tzonoqua

looks really good value, if i were home i'd snap it up!

it's really lovely, love the texture!

hello all well, after attempts at physio, "symptom management" and a long wait, i finally had carpal tunnel release surgery. it went well, worst part was the giant needle they give you first with the local anesthetic in it, that hurt like @!%!! now means i'm off work for a while, and very bored and frustrated with having only one working hand. has given me new insight to being disabled. dr said my hand will take months to get back to where it was fitness wise and they did explain that i would lose strength in my hand but it's still a shock to have it rendered useless with a 6cm slice up it. had a good lecture from surgeon and nurses, and my family about taking it easy and not trying to get back to work to quickly. so am reading just about every post on here cause ive got time on my hands but cant post too much cause im doing 1 finger typing with my left hand!! would be interested in hearing of anyone else's ct recovery too. :)

really lovely! great idea!

Wow, stunning work, gate is very graceful!

It's beautiful. Would love that for my kitchen!

That is very sweet!

Lovely work, thanks for sharing.

Wow, I love the fern... time very well spent I would say!! It's the detail that turns things from ordinary to extraordinary!! Love it, keep up the good work!

What about a compost loo?? OK, maybe not traditional like a long drop. Friend of mine has one on her land for times when she has gatherings... quite effective. Although, the men are supposed to pee on a bale of straw, and not in the compost toilet... and then the straw gets put onto the compost heap to help it break down... http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-global/w-news/w-news-outdoor-peeing-could-activate-a-composting-revolution.htm

Nice!! Once you've had them for a while you'll wonder how you ever managed without!! :D

Yeah, Grant, aren't you the lucky one. These people really did want educating as to what their money could buy. They've never commissioned a blacksmith to make anything before. Breaching the "budget" question got things out into the open. We discussed how they can have this design element, (lots of little branches and leaves) and it's gonna be that much more expensive, or they could have something a bit simpler, etc.

Bob, I didn't mean to infer that my customers were either wasting my time or were they not serious, they drove almost two hours and brought templates with them (the hardboard they pulled out of the gaps they want filling with rails) I live in a pretty remote area, and all the work I get is by word of mouth, and sometimes via my website, so anyone coming to me will already see my portfolio online, or in this case they've seen my work around the locale so know what they're getting. They just really didn't have a clue how much this stuff costs! I showed them pictures of previous work, and told them how much it cost, to try to give them an idea, but me being me felt I needed to give them a rough ballpark figure, so I did. I was trying to make a jest at my previous remark about "ask upfront what the budget is" It's funny cause I've never had anyone say to me what they did, and was just timely as Arftist said of a similar experience in the thread also. When working out my price tag I keep track of the hours I've spent on design and add that on to the final figure. I always get 50% up front also. All very useful information. Point taken about design fees, a few years ago I spent hours on a gate design, but never heard from the clients again, luckily they didn't take the design with them, I never handed it over, I was just miffed I'd spent a couple days on design work when I could have been earning elsewhere. Live and learn...

Grrrr, well, I just had some potential clients round this morning who are interested in having stair bannisters made. I asked them, "how much do you want to spend?? " They said "How the hell do we know? We've never had one of these made before!!!" So then I felt I had to give a quick on the spot rough guestimate... and went against my better judgement by giving them a figure there and then, when normally I wait till I've finalized the design and done a test piece! Sometimes you can never win!!! :rolleyes:

What I have started doing recently is asking the customer up front "How much do you want to spend?" or "What is the Budget?" This goes a little way in alleviating any awkward situations. I can't comment on any ratio. If there is a secret formula out there that works for everything I'd love to have it!!

Oh, yeah, and I forgot to say, I don't think I'd be so happy to go into work if there were massive spiders, or poisonous ones lurking about!!!

Lots and lots of mice. I made the mistake of leaving a bag of trail mix on the shelf once, next day you could see the mice had a real party!! I did find one drowned in my big metal bucket I use for a slack tub once... that was unpleasant, and since I've moved it so there no chance one can fall in again. The other day I had a giant wood wasp fly in- that was freaky. Otherwise it's just the occasional sheep wandering past, the highland cattle being driven past (the farmers always warn me to shut my door, last thing I want is one of those beasts with those horns paying me a visit in my wee shop!!) But then there is the red deer that wander through the farmyard! Never had one come in the shop, they're smart enough to know where the feed store is...

very cool! I especially like the fulani healing posts. Thanks for the link.

Good stuff, they all have such great expressions! Can't wait to come to take a course or two when I'm down south!!

get a gas forge?? Sorry to poke fun but you're going to have to sort some kind of exhaust system out either way- talk to the farmer about getting a window installed? or at least a vent where you could make an outlet for the extractor?

Hi Jon, I would start off with the minimum amount of tools you need, like John B has stated. Basics- forge, anvil, etc, doesn't have to be anything fancy! Acquire or make tools as you need them. Start working and with what you are trying to accomplish it will become apparent as to what you will actually need!

I find this very sad. Hope people think about this when they choose to purchase cheap imported goods.

brilliantly descriptive sequential posts Brian. Thank you, they are most informative and educational.

I did a degree in fine arts, silver and metals... I was taught to always wear gloves. I believed at the time that "they" knew what they were talking about, they knew more than me of course, didn't they?? In my third year my course leader ( who is now the current course leader at the RCA Metal Arts course...) looked at me in disdain after I failed to embellish in words about what I had created in the forge and said that I should have done an apprenticeship to a blacksmith... (nice of him to wait til the third year to tell me.... ) (((and even though it was clear from the first year that I"d fallen in love with the process of forging))) but I have to say I learned nothing but bending and tapering in my degree. I have now been self employed for a few years, and tackle each problem/opportunity as it comes. And guess what???? I don't wear gloves, unless I'm punching, etc, and the heat radiation makes it too uncomfortable to not wear gloves, but i'll wear tig welders' gloves, so fairly thin leather. Why not? experience has taught me that gloves are more often than not a hindrance, there is a place for them and a place without. I suffer from CT, am prone to it (had it while i was pregnant and at that time not a hammer or bit of hot steel in sight) and don't think it's singularly blamed on forging, but i can say when i wear gloves my hands suffer fatigue. I think it's good to always question why you do something etc. and learn from those explanations and most importantly, your own experience.

I use Eastlake and Beachell, specialists to farriers/blacksmiths. Would be interested also in hearing from anyone about any other insurance firms that cater to the trade.