Crazy Ivan

That is one heck of a score! I try to avoid such feelings but...I'm jelous ^_^ -Crazy Ivan

Maybe not but I heard he has his technique down cold. That icy grin says it all. :D -Crazy Ivan

An easy way to decide cost of materials is to figure since the fence is 40'X5' tall is to break it up into sections. Making 5 8' sections is going to get your 40' so if you hash out your stock list and figure how much steel will cost for 1 section then multiply everything by 5 to get basic cost (no margin for profit yet). Thinking of things in that sense will make it easier to guess how many pounds of welding wire you will be using and grinding/sanding disks, cans or gallons of paint, forge fuel (if there is forging involved), and time it will take. Once you have all these things figured out, you have to add gas for driving to the site, hardware, cement, and any other consumed expense that is relevant. This gives you cost of material. Now decide what you think you deserve per hr spent working on this (including time spent driving to and from the site). If you pay rent or lease your shop, don't forget to include the percentage of time you worked on the project off of that cost as well. Thats how I try to give quotes on jobs like this. The trick is not to price yourself out, but also not to undersell yourself (I have done it many times, some knowingly and some accidentally). Sometimes, it is best to turn a job down for monetary reasons, which I hate doing, but have to to keep myself afloat. -Crazy Ivan

What style of fence/railing? How much detail is involved? What type of process do you plan to use to fabricate? With any type of railing it is important to make sure they are mounted adequately. Do you have liability insurance (if someone else instals it you do not have to worry about liability sometimes, check with your area) -Crazy Ivan

Tomorrow morning will be my first day working at this place. Luckily for me it is only a ten minute bike ride away (unluckily, we are getting a snow and rain storm tomorrow haha). The more I think about it, this might work out really well. Plus I will likely get access to their scrap which is mainly 304 and 316 SS and some type of high carbon alloy steel (I don't recall exactly what it is but I remember them saying 60 points of carbon). Any common uses for these grades of steel (22GA-1/4" PL and various rounds and square bar) in blacksmithing? Blades and axes? -Crazy Ivan

Don't get me wrong, I am extremely grateful that I found a job that I can tolerate (the margins get narrower every day). For quite a while I was able to pay rent, cost of material/consumables, and have some money on the side solely by blacksmithing and I loved it. I sort of knew it was inevitable that I would hit a rough patch and have work slow or halt and not be able to stay off the streets but part of me wanted to see how far it could go. So this time, I packed a parachute and set myself up for a job before I ended up back out on my rump. It can get to me though, trying to chase my dream and having it not work the way I wanted. Either way though, I roll with the punches and work with what I have. I'm sure I just gotta save up a bit more and work a bit harder for it and eventually I will be in that position that I can make it happen. People tell me I'm a dreamer, but I call it ambition. :) -Crazy Ivan

I think for me it was more about working for myself on mainly my own schedule. It kept things pretty loose for me to have the option of taking a day off whenever, sleeping in if I needed too etc. I'll make it work with the daily grind though. With the prospect of a steady check, my mind is racing about what I'm gonna get for the shop first :D -Crazy Ivan

Saying that I just got myself a "real job" to supplement my blacksmithing and odd job "paying" gigs (I think it might be the other way around)? :ph34r: Hahaha oh well, all good things must come to an end. On the plus side, I will now be able to guarantee rent payments in a timely manner to my landlord AND get some fancy new tools that forging and welding couldn't pay for! Now I will be welding stainless steel vacuum chambers all day and forging all night....this might not be that bad :D . Plus it will be nice to have health insurance again! -Crazy Ivan

The lines flow really nicely. What was the finish used on those? -Crazy Ivan

Beautiful as always Rich! Especially the detail on the bolster and pommel. -Crazy Ivan

Me 3 on the south German double horn with upset block and side table....one day. :) -Crazy Ivan

That Is what I would suggest as a next step up from Majestic. I don't know much of anything as to the performance of them but have heard generally better reviews. I hope it works out for you and let us know what you think about it once you get it! -Crazy Ivan

:blink: ...Okay, now that my girlfriend helped me drag my jaw off the floor I can honestly say I will never take my files for granted again after watching that video....WOW! -Crazy Ivan

That is a good point, and unfortunately I never thought about it like that. On that note I withdraw my suggestion. -Crazy Ivan

Looks like there is a truck in that photo with 2 people next to it (scrappers?). Also looks like there was a fire and 1/2 of the building to the west had damage? With that style roof it almost looks residential but who knows? -Crazy Ivan

I think the best way to sell this to the wife would be to show her pictures of beautiful works done by other smiths and promise to make nice things for her :) . As I mentioned, if you have they money, go for it, but if you don't then the money would be well spent on lessons instead. Remember that the tools won't make you a better smith, but they sure can make your life easier. The most important thing is to do what you love and love what you do. -Crazy Ivan

If I was out on the west coast, I would already have a pack on and boots laced up. Sounds like an adventure to me! -Crazy Ivan

If you can spend $1000 on a forge lucky you, but most people I know don't have that much money to throw around especially on something they are just starting out at. Forges can be built very easily and cheaply, so the only way I can see justifying spending that much on a forge is if you are making a living from forging already and need something more industrial. Building your own forge does not make you "more of an expert" as a smith but it does make you a more frugal and self-reliant smith. The first blacksmith likely used a hole in the ground for a forge, a rock for a hammer and a bigger rock for an anvil. Some parts of the world, it is still done that way. You don't NEED expensive fancy tools to make beautiful work, just a good understanding of what you are doing and what the metal will do. You don't need to have a buch of money saved up to start doing this at all because you can find the majority of the things you need to get set up at flea markets, yard sales, and scrap yards for fractions of what they cost. If you have the money to spend and won't lose sleep over putting a bunch of money into something you are just starting out with, go for it. Many of us built our shops up for the cost of that forge though. -Crazy Ivan

I have the 2 burner knife maker from majestic. I would not buy it again. I have had the same issues as stated in post number 1. I'm actually gonna start building another forge asap because of what I pay in gas consumption, it just isn't worth continuing to use it anymore. -Crazy Ivan

If you decide to grind it off, it would be best to do it outside with a properly rated respirator. All those little particles will stay aloft for a while so if you are outside with a nice breeze you should be fine. If that is not an option, for safety's sake I would suggest what Thomas said. Doing it indoors would be bad news because even once the dust settles, you will eventually be sweeping the floor (I assume) which will make the chrome dust get back into the air again. -Crazy Ivan

Ferritic and Martensitic Stainless steel IS magnetic. Austenitic stainless is non-magnetic. So technically most stainless steels ARE magnetic,(those 3 are the different categories of stainless) it is just far more common to happen across non-magnetic versions. It has been a long long time since I brushed up on metallurgy but thats one thing I can remember being taught. -Crazy Ivan

I have my 1" unlimited certs for stick and Innersheild and a guy came to a competition I was in with the simulator...I scored a 63%...haha That is a failed weld as far as the simulation is concerned and I have welds on bridges and skyscrapers all over boston. The simulators are nothing like the real thing...or maybe just stay off the bridges in Boston haha. -Crazy Ivan

TC bolts are a bear to take off. Not nessesarily locking, but they hold beams together without fail so I think they may sort of count. Once the bolts are "snapped" You need a three foot cheater bar on your spud wrench and a lot of muscle to break them loose. -Crazy Ivan

I have to deal with Depression, ptsd, anxiety, suicidal thouts etc every single day. I spend hours and hours in my shop and while working, as Glenn stated, I find some kind of sanctity. If I work really hard, at the end of the day I am too tired to have my thoughts racing and driving me nuts. Smithing is definitely an amazing medium to deal with anything that is troubling you. Hate the world? Beat a hunk of steel into something beautiful and useful until you are too tired to hate anymore. Hate is a very exhausting emotion and I find if I tire myself out, I also tire out my ability to stay angry. Don't sweat the time you feel like you wasted because you are young enough you will find years down the road that it wasn't really wasted time at all. If it got you to pick up a hammer, I would say it worked out just fine. I know sometimes its hard, but instead of getting hung up on your past, think about it as how you got yourself where you are right now (an up and coming smith). Keep your head up and forge on! -Crazy Ivan

Yes you do. look through the heat treating section of the forum for more info, heat treating must be done evenly and all at once for uniform results. Moving the blade back and forth until you have an even heat throughout is doable (though it takes a keen eye and good heat control) -Crazy Ivan