george m.

Dear All, I've seen a number of folk refer to forged key rings. Sometimes there is an illustration of a leaf with the stem curled around. I'm wondering about the scale of something I'd expect someone to put in their pocket. I'd think a diameter of much more than an inch or so would be too big. Am I off base here? How large are the key rings? Also, are keys to be put on it directly or on a comercial double circle key ring which is then linked to the hand forged one? Metalmangler refers to animal heads. Again, how big? I'm not sure from his context if these are on key rings or wall hooks or something else. Scrollock, penannular broochs have been one of my best sellers over the years. If you make any knives make sure that you make sheaths for them. They sell much better then. Firesteels are cool to demonstrate. I usually sell one triangle dinner gong every event. Have replacements so that your table doesn't look picked over by the end of the event. And don't put out multiples of the same item. Only put out #2 after #1 has sold. Good luck. Let us know how you do. Commercially, George M.

Dear Dimkin, One thing to consider regarding a shipping container is overhead clearance. If you are going to be working on large enough objects that you need to raise your hammer over your head you want to be able to do that. You probably don't have much worry in Israel about heating it in the winter but I imagine that it could get pretty toasty in the summer. I suggest some sort of cushioning between you anvil stand and the steel floor or you may be working inside a big bell. A propane or natural gas fired forge has the least impact on the neighbors. If you do use charcoal try to get real charcoal and not briquettes. It works better and has much less tendency to disintegrate. Unobtrusively, George M.

Dear Bionicarm, Were you wearing gloves when you used it or were you bare handed? I'd have some concerns about pinching the skin if the split worked with the vibration. You're the one who used it, though. I'm just speculating. I do have some emotional reservations about cutting/weakening my tools. Thanks, George M.

A couple of technical questions: How did you split the billet? Did you bring it to the demo pre-split or was that part of the demo? How did you open the splits once it was hot? Wedges? I can see hitting it on the back to open it once it was at 90 degrees or so but how did you get the first part of the opening done? Thanks. George M.

Dear Laertius, No problem from me about expanding the discussion. I'd like to hear about all teaching smiths/schools. I started with a brochure from the New England School of Metalwork in Maine which is about as far as you can get from NE Colorado and stay within the coterminous US. If I can find someone to teach me in the areas I specifically need I would be willing to travel. You're in some nice country (tough winters, though). My mother was from Duluth and I spent quite a bit of time in that part of the world when I was young. However, I still think of Thunder Bay as Port Arthur and Fort William which dates me. Expansively, George M.

Very good but to my eye the leaves look a little unfinished without veins. Only my subjective opinion. I particularly like the way you have made the eye of the pin symmetrical. Not many folk do it. I thought that I was about the only one who did that. Historic Viking brooches often just have the terminals flattened and turned back toward the body of the brooch. In the vertical plane at 90 degrees to the horizontal plane of the body. Not in the same plane like your previous terminals. I'll see if I can find some links to historic iron Viking brooches. One site I can think of off the top of my head is the one for the Kopi company in Denmark. They have some very nice but expensive things with good historic documentation. Google "Kopi." (For English speakers: "Kopi" is Danish for "copy." "Kopie" in German.) Nice for inspiration and documentation. I'd label this one as a fantasy or Elven brooch. Historically, George M.

Based on my experience of 45 years ago when working in the alloy bar mill at US Steel's South Works in Chicago the one thing that you absolutely want is an easily accessible kill switch. If something unplanned happens you want to be able to shut things down FAST. I suggest some sort of big red button or lever switch. If it were me I'd think long and hard about guards for the moving bits. Safely, George M.

Brand: Vulcan Weight: 100 lbs. Year: 1978 (at an auction. Also, got a Champion forge for $25. This is what got be started blacksmithing.) Condition: Fair, in the early 90s I attended an anvil repair seminar and had the edges built back up. Price: $25

SE South Dakota: Hot summers, cold winters, very flat, and a loong way from just about anywhere else. Good folk, though. If you move there you will have to develop a taste for hot dish, cream of mushroom soup, and bars (for the non-midwesterners hot dish is a kind of cassarole, often made with ground meat or tuna. Bars are a type of native dessert which are baked in a pan.) Also, you will need to learn how to say "You bet." and distinguish between a "heck of a deal", a "pretty good deal," and "good deal." Read some of Garrison Kiellor's books to get a good idea of the culture of the upper midwest. Natively, George M.

Dear Randy, I've rejoined Rocky Mountain Smiths. I was member in the early '90s and attended a number of the conferences in Carbondale. I didn't stay with it then because of mundane life and I hadn't felt real welcome because I wasn't a full-time commercial smith. At that time hobby/part time smiths seemed to be 2d class members. We'll see how things go this time. Also, the conference isn't until next August and while the conferences have very interesting demos they aren't exactly what I need right now. Thanks for the suggestion, though. GM

Dear Kurgan, I've never made one but I'd suggest bending them back in towards the body of the saw blade. That way it is still obviously a circular saw blade but not dangerous to casual passers by. In my minds eye I see it as married to a smaller dish shape for a base and the teeth bent our to form a horizontal rim. Good luck. Please post some pictures of your projects. Suggestively, George M.

Dear Tom, My experience has been, "If you give a man a fish you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish he will end up blowing the kids' lunch money on carbon fiber rods and buzz baits." ;-) That said, I'll be stealing the idea too. It's a nice simple project for demos and classes. Realistically, George M.

Nice. I'm a little jealous since my 21 year old son is not a "maker" for recreation. He will make things if needed (and is pretty good at it) and helps me in the shop when I need a 3d hand or a striker but he doesn't feel the need to create anything for his own pleasure. Enviously, George M.

Dear Nuge, I find it impossible to demonstrate AND sell at the same event. If you are going to demonstrate you need a 2d person to run the sales. That is probably the ideal situation. The demo draws folk to your booth and convinces them that, yes, you really did make everything that you have for sale. I have had some folk be almost resistant to the idea that you are selling what you have made rather than retailing something made by someone else. So few people are "makers" any more that people find the idea of a craftsman selling his or her own work to be unusual. I was asked at a recent event whether anything on my table was my work and when I said that it all was the person was obviously surprised. I haven't done any demos in recent years because of the hassle and work of dragging a forge and anvil around and because my wife has difficulty in being responsible for the table because she has health problems. If I was demoing and was negotiating with the event organizer I would ask them what arrangement they had with other entertainers such as bands, dancers, etc.. I would ask for the same arrangement. A demo is, plain and simple, entertainment. A smith will be performing pretty much all day while the other entertainers usually only perform for certain periods of time. A organizer who won't recognize this should be passed by. Entertainingly, George M.

Dear 99pppo, At the risk of "preaching to the choir" I'll tell you what I tell my customers about penannular brooches. They are called that because they are "almost a circle." An annulus is a circle, a donut (schmalzgebachenes) is an annulus. Pen- means "almost." "Penultimate" is almost last and a "peninsula" is almost an island. They are also sometimes called "omega" brooches because the resemble the Greek letter omega (particularly if they have curled back terminals like you did). My explanation to customers about how to use them is that it is very simple but not immediately obvious. (1) pass the pin through the fabric. (2) Raise the tip and pass it up through the gap in the body of the brooch. (3) Turn the brooch 90 degrees to lock it. (This works better if I'm doing it while explaining it. Also, I make them do it themselves because they will remember it better if they have done it. Like in blacksmithing, muscle memory lasts longer than just mental memory. Penannulars go back to at least the 1st century BC. They are particularly associated with the early British, Irish, Welsh, Viking, and late Roman cultures. Historically, George M.

Nice work. I like the corkscrew and may try something similar. As someone who has made hundreds of penannulars and worn them I'd sugget that the opening be a bit narrower. The brooch will sit flatter against the material when worn. Also, the twist in the pin may be harder on the fabric than a straight pin. One of the concerns I hear over and over from customers is whether the pin will leave a permanent hole in the fabric. One of the problems with making historically accurate (or, at least, in the style of) viking iron penannular broches is that there aren't many historical examples. I've only ever found illustrations of a couple and even then any surface decoration is rusted away. Cuperous alloy artifacts are probably over represented in the archeological record because the preferentially survive. And nearly all the bronze, etc. penannulars are cast rather than forged. In making the corkscrew portion do you wrap the material around a mandrel and then pull it out to a longer screw shape? If not, could you please describe your technique? Yours, George

Dear All, This past weekend I had my ironwork booth at an Irish Festival. It was a nice event but the attendance isn't what I expected. I don't think it was advertised well enough. I did about $600 in sales, which was OK, but the booth fee of $275 ate, in my opinion, too much of that. I am wondering how others balance the issues of booth fees, expected attendance, and expected sales when deciding what event to attend. I am starting to form an opinion that the booth fee shouldn't be any higher than 20-25% of expected sales. Realistically anticipating sales is something that I do not have enough experience to estimate accurately. I know that at one particular SCA event, based on 3 years experience, that I can anticipate sales in dollars of about 80% or so of attendance. e.g. If there are 1000 folk through the gate I will do about $800 in sales. Any comments, experiences, suggestions, etc. will be appreciated. Economically, George M.

Dear Ironstein, I'm glad it is all working out well. One last bit of advice: When you are looking for property for a home/shop make sure that there aren't any zoning issues. There may be problems with a commercial shop in residential zones. Many places allow home occupations but there cannot be any employees. Sometimes you can do it if you get a special permit which usually requires the consent of the neighbors. Often, a rural location has fewer restictions for this sort of thing because there are fewer folk which might be impacted. If you have any specific questions or issues contact me via a private message. Best wishes, George

I just ordered and received two 50 lb. bags from Texas Farrier Supply. The problem is the shipping costs. The coke is a reasonable $20/50# bag but UPS shipping is $30/bag from Texas to Colorado. I spoke with L Brand a year or two ago and, IIRC, they had a large minimum order and referrred me to TFS. Later they contacted me saying that they were having a truck come through Colorado and I could get a minimum order of 500 or 1000# at a reasonable price. That was too much for me but it was nice of them. Carboniferously, George M.

Dear All, I just received the catalog for the New England School of Metalwork winter session and there are several classes which look tempting to me. There is a 3 day "Basic Damascus Steel" course which would be a valuable addition to my knowledge. As a self taught smith forge welding is not one of my strongest skills. However, Auburn, Maine is 2000 miles away which adds considerable cost to the basic tuition. I am wondering if anyone has any suggestion about which schools/training are worth the cost and any to avoid. I looked at Frank Turley's classes as New Mexuco is a lot closer than Maine to NE Colorado (I saw him demonstrate along with Francis Whittaker in the early-mid '90s. The man is a god. If I'm ever 20% as good as he is I will die a happy man.) but The 3-week course is a bit much and probably starts to basically for me and the shorter classes are mostly introductory. Any comments or suggestions would be welcomed. Thank, George Monsson

Dear Ironstein, I pleased to see that things have worked out. What you describe is not an uncommon scenario when a couple run a business together. I suggest that in your lease that you have language along the lines of "this lease shall be binding on the parties and their successors, heirs, and assigns" and "this lease shall survive any transfer of the property by the lessor." That will avoid, or at least give you a remedy for a breach of the lease if the property is sold and the new owner want's you out. Also, make sure that there is language that any modification of the lease must be in writing. That avoids any he said/he said disputes. There is an old joke about an oral contract not being worth the paper it is written on. Good luck and I hope your business thrives. If you haven't had any business courses I suggest that you donsider picking some up at the local community college. I have known a lot of folk who are great at their proffession or craft, doctors, lawyers, plumbers, blacksmiths, who are very good at what they do but suck as business people. Running a business successfully takes a whole different toolbox of skills. If you are successful and your business progresses beyond a one man shop all of a sudden you are no longer a craftsman working at his trade but a boss running a business. Yours, George

Dear Ironwolf, The point for Ironstein is that his landlord, in a month to month arrangement, doesn't need ANY reason, good or bad, to refuse to rent to him for another month. Similarly, he doesn't need any reason if he decides to move. That is the point of a month to month rental agreement. He knew that or should have known it when he moved in. If he didn't like it when the landlord said no lease he should have headed down the road to somewhere where they do do leases. That would have meant that he would be on the hook to keep paying rent for the term of the lease but the landlord couldn't have kicked him out on a whim before the end of the lease. GM

Dear John, Very well said. I agree 100%. Concurrently, George M.

Dear Ironstein, On thing to consider is how much of a distraction this fight will this be from the rest of your life and business. That has always been what I've been sorry about once all is said and done after various battles (some successful, some not). I realize that I had spent time, emotions, and brain damage that I will never get back. Admiting that you are vengeful sounds like the admission of a character flaw to me and one that a person should work at minimizing. To be blunt, much of this can be attributed to your acceptance of a month to month agreement. They may have promised you the sun and the moon and all the stars but all that is fluff and not worth a bucket of swept up scale. I'm sure at the time the month to month looked like a good idea and you had a comfort level but any protection or ability to force someone else to play nice comes at the cost of a lease. Yes, they didn't do leases but you accepted the potential consequences. You've reported the possible zoning code violations to the city. Leave the enforcement to them. Your karma will be better if you accept this as a lesson and move on. Nuff' said. Do what seems best for you but I suggest that you decide what that is by logic, thought, and analysis rather than emotion, anger, and feelings. If you want to discuss this any more send me a private message off forum. In case you couldn't tell, yes, I am an attorney as well as a blacksmith (long story). Yours, George

Dear Ironstein, You have just learned the lesson of the value of a lease versus a month to month arrangement. In a month to month either the landlord may refuse to renew with the tenant for any reason (except the usual prohibited reasons like race, gender, politics, religion, etc.) and tenant may move out at any time. This is good for situations where neither party wants a long term commitment. With a lease both parties are commiting to a longer releationship and are legally liable to each other for that period. Leases are more common with the rental of commercial property because the tenant (like you have) will often modify the premises for their business purposes and needs to occupy the site for long enough to recover the costs of the modifications. Month to month rental agreements are commoner in residential arrangements where the tenant may be moving out at some relatively near future point, e.g. a student at the end of the school year. In a month to month the landlord is within his rights to refuse to rent for the next month for any stupid, irrational, or "unfair" reason as long as it isn't based on illegal prejudice. Similarly, the tenant can move out even though the landlord was counting on that rental income. If you decide to purchase a parcel of property make sure that you have your Is dotted and your Ts crossed. In particular, make sure that the parcel is zoned for industrial uses and if you need any permits. Also, make sure that any construction meets the local building code. Around here (NE Colo.), for example, a pole structure is fine for agricultural purposes like a cattle loafing shed but would not be allowed for something regularly occupied by humans (like a blacksmith shop). If you move to another rental site make sure that you have at least a 6 month lease with a requirement that if either party is not going to renew the lease that they have to notify the other party in writing at least 30 days prior to the termination of the lease. READ the lease before you sign it and make sure that you understand all of it. If you don't, ask questions. Never sign anything that you don't understand. If there is something in the proposed lease that you don't like and the landlord won't change it, walk away. Also, make sure the lease specifically states that the site will be used as a blacksmith shop which will produce noise, smaells, and vibrations. It may be satisfying to make life difficult for your soon to be ex landlord and take an attitude of "That'll teach him to F with me." However, there is something to be said for taking the high road and being as classy as you can about it. You're bound to get muddy if you wrestle with a pig. A grudge will poison your own mind and life longer than an incident where you feel that you accepted a situation, even if it was unfair, and remained a gentleman. Think about the trade offs. Finally, you may want to explain the situation to your customer and see if it is possible for you to get an extension on the completion date. Best of luck, George M.