hildenmw

My slack tub does a nice job. Insulation in my gas forge seems to be good bait.

Thing to remember. You are not a traveling museum. If it sales replace it. If an item does not sale in a few months or shows. Its a Christmas gift. Marc

10% exspense is a good guide. When asked to demo . I use clay and a rr track anvil and make it interactive with customers. Get in free or discounted. Trial and error to find a good show. Fig out what sales look for new items to make listen to what people ask for. Talk to other vendors about shows. Some places are large draws but they come to look. Others are buying shows. I've found art walks to be good this year. Marc

All of the above sugestions are good ones. Treble clef diner bells are good. small candle holders.my ave sale in the last year has been between 20 and 30 dol.. few wanting to spend over 50. at the show bur will call later for higher priced items. Necklaces I find a necklace display in a prominate place in my booth make a good attraction for some who may keep on walking. Marc

check out anvilfire.com

Overall it looks good. I never attempted a hook like yours . but like other items , The first 100 are the rough ones. Marc H.

Just like any activity your body needs to adjust to it. Forging by hand is hard work. But it is still work and smiths are prone to injury from the repetative movements. martial arts , Yoga. lifting. etc helps counteract the effects of pounding on a anvil. Our bodies tend to adapt to the excercise at hand . We need to increase theload or time to get the same benefits from our work out as we progress. Side note.I recently read the early gains we make in excercise. Are not from muscle developement but our bodies learning the new technique or skill and becoming more efficient.. Marc H

Find a copy of Yvon Chouinards "Climbing Ice" . Has several good photos of the axes that revolutionized ice climbing. Marc.

very nice , you have vison

Openers are a good sale. People will buy to give as gifts also, The working end is actually easier to make than it looks, Trial and error . I persanally test each one, Tough job. I also have a package deal on a opener and bottle tree. Buy a b tree and opener and have a party.! Marc

Does the weld serve its purpose. Is it visually pleasing. Thats very good on your first try. The only way to test a part that size with out destroying it would be to x-ray two different views of the joint. Forge welding is kid of like squishing snowballs togather. Work out a procedure that works for you and practice it marc

Nice job I never knew the proper name. I would do shows and ladies would ask if I made banana trees. I would say no. I make all kinds of leaves acorns and stuff. I'd seen banana trees in peoples yards . Never thought they were that attractive. I finally asked what they ment . duh. I make them now. I also make a cookbook or plate stand. Ladies at shows would tilt them forward and look at the back leg. I thought. I asked what they were looking at. They were checking out my wifes old cookbook I used for display. They were collectors. Marc not sure Im smart enough for this. 12 years ago my motherinlaw explained what a sheppard hook was to me.

Thats great. I did 12 ,10 foot sections with full length twists last year. I got by with a couple pipe stands a vise and twisting wrench.. Half way through I invisioned something like that

while admiring a poker I had just hammered out. held it up to the light and ran my ungloved hand along the taper. saw the smoke. Thank goodness for callus

I'm thinking along thoose line but am open to suggestions

I am looking for suggections and advice. I have a old 28 gal tank. A couple of 1/2 hp. electric motors. Drive? ; Attache pulleys to ends of tank or install a shaft through the center. or run drve belt around the tank. Thanks Marc

Not sure how last link worked Go to www.anvilfire.com

My link Good stuff

I use my forge nearlt every day. They build a nest over night. Not a rgular occurance but $10 for insulation and $20 for shipping. One day I saw a mouse run past on a eye level beam while I was working at the post vise. 1 min later along came 2.5 foot milk snake natures great to watch

Spiders brown recluse and black widows. Mice and milk snakes. Mice like to build nests with the door insulation of my gas fprge. I'm half decent throwing a chisel. Surprised myself and a couple of mice.

I am going to take the time to make some decent eye punches. What I have now's a bunch of miss matched bunch I have added to as needed over the years. How would you do it? I would like to fine tune the mouth punch. I've woked it to where the troll actually lookk like he may be sticking his tounge out and not trying to swallow a log. Up till now I have made my eye punches from mild steel. 3/8 to 3/4 in round or square stock. I've used various ball bearrings , Struck the hot end with odd shapped punches on the hot end to effect a shape. Heated the punch I working on in the forge and also just heated the ends with a oxy acety torch before working it. I also have some 3/8" (approx) from a old hay rake. How would you heat treat this I am also concidering going to heavier mild still 7/8 or so and taper. and make a couple of each to rotate in and out while I work . In roduction mode I usually work 5 RR spike wizards or horse heads at a time. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank You Marc

The person swinging the hammer makes all the differance. Pluss the time you spend swinging it. I 've found paying attention to the effect of both the hammer and anvil have on my piece helps.

I forged the first 5 to 6 years with no gloves on either hand. Decided a few years ago to wear glove and not beat up on my hands. actually made the change with little effort. Hammering is more mental than anything.