chyancarrek

Umm, what Collen said (I think) . . . A couple of 'em. I think the most outta left field request was landing gear feet for a flying saucer . . .

Spent many an hour forging with Don at the Steam-Up and demos. He was a xxxx good smith . . . He was an even better man. Godspeed brother, my anvil rings for you tonight.

What Colleen said . . . Presentation is king!

Junker, I think you're on to a fine idea. A fella down the way from where I used to live set up two of them with a roof between and sliding door ends on the center section. He used the set up to restore the classic cars he loved to work on. One side was the tooling and work area, the other was racks and shelves with all the parts sorted into their various points in the process. He had double man-doors installed on both for easy access. It was spacious and he kept it very organized. The car being worked on occupied the center which had a concrete slab. The whole set up worked a treat! Sadly, similar to Windancer's story, he passed and his wife had to sell off his whole operation.

Jimmy Hoffa . . . possibly Amelia Earhart

Stunning work! Please post pics when its installed.

Michael, If I was selling to my clientele, these are the prices I would place on them (not knowing what your overhead is on them). The high - low is touch arbitrary but sometimes you need to move up and down the range based on venue. Skull = 75.00 - 150.00 Leaf = 50.00 - 125.00 Candle Holders = 50.00 - 100.00

I used a website years ago . . . I treated it as an electronic "business card". It was a place for folk to be told to go not one I ever expected others to find (for the reasons Steve mentions above). I don't have one anymore, it's not a good fit for the time and money to manage it. I've always used mailing lists and direct contact to build the business one customer at a time. Now I keep all of my clients updated through regular email updates and the word of mouth business that approach generates has done pretty well for me. I haven't tried Etsy yet. The wife and I created an account last year but we haven't gotten around to dipping our toe in the water. If we do, I'll treat it the same way as I mentioned above; It's a place to direct folks to, not a place I expect people to find.

Same thing here Clif . . . we had to take our son in for an MRI and the techs wouldn't even let me past the waiting room door once I told them I worked with metal. Their policy is full xrays and exam for anyone who is considered a risk.

Verdi's Anvil chorus . . . I'm kinda fond of Glenn Miller's version too!

Nicely done Michael . . . looks great. I'm thinking someone needs to start considering casting bronze. Those large scale reverse curves and compound negatives are a whole bunch easier in wax ^_^ Do you mind if I share these pics with the sculptor I work with? He'd love to see these shapes being done in iron. They're very similar to elements that he uses in some of his series. Please post more as you go.

It sure earned it's maker's mark. Nicely done!

My wife (she's a teacher) would be right there with ya on this one Larry . . . We call her the Grammar Queen - I suffer mightily by her hand each and every day :lol:

Thomas, My original response in this post was said by way of being mean-spirited and strayed way off-topic. That's not what I'm on IFI for, so I've deleted it. My final point on this is that I think the folk of this village know exactly what's involved and the inherent dangers that exist around it. It's time honored for them and suggesting that they're doing it out of ignorance is arrogant.

Didn't say it was a good idea . . . I suggested they've been doing if for a long time and they seem to be comfortable with it the way it is. Step off the high-horse Thomas . . . I don't think the Chinese are looking for a new nanny.