tormentchris17

Thanks a million for the awesome thread. I've been smithing for over 5 years as a hobbyist. I have been a roofer for 25 years. At 40yrs old I'm done roofing, or at least trying to be. I'm sure I'll always do small roofing repairs on the side for extra $$. Currently I'm taking a "start a small business" class. It's a 6 week class. I'm also taking a beginning, intermediate and advanced blacksmithing class to refine my skill set and learn stuff that I don't know from a veteran smith. These classes are 12 weeks. All 3 hours per class. 

Anyway, enough about where I'm at. This is where I'm going with this.

I am in the start up phase of opening up a Blacksmith shop for the public to view and purchase items here in Longmont, CO. There are several shops in the region but none for the public to be able to view. I've done some research and know this isn't something a guy can do alone due to public interest and conversation. That's something I'll have to figure out. I'm NOT going to just find a building and go for it. I have alot of legal stuff and insurance stuff to get in line before hand. My plan is to start out as a semi- pro/ hobbyist first in my private shop. I plan to start targeting customers, finding my niche and figuring out my production expenses. Not to mention several other things that are required. It's going to be a minute before things really get rolling. But I got to start somewhere.

So right now I'm doing research and networking to get as much advice as possible from other smiths that have been successful in taking our craft to the next level.

Any help, advice or criticism is welcome. 

Thanks a ton in advance, Chris Freeman, Mad Hammer Forge

thanks for all the replies. I wish I didn't caulk the fire oit of it so soon. I'm pretty sure it's one of the chiness planter jobs though. Oh well, the caulk will wear out and i'll start having leaks soon enough. I'm sure of it. I need to start looking for a real oak whiskey barrel. The heat lamp is a great idea as it freezes this time of year.

Iwent to Home Depot and bought a $34 half a wood barrel. I'm starting to think that these barrels are made to be planters. THEY DON'T HOLD WATER. I thought maybe I could soak the thing in a tub of water to re-hydrate it but it doesnt look like it was ever ment to hold liquid. The slats are very tight so it looked like it from the get go. I just caulked the fire out of it and now it holds water. But, I'm worried about when the caulk wears out and water starts leaking out all over my shop floor.

Any suggestions?

Chris

it's kind of a squiggly little crack and I was wrong it only goes about halfway around it, so I know it's not a weld seem. Like I said though, I don't want to mess it up and it does have a great rebound to it.

I have a 200 lbs Peter wright that I scored for a really good price and have had it for@ 3 years. When I first got it I did notice it didn't have a real strong ring to it but didn't think much of it. I did the ball bearing test on it and it had a really nice bounce to it. From a 3ft drop it bounced 3ft at least. I actually didn't notice it until about a year ago but there is a hairline crack that runs all the way around the bottom of the body.
Dow anyone know whether I can run a bead along that crack with my arc welder and would it mess anything up? If I can do this, what type of rod should I use?
I really want to try to fix my anvil, but I will say. It's a very sold anvil and the cool thing is, it's a little quieter than my other 100lbs one that rings like a bell.
Thanks, Chris

What you are after is a pyrometer, they are not cheap. The sensing portion is a thermocouple and they come in different grades. type K goes up to about 2400F, anything higher will really set you back price wise.
You probably want to get one that you can remove from the fire, because you can burn them up if you leave them in full time.

i am looking for a place that i can buy a temp gauge or a thermometer for my gas forge. i tried looking them up and didn't have any real success. can anyone point me in the right direction? it has to be able to read above a welding heat.
thanks, chris

i have a 25lbs power hammer, and am looking for someone that might have any 4140 they could sell me for making some dies. or point me to a place that could sell me some. i need a couple sets of dies actually.4 pieces of about 3x3x2 inches. if so please send me a message and we can work something out.
thanks, chris

i don.'t think i could give up the blacksmith habit. it has a hold of me too hard. the cigs though, i plan to give up very soon. now, sooner rather than later.
thanks for the incite, chris

hi, i've been smithing for about a year. my detached garage is my shop. i have a rr forge with a side draft chimney. for the most part the smoke goes through the chimney, but sometimes with the doors closed it fills the room. when it does i try to open up and let the smoke out. it seems like there's always some smoke lingering around the upper part of the shop though. i have to admit i am a smoker too. it's winter in colorado and it's pretty **** cold right now. when it's nice i have the doors open and there's a lot more ventilation. mostly it's just my side draft. the reason i'm asking this question is because i'm getting a little cough although i think it's just from a little cold and probably smoking. my family seems to think it's from breathing in the smoke from the forge.i'm just curious to what kind of things people have heard and things that have happened to others because of this. can and do blacksmiths get the disease that the coal miners get? if not, what the *** keeps us from doing so?
thanks,chris

i am looking for a place that will sell me a piece of wrought iron i'm looking for about a 2-3"x1/4" around 1' long. i've heard of a place in the east coast that sells it and they will give you a sample piece, but i can't seem to find it any more. does anyone know of anything, or have any ideas?
thanks, chris

sweet!!! thanks, i think that'll help alot.
-chris

i went to ellic custom knife works and found the itc 100 but couldn't find the satonite, were can i pick up some?

what is itc 100? and were can a guy get it?

i initially put re factory mortar over the kaowool on my gas forge and it seems to crack and fall off. i don't like it at all, so i took it all of exept around the edges and lining the brick. i am concerned about poking the sides, a guy can only be so careful, ya know. is there anything else that i can paint on to stiffen up the chamber?
thanks chris

i'm in colorado, almost no humidity. i live on the front range also so, we don't get near the moisture as in the mountains. it sounds like wax will do nicely, i may go ahead and do the clear coat instead.
thanks for all the input, chris

i am putting some things out for sell at my first craft show this weekend, and am concerned about the metal rusting. i've made a bunch of door pulls, latches, and a bunch of other items that i'm pretty sure will sell. BUT, i don't wan't them to rust, and i want the wire wheel buffing to look the same naturally. what can i coat the steel with to solve this issue. i'm preety sure people are going o be concerned with that too.
thanks, chris