P. Bedard

I whipped these up yesterday and today (about 6 hours work for all 4 of them). They're for sale at an upcoming Renaissance fair. I needed some items that wouldn't look out of place but were affordable. Let me know what you think; Not entirely sure what to price them at though. I was thinking in the 30-40 range. Thoughts?

Sounds like you're in high school. Don't worry, that attitude will dry right up after graduation. Heck, in later years, some of them will actually pretend that you and they used to be friends (happened to me twice)

I should have known to ask you right off the bat Jim! Thanks for the info, I'll certainly get some.

A local heritage railroad (the Prairie Dog Central) uses quite a bit of this stuff and a friend of mine volunteers on their "black gang" loading coal and doing general maintenance on the steam engine. He says I can come and buy some of their coal at a very good price. Now, before I go get some, has anyone used this coal? I'm using heating coal right now and it's not great stuff. It does keep burning while I'm having lunch but other than it's cost (about 5c a pound) that's the only advantage. Though, right now, it is just about my only option. It would be nice to know if this other stuff is a good alternative. So, if anyone has any experience with this type of coal, please let me know.

And it turned out very well. At least, the two students I had seemed happy. I took a few photos; I'm the one in the middle, for some reason I look stern; Demonstrating a technique; And the rewards of a good day's work. From top to bottom, Two hammer wedges (to teach spreading and pointing and cutting on the hardie) A "Thingus" (it's not anything but a way to teach forging from round to square and how to forge square and round points ) A hook (they made two of these. Mine shows two different decorative ends, they got to pick the ones they liked best) A steak turner (I kept this part secret until the end. They really like them.) Janet said after the class was over that she "never would have believed that she could make a steak turner like that after one class" that made me feel pretty good.

I did that once, it was just depressing. Especially when I added up what I had sold, and for how much. Good thing I'm not doing this to earn a living...

I think it helped a lot that he knows my brother and used to follow/photograph his band in the 80's and 90's. He always was a good guy and didn't have an agenda other than showing people that this craft is still practiced. And, I've already gotten two commissions from the story so WOOT! :)

A plastic bucket? Don't drop your hot hammer in that case. Unless you want to wash your shop floor that is. Very cool photo though...

Everyone knows that ACME makes the best anvils! Mine has no name left on it, either through wear or just age (it came from England in a shipment of other anvils and tools) so I decided to give it a brand name. My son thought it was funny so I keep it there. I completely forgot about it while the guy was here... :blink:

That sort of thing WAS in the back of my mind while he was shooting to be honest...

I had a guy from the local newspaper come by last week...and this is the result. I have to say, I'm impressed. The fellow is a photographer but they made him bring a video camera two (something he's not very familiar with) and it turned out pretty good. It's sort of a snapshot of what's going on nearby kind of story. They do these every once in a while. Take a look, there is video and photos too. http://www.winnipegs...ksmith-by-night

Wow. Quite the story! Good thing it had a happy ending. Who leaves a powder charge in a barrel anyway? I'll bet next time you'll dump a cup of water down there first huh?

Here you go. A photo from the right hand side of the shop; And one from the left hand side; There isn't much in there yet, we just moved and I wasn't able to do much in there during the Winter. It's not much, but it's home. (Or it may as well be, I spend more time in there than in the house some days!)

Thanks folks! It's my first foray into the "art for art sakes" world. Still not sure if I like it.

Hey gang. I don't do this sort of thing very often, (almost never actually) but the muse hit me and I thought I'd give it a try. Here is the result; Someone said it might look better on a "base" of some sort. Perhaps stone cut for the purpose. I may look into it as long as it's not too expensive. This only took 4 feet of stock and 3 hours of work time so I can't see putting it on a hundred dollar base... Let me know what you think.

Hey all. I found a source for coal about an hour and a half drive away from me. Not the best stuff, it's just above heating coal in terms of BTU's. It is, however, pretty cheap. The guy is asking 100 a ton. So, I'm heading out next weekend with some 5 gallon plastic buckets to fill up and check out what it's like. I'm paying $75.00 for a 50lb bag of the good stuff these days and I go through it pretty quickly. I'm thinking that if I can use the cheap stuff to do the majority of the work, and keep the good stuff around for welding, it would be worth the trip. Thoughts?

Well this is proof of the old saying; "money doesn't buy class". You've done a good job with it I must say. The glass is interesting. I sure hope they never have kids (hotwheels, rollerskates etc...) because that could be just plain dangerous. Hey, use the money to get yourself that Smithing tool you've always wanted.

That's a gorgeous hook Beth! Really lovely. I'm not very good at flowers or organic shapes, it's always something I wanted to try getting good at though...