Du7ch Posted December 10, 2014 Share Posted December 10, 2014 Sitting at work today, browsing the forums, I had a quiet Lil thought creep up as to the blacksmiths who travel during the holidays... Where is everyone going, and who is willing to meet with others in that area as a networking/cross training scenario? I, for one, will be going to Southwest Idaho and have no issues meeting up with others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njanvilman Posted December 10, 2014 Share Posted December 10, 2014 Anyone near NJ on the East Coast is always welcome to stop by the Fisher Factory Museum. Just contact me here or by email and set up a time. Give yourself at least two hours. I open up for anyone who has an interest in Industrial History. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinobi Posted December 10, 2014 Share Posted December 10, 2014 ill be in Germany, and im on the calendar to meet up with Der Hannes a few days before xmas, just confirming exactly when :) ill be back home but not working from the 29th to the 2nd so any of you other southern Californians want to link up im game to travel! also, there is (on the calendar at least, if theres interest I can ask and confirm its actually happening) an evening (7 to 10pm) open forge at Adams Forge on December 30, could make that an IFI crew get together (you've all done their discovery day... right? ;)) and then go for a pint somewhere afterwards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LawnJockey Posted December 10, 2014 Share Posted December 10, 2014 I'll be in the DC area and I am always looking to learn from others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petere76 Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 Gents, Has anyoneever traved the UK and visited the smiths there. I would consider setting up a trip because i think the history and quality if UK smiths is worth studying. Peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njanvilman Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 Gents, Has anyoneever traved the UK and visited the smiths there. I would consider setting up a trip because i think the history and quality if UK smiths is worth studying. Peter I have not gone to see smith in the UK, but depending on the time of year, I would be interested. I know they have some big get-togethers in the summer, I think. Perhaps coordinating a trip with their festival would make for a great trip. Keep me informed. Perhaps someone in BABA? the British blacksmithing group could chime in here and let us know when and what is going on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 Watch the events section of the site for whats going on and where. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt_K Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 I'll be heading to Carmel Valley, Ca in a day or two. Only smith that I knew of down there though, closed up shop a few years ago. Land is 'spensive down there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Du7ch Posted December 14, 2014 Author Share Posted December 14, 2014 Yes it is! I'm fortunate enough to be learning under Thomas Powers right now. There are a few scattered smiths in my hometown area that I may try to link up with though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 For certain definitions of "fortunate enough"... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinobi Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 Matt K, look up the Antique Gas and Steam Engine Museum in Vista, lot of good people on staff there that might be available to share an anvil or a meal with you :) it's only about 30 miles north of Carmel Valley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Du7ch Posted December 15, 2014 Author Share Posted December 15, 2014 For certain definitions of "fortunate enough"... Fortunate enough by my definition of LUCKY Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt_K Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 Matt K, look up the Antique Gas and Steam Engine Museum in Vista, lot of good people on staff there that might be available to share an anvil or a meal with you :) it's only about 30 miles north of Carmel Valley Wrong Carmel Valley. :D Vista is a good six hour drive south of the Monterey peninsula. Thanks for thinking of me though. I used to ride right past there when we would do our 94/Sunrise Highway/Julian runs. Too bad I wasn't interested in blacksmithing at the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinobi Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 d'oh! sorry, I tried :P however that area is pretty dense with other CBA membership, so you should be able to scare up some sympathetic hammers if you maybe post up on the CBA site that you will be in the area, or actually the facebook page I think has higher turnover and might be a better idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Du7ch Posted December 24, 2014 Author Share Posted December 24, 2014 Here it is nearly Christmas Eve and I'm back in my hometown of Middleton, Idaho, feverishly searching for blacksmithing relics hidden away and spending my evenings reading dead posts and found that Frosty has been in my area and has family here. Makes me wonder if anyone had been able to conduct a meet up with someone to share and share alike the magic of smithing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinobi Posted December 25, 2014 Share Posted December 25, 2014 I got to link up with Der Hannes yesterday and see his shop :) had a beer, forged a pretty sad facsimile of a wrap and weld keychain axe and talked shop. Before we parted ways he presented me with a freshly re-handled Peddinghaus 1000gm crosspein, which is an awesome hammer! Thank you again Hannes, it was a pleasure to meet you :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ausfire Posted December 25, 2014 Share Posted December 25, 2014 Before we parted ways he presented me with a freshly re-handled Peddinghaus 1000gm crosspein, which is an awesome hammer! Thank you again Hannes, it was a pleasure to meet you :)Wow, what a treasure! (The hammer and the man!) With mates like that who needs Santa! Great story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohio Rusty Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 I spent Christmas near Ft. Worth Texas. I had contacted the Texas blacksmith assoc'n to see if there were any smiths near my location that would invite me over. I received an invite from Chuck Stone at Masters Forge in Newark Texas. Chuck is a really great guy and truly a master smith !!!! I also met his son who was working on a knife and his wife Cathy who passed thru the shop to say Hi. I wanted to publicly give kudo's and thanks to Chuck Stone as I really enjoyed my visit and pounding metal in his shop. He has a really nice place there !!!! We made a flint striker, a civil war campfire cooker and I worked on the twist handles for the new anvil stand I'm making (which all can see at the 2015 SOFA get together). It was great to have his guidance and experience on figuring out the bends I needed to make on the handles. Ohio Rusty ><> The Ohio Frontier Forge S.E. Ohio Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intrex Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 I am self employed, whats a vacation? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpankySmith Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 I'm employed by a large corporation.... what's a vacation? :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
george m. Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 Dear Intrex, I am self employed too and am of the firm opinion that one of the primary duties of the business owner is to take care of him or herself mentally and physically. That means getting away from the business and doing something or being somewhere completely different for mental health reasons. It takes me 4 or 5 days to get my head out of the business and to start thinking about recreating. For me, I need to be away for 10 days to two weeks to get the maximum benefit of a vacation. You come back and are much more productive. It may take some serious advance planning but if you say now that for the first two weeks of September you are going to Yellowstone or London or Cancun and mean it and stick with it you can make it happen. Also, do not fall into the trap of believing that we/I will do this someday, maybe after retirement. My wife and I had done a lot of cool things together and looked forward to many more years until she was diagnosed with multiple myeloma cancer at the age of 54. The future is never secure. We are all one diagnosis away from something that will change everything. I suggest that you think long and hard about the benefits to you and your business that getting away on occasion would bring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianinsa Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 Annual vacation? That's the 4 week break you take every second year when you work for a large corporation(it's the extra Holidays at Easter that keeps it to every second year) :) the self employed get to add a 6 week break every other year. :) I got that right didn't I ? :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intrex Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 Hey George, Thanks for the insights. I was mainly joking. I do take vacations but not like I did when I was employeed by a large company. There is always at least some work that I have to do and I have never been able to get away for more than 5 days. I am trying to get to a point where I could take a 2 week vacation but it just isn't possible at this point. I design software systems for companies that keep them up and running in their day to day business or manufacturing processes. Some of the systems are so complex that it takes a year + to understand how to support them and having a system go down can mean extrordinarily large financial losses for some of these companies. On the bright side I do get more time with my family overall and have a flexible schedule day to day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LastRonin Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 I am self employed, whats a vacation? I'm employed by a large corporation.... what's a vacation? :( That's the time you take off from the job that pays the bills to do all the tasks and chores around the house that you haven't had time to do while working... right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
george m. Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 Dear Intrex, I suspected there was some tongue in your cheek but I decided to respond seriously just because I have seen too many people either burn out or come to the latter part of their lives and realize that they hadn't done many of the things that they wanted to do or haven't seen places that they wanted to. I hear you when you say it looks like you are indispensable to your business. It often seems like that but if you truly are that, IMO, is a liability not a positive thing. What would happen if you were truly incapacitated? A bad case of the flu or a drunken driver could put you out of action for weeks or months. I don't have many answers but some sort of redundancy is a worthy goal. Also, business interruption insurance/disability coverage may be a good idea for both you or your customers. Being with your family is no small thing. No one ever looks back and says that they wish that they had spent less time with their family. A safe and profitable 2015 to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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