George N. M.

There are probably still some smaller Ren Faires around that are non-profit and run by volunteers for the fun of it all (Sioux Falls just might be one of them) but just about all the large ones are commercial enterprises.  Very often the owner, an individual, partnership, or corporation will own several around the country with the ones in the northern states happening in the summer and the ones in the southern tier of states in the winter months. 

There are "Rennies" or people who follow the various faires to conduct their businesses.  They will spend 6 weeks at the one in Colorado then a month at one in Minnesota, then several weeks in Ohio, etc..  It's a little like the carnies who follow traveling carnivals or circus folk.  It is a way of life for some people.

I was once approached to be the blacksmith at the one in Colorado but I said "no" because it was a commitment of 7 consecutive weekends out of a summer and I knew folk who had been treated poorly by the owners of the Faire and did not want to contribute my time and skills to the organization.  It was too big a commitment for someone with a regular 5 day a week job.  You would be working at the Faire all weekend, doing your regular job during the week, and having to work at the forge every week night to restock what you had sold the previous weekend.  And, you had to pay a significant fee to the Faire owner for the privilege of being there plus if you built a semi-permanent booth or smithy it became the property of the Faire owner.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Dear Jay,

Don't confuse the Ren Faire experience with the SCA.  The Ren Faires are generally for profit entertainment events.  They are into fantasy and things like pirates and fairies.  They are there to make money for the organizers and owners and to a lesser extent the merchants and entertainers.  The merchants have to pay a fee to have a booth and the jugglers, dancers, singers, troubadors, etc. either work for tips or are paid a fairly low wage by the organizers.  The jousters are professional entertainers with fairly high overhead who are paid by the organizers.  That is what a portion of the entrance fee goes for.

The SCA is a volunteer organization dedicated to researching the period of about AD 500 to AD 1600.  There are people (like me) who focus on arts and crafts such as blacksmithing, spinning, weaving, glass blowing, calligraphy, costume and clothing design and construction, etc..  There is a combat aspect where there is "heavy" combat using armor and rattan weapons and "light" combat of fencing and archery.

Check it out on the national organization web site and the web site of the regional group ("kingdom").  If it looks like something you and your family would find fun (the SCA is very family friendly and usually has activities for the kiddos at events) you may want to investigate it.  If not, not.

The way I usually describe the SCA is that it is like the folk who re-enact the Mountain Man era, or the Civil War, or the American Revolution, only 500 years earlier.  I have kept doing SCA activities for 40 years because of the cool people I have met there.  I have fairly eclectic interests and the SCA has a higher proportion of people who are interested in the same things that I am.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

The SCA is the Society for Creative Anachronism, a medieval re-enactment group which has somewhere around 30-40K participants world wide.  I'm sure there is a local group in Sioux Falls.  Thomas Powers and I are both long term participants (me since about 1978) and I am sure that there are others on IFI who are current or past participants.

RE: Bullet proof armor.  This has been a goal since the advent of fire arms.  The question is always protection versus weight.  You can be pretty invulnerable but you will be pretty immobile.  You also have to decide HOW bullet proof you want to be.  Stopping a .22 rimfire isn't too hard but stopping a .458 Weatherby magnum is something else.  Even the breast plates of late medieval and early modern horsemen were proof against the pistols of the day but not large bore armor smashing muskets.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

I've known guys in the SCA who have had some very nice leather armor.  Look up "cour boulli"" (spelling ?).  Black metal and red leather has always looked good IMO.  Also, pierced metal with leather backing can give interesting effects.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Dear Jay,

I've always thought that leather working and iron working were complimentary.  There are a number of areas where one will support the other.  Sheaths are an obvious connection.  Making tools for leather working is another.  I've always thought that a lot of the tools at Tandy were way overpriced and were something I could make myself.  Fancy rivet heads can make leatherwork unique.  Good luck.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Jay:  You may look around for someone who has a detached garage who wants to rent it.  I'd post something on the bulletin board at the local senior center or post something in the local "Thrifty Nickle" paper.  And ask at where ever you work or post something on the physical of e-bulletin board there.  There are some storage places that cater to start up businesses.  Try the Chamber of Commerce or the Economic Development Office.  Tell them you are a part time metal working business.  Even if you have only sold one item for $1 that makes you a business.

Drive around town and look for vacant properties that might make a shop.  Then check with the County Assessor (often, you can do this on line if you have the physical street address) to find out who the owner is.  Then contact them and see if they will rent out the space.  You's be surprised at how much space is out there if you dig a bit.

Don't forget to drive up and down alleys.  I've seen quite a number of places in alleys that would make fine shops.

Even though you might have told the Chamber of Commerce that you are a business if you rent something in a residential zoned neighborhood your story is that you are a mere hobbiest.

Finally, a lease is probably a good thing to have so that you have a specific period of time when you know that you can't be told to move.  If you are just on a month to month rental agreement  you can be told to be out on a pretty short notice.

And be a good neighbor when it comes to noise, smoke, and odors.

It's like the Thomas Powers Anvil Acquisition Technique:  Keep asking and pestering people until you find what you want. 

Dear Jay,

I've lived several places where I could not have a shop.  I got around this by renting a garage or storage locker.  The storage locker has to have electricity and you are limited to semi-decent weather if you have a solid fuel forge and need to have the door open when you are working.  Even if you are using a propane forge make sure you have the door cracked so that you don't start getting a carbon monoxide build up. (A friend of mine did that with a propane forge in a tight garage and nearly killed himself.  If his wife hadn't checked on him and found him on the floor he would have been gone.  He had to spend a good bit of time in a high oxygen hyperbartic chamber to flush out the CO.  It was a good thing he was in a metro area where that was available.)

Sioux Falls can have some pretty serious winters which can be a factor in selecting a shop site.

Also, check with any local blacksmithing groups.  There may be someone nearby who might let you share shop space.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Pun on the title of the thread.  A little weak but worth posting.

Laramie has been similar to Frosty's SEARING temperatures.  Upper 70s and low 80s.  That's summer at 7500 feet elevation.  Can still see snow fields in the Medicine Bow mountains from the shop.

"Oh, the huge manatee!""

Dear Jennifer,

I suspect that our favorite hammers are the ones we use most often and for which we have developed a muscle memory of its size and balance.  I use a 2.5 lb farrier's hammer and it is just right for the size work I usually do.  If I use a 2.5 lb cross pein it just doesn't feel the same because of the slightly different balance.  If I'm working on something larger or smaller than average a heavier or lighter hammer feels right for the work.  I think that there is a feedback loop that we use a particular hammer most because it is our favorite and it is our favorite because we use it the most.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Dear Frosty,

Late 18th and early 19th century England did not have bubonic plague outbreaks.  They did have other fun things like cholera and diphtheria though. The big Black Death outbreaks were in the 14th century, about 450 years before William Blake.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

"I'm so old I remember when the Periodic Table had only 4 entries, Earth, Air, Fire, and Water."

My only comment is that in my personal experience I prefer a hammer that isn't quite polished to a mirror finish.  I don't care for the slick feel it gives on the hot metal.  I suggest that you try some surfaces from just smooth up to mirror finish and see what feels good for you.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Played fine for me.  That's a lot of conservation of energy going on there.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Nice.  Even though it is only 50 years old instead of 215 I suspect that it has some value since it is obviously a high quality edition.

I have always like Blake but he can be kind of strange and macabre.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Dear Jim,

Yes, that is much more attractive.  Do you have the finished item in your head before you start or do you start with, say, a candle holder and then think about what would look good/interesting to support it?

GNM

Dear Jim,

I really like the pieces but there is one thing that clangs a bit for me.  On the candle holder where the candle arm crosses the arm with the curl and the leaf/feather arm it seems to me that the twist should be more symmetrical.  That is, in the last photo the curl/leaf arm should be on the left side of the candle arm.  That said, I probably have a touch of symmetry OCD and asymmetry is a bit disturbing for me.  I find symmetry more aesthetically pleasing to the eye.  Others, obviously, will respond differently.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Dear Chris,

Martha and I had 6 years to get used to the idea that we weren't going to finish the trip together.  I did most of my grieving when she was diagnosed.  Also, she gave me strict instructions not to mope around and be sad but to get out and do things and meet people.  So, when it felt OK I signed up for eHarmony and met a lady named Madelynn.  We really hit it off and married 3 years ago.  I feel very blessed and fortunate to have hit the relationship home run twice.  I love Madelynn with all my heart and will also miss Martha every day of my life.  How Madelynn, Martha, I, and Madelynn's late husband Tom will sort it all out on the other side is unknown but I'm sure that we will do it.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Yep, there is no accounting for when we have to leave.  My grandfather passed at 54 and my late wife at 59.  Way too soon for us for them to go out of our lives.  But I figure this is a temporary state of affairs.  I figure that Martha has just gone on ahead to pick out a good campsite and the rest us us will be along in awhile.

Dear All,

I am not sure whether to post this under Shop Design or under forges.

I am moving my shop to our new home in Laramie and for once I have the space and resources to really plan and execute my work space.  I have 2 coal forges, one small 22" diameter farm forge which I have used since I started hitting hot iron in 1978 and a larger "bullet" (round on one end, square on the other) forge which I plan to set up for larger projects.  I have a  hood for the large forge with about a 10"-12" chimney opening and I have always used about a 6" stove pipe for the smaller forge.

I also have a propane forge which I don't plan to vent to the outside.

I am wondering if there is recommended formula or absolute size for the diameter of coal forge chimneys depending on the size of the forge.  It seems to me that you would want a large enough diameter to create enough draft to carry away the smoke and fumes but not so large that the hot gases would cool too soon and not get out the top of the chimney.  The latter could be a concern in Laramie since at 7500' winter can be a reality.

Also, am I correct that the top of the chimney should be higher than the highest point of the roof so that turbulence from wind coming across the roof will not create a down draft in the chimney?

Thanks.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

OK, thx.  It shows how little I know about professional music.  I never thought that being on key or in tune was much of a concern in rock 'n roll. (I'm assuming that White Stripes is a rock band.  Am I correct or not? I've heard the name but it is not my genre of music.)

Technology, a bigger hammer, precise heat treating, water or plasma cutting, or Mr. White's auto tuner must always be be means to creativity rather than the end itself.  Just because you can do something with a bigger or newer piece of equipment does not make it more creative or beautiful than what you could do previously, just larger or faster.

I have seen a LOT of blacksmith "art" which could be characterized as "an explosion in a spagetti factory" school of art.  It seems that the artist was so taken with the ability to bend a hard medium like steel with the application of heat that the technique took over any considerations of composition or beauty.

I assume that Mr. White auto tuner is something to tune a guitar which, IIRC, has 5-6 strings.  He might appreciate the ability to tune faster if he played the lute which has 15-24 strings.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

JHCC:  Fancy drop spindles, roller looms, orifice hooks, and a few other things.

I used to ask my late wife if I bought her 200 pounds of steel wool whether she'd knit me an anvil.  She never got around to it though.

By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Explanation:  The roller looms are for card weaving.

Dear JHCC,

I post this based on the experiences of a good friend who recently closed her yarn shop.  The two key things contributing to success of a craft store like that is how much competition is in the area and how many knitters are there.  My friend saw her business decline over the years and attributed most of it to competition from the internet.  I suggest that if Lisa wants to go in that direction she needs more than yarn, raw fiber and spinning wheels for spinners, looms, etc. for weavers, yarn for knitters and crocheters, lessons for everyone.

Also, my friend had good success at fiber events such as alpaca/llama/sheep/stock shows.  There is also an event called the Wool Market in Estes Park, CO every June at which she had good business.

My late wife was a fiber person and I have made a quite a number of fiber tools over the years.  If Lisa goes in that direction message me and I may be able to provide her with some unique tools.

It may be a case of craft being attracted to craft but I have noticed that an uncommon number of blacksmith spouses are fiber folks.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Dear MMM,

It could depend on the source of the coal before it washed up on the beach.  I don't think that there are any submarine outcrops of coal in the CT area.  IIRC most of coastal CT is made up of glacial deposits.  I would suspect that the origin might be a 19th or early 20th century ship wreck which has dumped its coal bunkers into the environment.  And who knows what the origin of that might be.  Fast NY-Boston packet ships would have burned high quality anthracite from PA while some scummy old tramp steamer could have been burning anything they could get cheap.  

I suggest you gather a bucket or so, let it dry out well, and see how it works.  If you are concerned about the salt content wash it with fresh water before drying.  The price is certainly right.

I believe that "sea coal" is a British term for coal that was shipped to London by ship from Newcastle.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."