TomN Posted April 9, 2012 Author Share Posted April 9, 2012 The show was an excellent experience, despite the rain and some poor coke. Sold £30 worth of stuff and got a commision for £80 and a few more leads for others. Overall it was very enjoyable and as always it was a learning experience as well. Half made some tongs as well. Got to drawing out the reins and stopped then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beth Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 nice one tom! thats briliant ! really glad it went well for you. what kind of punters?.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomN Posted April 9, 2012 Author Share Posted April 9, 2012 Quite a mix Beth. A few posh people and a few general norms and a few pikeys pretending to be posh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beth Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 :) and which were willing to buy ...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomN Posted April 9, 2012 Author Share Posted April 9, 2012 The pikeys? One post bloke bought all my wine and pint glass holders in a job lot. John sold a load of lighting fixtures he'd made to another posh bunch. Very nice though and the bloke was interested in classes at the Guild. The pikeys were obviously looking round for things worth nicking. Asked about swage blocks, as they could scrap them. There was an older bloke who was doing the talking. They were all toffed up, but its sort of impossible to disguise their massive Irish faces. I think they were told not to talk, as they were no good at hiding the accents. Might as well of been walking in, swinging shaleleis and singing songs about the day Raffertys pig escaped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beth Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 lol! yes its a hard accent to conceal :) i hope your fine work distracted them from their possible criminal motives ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 Tom's being a bit modest here Beth, This show was a first for both him and Giles, and we did not know what to expect, Here is what Tom brought to show, He sold all his glass holders, and the poker was a definite talking point of interest and he got an enquiry based on it for a companion set. The Rams head letter opener created a lot of interest, He also had a request for some shelf brackets based on some other bracket design on show, and an enquiry for a custom doorknocker We all enjoyed ourselves and learnt a lot, and both Tom and Giles decided to do more of the shows, next time the space won't be as big to fill. The public demo's went well, although the weather was not the best. This was the inital layout Bearing in mind it was a first off I think it went very well and the show organiser was pleased with our efforts. Here is some of Giles stuff on show Tom also knocked out a pair of tongs, and we had a play about making a dogs head hook, Can't seem to get anymore pictures to load at the moment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beth Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 thanks john, that all looks great - its lovely to hear there was a lot of genuine interest in the items and sounds like people were interested in talking about the work too :) nice one all concerned - i hope to be able to bring something to the next one. it will be my first of this type of thing, so all the information is really helpful. the things i iwll bring will be some sort of pikle of things for the garden mainluy so different to you guys which is a good thing. will there be space for me do you think? is the next one the thame show in may? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 Woburn Abbey I think Beth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beth Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 aha. that ones a bit far for me john, i think i had a list of the nearer ones, and thame is certainly near enough. i will try to go to that one, are you going to that one tom and giles?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomN Posted April 10, 2012 Author Share Posted April 10, 2012 The Thame show is the one we just went to Beth. Normally its later in the year, but from reading up on their website, I think they decided to just do a small show this year, for financial reasons. I think I have the rest of the show dates in an email, so I will PM you them. The show was good fun and a learning experience. We learnt that taking a kettle and tea bags etc, is of paramount importance and will be the first thing in the car next time. We did a few demo's. Giles made a rose and gave it to a young girl who seemed enthrawled with the demo. Very nice of him and drew the crowds in. I made some tongs, up to the point of drawing out the reins. Stopped at the time due to my shoulder getting knackered. Need to get myself 'match fit' for more demo's of that kind. We had some problems with the coke and the forge on the first day, but mostly got them sorted the next day. John made a bulldog face with a couple of hooks on it, and even forge welded the layers together a few times. The whole experience was very useful and gave me a good idea of what will sell. The small items for around £5 loo like they will sell like hot cakes. The odd big item will sell as well. Just as importantly we got a lot of interest in the courses at Westpoint. Including a chap that bought a load of Johns lighting brackets. He just bought an old cottage and found an old pair of bellows there. Had a good long chat with him and he seemed very interested in going on a course. Overall a great experience! Even made a bit of money. Well worth a go Beth! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beth Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 thanks tom :) i am hopeless - dont know how i can constantly get this whole dates thing wrong. but i do! i need telling about a thousand times ... i would appreciate the pm, i think giles sent mew the dates, and from his email i had written the dates down but i still got it wrong.. sounds like you had a really fun time, not sure id be up for demos but would like to come and see you all, talk to people and try to sell some work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomN Posted April 10, 2012 Author Share Posted April 10, 2012 Just sent you a PM about the dates! Even if you don't want to do the demo's Beth, it would be useful to have another pair of hands there, even if it is just to man the stalls whilst me, or Giles do a demo. As for demo's you can just do anything you want really, as people just want to see someone whacking some hot metal. People seemed to be entertained, even when I was just making the tongs. Giles was much better as a demo'er, as he chatted with the rowd, as he made things. Can learn that as we go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beth Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 thanks for the pm :) i would love to come and help on the next one near me. i certainly dont need center stage, and im not bad at making a cup of tea ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomN Posted April 10, 2012 Author Share Posted April 10, 2012 If your good at making tea your more than welcome! But you'd be a lot better at demo's than me anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tzonoqua Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 Well done Tom, it's great to get feedback from the public! The best feedback being people are willing to part with their hard earned cash for your work!!!! I as well would like to do a show or two if possible near me, depending on dates.. are they a closely guarded secret? :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 Dates can be found on the Guild's website on the Craft Shows page, You just have to be a paid up Guild member to participate, The next one we will be represented at is Hatfield House, a special pass will be needed to access this event due to security circumstances. For the others, turn up pre show start (8.30 am or earlier to access site and unload) and ask for the Blacksmiths Guild tent. One for Colleen to think about is the Honiton Show August 2cnd which we are still awaiting details from the organisers for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomN Posted April 11, 2012 Author Share Posted April 11, 2012 Just bought myself a 400W single way dimmer switch and a box for it to go in. I just need to rewire my blower into it and then try and make it as weather proof as possible. Both the switch and the box are stainless steel. Tomorrow I am hoping to pick up my 2'5lb hammers and also an arc welder and some rods. I think I could really make a go of smithing now. Going to start looking into designing a shed that I can put up in my garden area, so I can smith in all weathers. I will also need to design it, so that I can take it apart and transfer it to a new place, when the wife and I manage to get a mortgage on a place. Thinking of making it out of angle iron, drilling holes into it so that I can fit it with an outer skin of wood, that I will treat with something like creocote. The difficult part will be the roof and the hole in the roof for outflow of smoke. I will also need to weld an area that I can place my forge in and then leave it so the forge can still be moved, for shows etc. Lots to do, but exciting times! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 Hi Tom, 400W ? check your motor rating before you use it, I would have gone for the 1000W then you can use it on 1HP motors without over rating the switch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomN Posted April 12, 2012 Author Share Posted April 12, 2012 John, 400W was the highest I could find! I will check the motor rating and get back to you in here. Been looking at buying an arc welder, which is turning into a bit of a research project. Got to get the right choice. I was going to save time and weld the crossbar of my wall brackets to the backing plate, instead of making a mortice and tenon, as I don't have the tools and it will save me time. I'm considering cutting the tenons roughly with an angle grinder and then filling them to fit. Then I can get the tenon hot, fit it into the backing plate, flatten it down into the pre-put in countersink and then grind it off flat. Problems with this inlcude, being able to cut the tenon with the angle grinder. Not sure i'm good enough for that...... Currently ordering a lot of bits and pieces that I fancy to help me, such as a farriers big block brush and a hide face hammer. Should FINALY be getting my two 2.5lb hammers next week now. I'm also trying to price up the possability of making a 'shed' to work in. It will be made from angle iron and wood and part of the design will take into account that it will need to be dissmatleable, so I can move it to a new location when the time comes. I'm excited about all these new possabilities, but there is a LOT to do! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beth Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 tom that all sounds very positive, im very pleased for you :) its nice to have lots of the Right kind of things to do ! best of luck on all your challenges! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 Hi Tom, may be easier to use a hacksaw for the tenon (cold), or you could use a flat sided hot cut (butcher), and just monkey it up using the hole in the back plate and the large monkey tool or a piece of tube to seat the tenon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomN Posted April 13, 2012 Author Share Posted April 13, 2012 Ok, thanks John. Did think about the hacksaw for more control, but mine is terrible (junior hacksaw). Will have to buy myself a proper one. At least cutting the tenon last, means I can get the crossbar to exactly the 400mm that was ordered. Looking forward to getting to the workshop this weekend and getting on with it. Got to pick up all my steel stock and also finish off those tongs. I have a question John. When riveting the bottom end of the scroll to the backing plate, what is the best way to keep the rounded rivet head from damage, when flattening the pin? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 Make yourself a gadget to fit over (or in) the vice jaws, over is more solid, I made mine from a piece of handrail section for the radius on the top, you only need to use a drill to form the recess for the head. If you go over the jaws, the set up is more ridged than by holding the gadget in the vice, there are exceptions sometime when accessing the scroll assembly in the vice, hence my options to use the tool in or out of the vice jaws. Then seat the rivet into the snap and tap away until flush, don't forget the countersink, your 20mm long rivets should be about the right length to use, Have fun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomN Posted April 13, 2012 Author Share Posted April 13, 2012 Thanks John. Thats a very complete answer! You should write a book called Sensible Smithing and just put in there what you've written on these forums in answer to peoples questions. I think you would make a killing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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