chyancarrek

You charge THAT much?

Strike while the iron's hot . . .

" just found and bought a 254 Lb Peter Wright for $350.00 there!" Good on ya - congrats on a good deal. But an anecdotal purchase isn't exactly setting the standard for availability. There's no dire shortage of anvils in the world but a lot of the folks who are looking and see an ad for an anvil two states away can't afford to drive and buy or buy and ship. Sometimes they're in an area where those who are selling have their anvils over-priced even in poor condition. It takes some perseverance and sometimes as in your case, being in the "right place at the right time". I got my anvil back in the mid 90's from Jerry Culberson at Old Cedar Forge in Alyn Wa - My wife and I stopped by just as his wife Ina was closing up shop - we didn't want to bother them so we were just going to turn around and leave when she said "Nonsense - c'mon in and meet Jerry and look around" It was a wonderful visit over the next 3 hours and when Jerry found out I was thinking about getting an anvil (I had just started and was using an O/A torch and a piece of I-beam), he showed me several he had for sale and said " that 200 lb Trenton there is ready to work" - He sold it to me for $400.00. Was it the best deal in the world at the time? I couldn't say, but it was the right deal for me. Keep your eyes open and if need be, use what's on hand to make do - the most important part is to find a way to get hot iron under a hammer.

Hey Larry, Good price on the wax. We use micro-crystalline with a fairly modest added-paraffin ratio so 1200 lbs is a tad more than we'd ever use - but I'll put the word out with some of the other foundry folk we know. Is he willing to sell it in smaller lots or just wanting to dump the whole thing?

Good deal Dennis! Great job on the hammer and on bringing the next generation into the craft. Your daughter looks like one happy hammer-mama!

Give it h*ll Mike! Let us know how it goes!

Pure-sweet Larry, she's beautiful - Great Job!

Beautiful work Pawel! - and it's an actual candle chandelier, not electric. Does it lower from the ceiling for lighting?

"Neil, that's funny, I always thought your name "chyancarrek" was from native american influences!" Colleen, I do have a lot of folks who focus on the Chy An (thinking it's pronounced like Cheyenne) so they think Native American as well! Hey Fe- getting back into casting eh? I still have bunches of foundry equipment for sale . . . I'll make ya a REALLY good deal

The name of my shop and property is Chy An Carrek (pronounced: Shuncarruk) My mom's family was from Newlyn England where the native language was Cornish. It roughly translates to "Home by the Stone" because I live on top of a rock ridge I thought it appropriate - For my business I sell under my own name: Neil Pope, Metalsmith.

Nicely done Jeff! Is that the foot to your new treadle hammer I see in the back ground? Have you had a chance to work with it at all?

Gee - and I came up with the "BWOB" phrase because I thought I was responding to a true crisis in Australia but the real international color of our community showed through . . . Well, it just goes to show . . . "Where there's smoke, there's Blacksmiths . . ."

Nicely written Mike!

Frosty - good idea on using the shuttles, and I think an anvil shaped satellite to relay our signals would work well. We could also have an orbiting platform manned by apprentices to keep our arch rivals under watch - we can call it Thor's Hammer . . . Bob, great idea using the dolphins - they can also be our lovable side kicks - better than monkeys . . . I don't like monkeys . . . .

Hey FF, Frank and SoCal are right - keep the area where the tree of the saddle rests smooth and clean. Is the rack going to be static or will it be a swing-out? I don't see it now but you had a pic posted of a standard rack - that's a really proven design and I think if you stick with that but perhaps do some nice joinery or other texturing embellishments, your friend will be pleased with the results - tack rooms on horse trailers are usually pretty confined so keeping it as minimal as possible will be best. Take some pics when you get it done!

Good thinking Sam - We can build big search lights that project the shape of an anvil on the clouds so any country that needs us could send us a signal toot-sweet. I'm a little concerned though, I don't look good in tights or a cape - could we just keep it to regular smithing clothes, with an apron sporting our fancy new logo? Oh, yeah - no monkeys as lovable side-kicks - I don't like monkeys . . .

I like it Glenn! When do they go into production?

I've never used anything but a half barrel for a slack tub and have never had any problems - as mentioned above, just make sure to keep them mostly full to stop them from leaking - I really like how wide they are as it allows a lot more movement and ability to accommodate a variety of shapes while still having some depth.

Thanks Jeff! Yeah, even in Jim's studio I had to earn my chops to get on the pouring end of the shank. He's got quite a cadre of fellows he's worked with over the years but the last ten or so it's been pretty much he and I with a few guys coming in to lend a hand as needed.

Hey Iain, What you're describing is pretty much exactly what I've been doing for the last 12 years - Right now it's tough because business has dropped way off but my secret for hanging on is the fact that I set everything up from the git-go to have the lowest possible overhead - I approached that by buying my home, shop and equipment outright - I have no mortgage/rent, no debt payments (loans/credit cards) and because I do very small scale work, I use 90% reclaimed materials which carry little to no cost and a minimum of consumables. Am I getting rich? Not even close, but my bills are payed, I'm not missing any meals (as evidenced by my expanding waistline) and have enough left over for a little fun. My advice is to stick with your job for as long as you can stand it knowing it's just a means to an end and REALLY focus on the business side of what you want to do - it's not enough to come up with a product line and then hope to sell it. I spent my first 4 years building my client list and honing my product line while working in a custom furniture shop. You really have to identify your market and then work at making that market aware of you - remember that you're entering into a biz that's predominantly supported by disposable income spending and there's not near as much of that out there as there used to be. All that being said, can you do it? Sure - a case in point is a good friend who makes tongs for other smiths (Glen @ GS tongs) he's built his biz by making a strong product and being dedicated to the business side. While it's not as robust as it was, he's still making a good go of it. There's all sorts of great folks here who can help you with more solid advice than I have to give - tap into them. Do lots of research and take some business courses to help you lock down that side of things - as long as you don't take a "ready, fire, aim" approach, you can make anything work out for yourself - it just comes down to lots of dedication and using lots of common sense. Good luck - let us know how it goes!

Have a great time Larry - I hate to miss it but it's just too far away to fit it in this time around! Look forward to the pics!

"Blacksmiths Without Borders" "I thought that was what IForgeIron was all about. (grin)" I'm thinkin' you may have a new IFI T-shirt idea there . . .

Sorry Glenn, my post was a bad joking reference to "Doctors Without Borders" where groups of medical professionals go into areas ravaged by war and natural disasters and make up for a lack of onsite resources. I agree, this fella could use some help - Given how poorly the whole ad was put together I'd say there's a wide variety o' things he's not aware of!

It's time to form up a "Blacksmith's without Borders" group and get a response team over there right quick!

Hey BI, That's the sort of thing that can have a huge impact on a kid - kudos to those docents for making something special happen for your son! I remember many times at the museum where I'd see the look amazement on the kids faces as they took it all in and I'd wonder; " Am I looking at the first human to walk on Mars?" You just never know what single event could change the course of their lives.