've got a regular gig at an 18th Century historic site, and we normally have a large group of volunteer reenactors- soldiers, Indians, and generic nere do-wells. The blacksmith shop serves as a hangout for those who have nothing better to do, especially during the cold months.A couple Decembers ago, we opened the shop up at about 9:00am and it was cold. The forge is the only heat we have in there. The anvil was like a block of ice, so first thing, we threw a slab of scrap steel into the fire, let it get red, and laid it on the face of the anvil, let soak a few minutes, then repeated the process. About the time the steel had gone to black heat, a big guy from down at the Cherokee camp came walking in. In the spirit of helpfulness, he proceeded to remove the junk laying on the anvil. Since it was a good-sized piece, he went for it with a four-fingered eagle claw grip. Pssssst� no more fingerprints. As they often say, it didn�t take him long to look at it.A good time to have an icy slack tub handy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveA Posted June 16, 2005 Share Posted June 16, 2005 More of a dumb-me trick... Encouraging a really great group of spectators, mostly kids, to come in closer as I was going through finishing stuff on one piece. We really had a good exchange going. It's great to have people stick around and talk all through making a piece. Then I moved on to the next piece without even thinking to have everyone back up. Came out of the fire yellow, hot stuff went everywhere, people caught scale in their sandals, there was screaming, by a miracle no one got hurt. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arctic Anvil Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 They always ask me "how long have you been blacksmithing"? I tell them I started about 9 that morning. Ha ha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 That's up there with "Have you been doing this all your life? " "Nope, I ai'nt dead yet" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianinsa Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 John, you could also have responded'' sadly my folks insisted that I spend some time in school first'' :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOblacksmith0530 Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 My favorite is the is that fire real usually by an older person say 60's or 50's. I give them the cat caught with the Canary feather look and say no it is one of those fireplace tinsel and fan things from the old fake fireplaces. Then I pull a hot piece of metal from the fire and forge it, they usually leave right after that. Although I did have one ask me how I got the metal hot then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 "Naw they kept taking the matches away from me until I was 5" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Menard Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 The classic question, Do you shoe horses? Yep, every time I see one I say, "Shoo Horse" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt_K Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 I have never minded the redundant questions and what may be to we blacksmiths as stupid questions which we all get during demonstrations. To me, any questions show at least a passing interest in a craft that not long ago was in its death rattles, Thanks. You've given me a new line to use at the forge I demo at: Feel free to ask questions. If you ask a question, I know you're interested. If you don't ask questions, I know you enjoy working in a cubicle. :D They always ask me "how long have you been blacksmithing"? I tell them I started about 9 that morning. Ha ha "Naw they kept taking the matches away from me until I was 5" I'll be stealing those as well. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ausfire Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 Not really a 'spectator trick', but I guess you have all had the know-it-all spectator whose grandfather was a blacksmith. Seems everyone had a grandfather who was a blacksmith. He usually has a younger person with him, perhaps a grandson or nephew, and proceeds to give a running commentary in a loud voice on everything you do. He's the one who calls you a 'smithy' and gets stroppy when you tell him that he's standing in the smithy and you are the 'smith'. I hate being called a smithy. You all know the type. How do you deal with it? Do you accept the 'smithy' tag?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 well I tell folks that calling a smith a smithy is like calling a mechanic a garage. I also quote Longfellow's poem: "Under a spreading chestnut-tree The village smithy stands; The smith, a mighty man is he," Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the iron dwarf Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 im just a 'shortfellow' but I may borrow a few things above ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John McPherson Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 Under the spindly pecan tree, the spreading smith, he stands, a chunky man is he...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken leedy Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 I feel that If I let a false statement stand them I am supporting it, within reason. Kind of like the story of the broken anvils in the South after the Civil War. There is no proof, it's just a story. As well as the story of burning down a cabin to recover the nails. It just doesn't make sense. If someone calls me a smithy, it doesn't hurt my feelings. They are just using the wrong terminology. (sic) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Except we have good documentation on *where* and *how* that story started in modern times and there is a statuate out there forbidding the burning down of buildings for the nails and in general folks don't make a law about something if someone is not doing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockstar.esq Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Seems like "Arson" would have been on the books regardless of trends in metal availability. I get your point but it's an odd notion to have special laws that make an already illegal activity a crime. I'd be hesitant to consider any new law to be directly correlated to an actual activity. Lots of laws get passed to placate busy-bodies so "it won't happen here". I don't know if it happened but I couldn't rule it out. People continue to surprise me with the decisions they make. Getting back on topic, I saw a farrier at a hammer-in who was demonstrating making a horseshoe. While the subject was interesting, the execution really made it worthwhile to watch. The farrier was using the hammer head as a pivot and spinning the shoe over the surface of the anvil to grip the other side with his tongs. He was especially deft and quick with the whole thing. I think the neatest thing about it was that it wasn't for show - he was just working quickly to retain heat. The pace was so quick he demonstrated four different shoes before I realized he hadn't said a word since pulling the first heat. Seeing someone work so quickly and elegantly spoke volumes. I once saw a master electrician bend a piece of conduit including several difficult transitions using only superposition and the 12" floor tiles as reference. It fit on the first try without any fiddling. At that time in my apprenticeship, I wouldn't have been done taking measurements before he was moving on to the next piece. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rutterbush Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 Under the spindly pecan tree, the spreading smith, he stands, a chunky man is he...... DANG John. You visit my place once and then you talk about me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caintuckrifle Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 I can just see it in the news "man burns home to salvage nails" :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimsShip Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 It's not all that crazy actually, i've read about people scrapping all the piping in their houses for drug money, nails were just more valued then. Think about it, if you have a barn or dwelling that's going to be taken down anyway, you'd be able to salvage the nails to reuse and maybe save a few bucks on the replacement structure without having to pull each nail out. What's the broken anvil story? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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