j.w.s.

Personally, Ren Faires are my primary business. We have a large one here that runs from the beginning of August til the end of October. I primarily make swords, knives and axes - with a few fantasy pieces to boot. We're also contracted to sell 'imported' blades which run the gambit from really nice to 'what the heck were they thinking' - they tend to make the money on slow days when it's filled up with people who came on coupon tickets as we can sell them way cheaper than our own handmade (ie. no money but admission was cheap, load up the kids in the pick'em up truck and let's go). Most faires tend not to be the bastion of historical accuracy, have a tendency to be filled with uber-nerds that even other nerds shun and make fun of and also the occasional fairy winged princess being escorted around by Han Solo. That being said, obviously many different things will fly, but check with the show's coordinators first, most faires have a little dignity and require a certain period range for their vendors items. I am required to do at least 3 half-hour demo's each day but I normally end up doing more. My contract specifically forbids me from selling ornamental pieces, like wine racks, candle tapers etc but I'm still allowed to make them for demo's - go figure! Either way, it can be fun, the seasons go fast and furious so make sure you're prepared. Find out what the gate numbers are and judge you're stock accordingly. I generally have enough stock for each person through the gate to spend a dollar - 20,000, have $20k worth of retail stock, unlikely it will all sell, however you dont want to be caught short The more items on display that you have the more likely you are to make a sale. Good luck!

No lathe? I usually use moments like this for the 'well dear, if you expect me to put more food on the table this week I just have to buy a ____________' speech. :)

What about starting with a piece of square or octagonal stock, lathing down all but the ends to the needed dimension. Finish the wings with a small grinder/ wheel/ file. Drill the hole to the needed depth and diameter. I'd just flatten the other end and punch out a hole for a key ring. Clean up, heat treat and viola! If you can get a system down, 11 more should be rather easy to knock out after the initial prototype.

I'm afraid it could be serious. You're body has a severe dermatitis. I would suggest never working metal again. To help during the long withdrawal process, please send all shop equipment, along with stock both new and partially worked, so it can be properly disposed and never leach its evil upon the arms of another man. Address to follow. Actually, nickel has been a bane to mankind for many centuries. When discovered in Germany in medieval times, it's ore resembled copper ore, however no copper was able to be extracted. It's name comes from German etymology for satan's or "old nick's", and from kupfernickel, or "old nick's copper", because of it not yielding copper and possibly due to the fact that it can cause contact dermatitis in sensitive individuals. Chromium can cause the same, however its probably unlikely possible from the steel. It has been used for tanning leather, paint and anti-corrosive products though. Unfortunately there's so many things in all of our shops that we could have a reaction to but as long as we keep a level head, wear gloves when possible, eye protection, ventilators, dust masks, long sleeves, etc. we can minimize the problems. A thin application of plain 1% hydrocortisone cream available OTC can be used prior to handling something that normally gives you a reaction and will provide a barrier between it and your skin. Also, keep dry, water actually allows some ions to be absorbed into the first few layers of skin actually causing the reaction because your body thinks it's a foreign germ. Too bad we often don't think about it until it has already happened. Chalk it up to another lesson learned. :)

Now that is just the coolest! Got the mind a movin' this morning.. :)

All seems fine, some peoples cars got dinged up pretty good. Just south of me there was a tornado so I guess I got out lucky.. :)

Don't use olive oil as it can and will go rancid!

You think thats cool, you should see the grizzly bandsaw on the other side of the shop! Admittedly neither get used as often as they should - neither does my scroll saw, planer, dust collector or router table and probably half a dozen other tools that I forget I even have! :)

It's days like these that I'm glad my smithy is located in a two car garage. I went out to work on a project for a little and finish off my propane tank so I can refill it tomorrow. The sky was fairly dark but I didn't think anything of it, next thing I know it sounded as if someone was firing artillery at my roof! Then water started getting deep in front of the door and my empty slack tub that was sitting outside started floating away! Then it was over. Sometimes nature impresses me. Here's a picture of a piece of hail, the whole back yard was covered with it, almost looked like it had snowed! Just thought I'd share. -J

Thanks for that, I know there's several Da Vinci hammer designs however I've only been able to find his file hammer online. It'd be pretty cool to recreate one of his inventions.

Yeah, call a towing company, ask them if the have a wrecker (usually used to move semi's). I loaded a 30,000lb generator with one onto a flatbed trailer with little issue. The problem then becomes how to get it into place. My suggestion is Hilman Rollers. I have a set and have moved everything from large transformers to 6000lb electric motors with them. There might be a place in your area that will rent them for the day, considering that the cheapest you'll find them for is $900. If you're brave you could always use the old pipe roller trick, but I don't know if I'd risk dropping the hammer on its side.

I find that putting some of welding flux in with my shop clothes along with laundry detergent tends to get them coming out looking like new again. Who knew that this Borax stuff had other uses?! As for the holes and such, I'm 32, I throw on a sports coat, nice boots and a pair of sunglasses and suddenly I'm a hipster! However instead of paying $100 for my "distressed" jeans, I pick em up at Old Navy on sale and "distress" them in my shop. My better half is a fashion design student and this quarter she has menswear so I'll be getting a new wardrobe soon - I've already put in an order for some extra tough reinforced khaki's for the shop, not sure if she'll let me wear them though!

There's also Habitat for Humanity Re-Stores. I know there's two in Connecticut, one in Salem and one in Stratford. Good place to find tools, mine in Lancaster Pa even had a drill press last week. Also good for finding bits of brass to make small knife pieces out of, 1+hp motors, slack tubs, blowers, pipe and even the occasional good hammer. :)

That's a very cool setup Frosty - I love the improvised. Oh, and new guy, I'm sure there's a little mom & pop shop somewhere in your area that sells salvaged building supplies, like doors, hinges, old bathtubs - These can be excellent places to find old tools as well, they may be rusty but don't have to stay that way for long. I was out running around and stopped by one such place and after looking around for about 30 minutes I came across a RR rail already cut and shaped for use as an anvil. $39 was the asking price. Much better than a 1/4" piece of steel.

Looking good. I'd like to have something like this in my shop, however I've been thinking of foot controlled hydraulics instead of manual pneumatic. I guess it's a speed thing. I really like the low footprint profile, looks like it could be easily mounted on a pedestal stand and moved out of the way when not needed, or bolted to a work bench. You'll have to let us know how this holds up after a few good runs. Nice build.

Google Shopping is a nice tool for finding things as well and it includes those dreaded ebay listings. Plus you can sort by price etc.

Stay away from olive oil. It can and will go rancid.

I would get the waxed thread made for the job. Believe it or not, you could pull a cloth style heavy duty thread hard enough that it will tear into the leather. Wax acts as a lubricant when pulling the thread through, plus it helps keep it in place and locks the stitch in place when sewing your next stitch. I would also recommend a stitching awl just for the fact that doing a lock stitch is going to be much stronger for an initial stitch around the piece. You can always do a whip stitch afterwards if you desire the aesthetic look.

Well, here's an idea I came up with keeping the KISS principle in mind. I found 20# sledge hammers for around $22 at a local flea market. (Gosh are they freakin heavy, I'd hate to see the guy that uses that everyday!) Simple lever action, however I don't know if the pulley system is a good way to go, as it might bunch/bounce too much. Perhaps springs would be a better idea. Anyway, here's the quick sketch. It'll take up more room than previously though, but I might be able to work that in. Any comments?

Here's implest latch that I could think of that would still be lockable but put the minimum amount of wear on the powder coating. Would be easy to forge with a little bit of personal style, unfortunately lock is only accessible from one side. Could be made a bit more complicated with the addition of a rocker arm to trip the latch.

Go for some RR iron or a large drop that can be obtained rather affordably, save you're money for something descent. With HF, you'll come to know that there's things worth buying and things best left on the shelf. Grinders, tools, punches I'll stand behind, ASMO's (Anvil Shaped Metal Objects), it's like playing Russian Roulette.. Remember, just because something is in the right price range doesn't mean you wouldn't have been happier with something 150% more expensive. After all, as the old saying goes, "You get what you pay for". -J

My only concern would be not using stainless. While there are regular carbon blades on the market, most food safety organizations frown on it, probably because of the rust factor. Around my area, the only knives allowed in a commercial kitchen are stainless, however if this isn't you're intended market I would just put something in with the knife that lists the "Care & Feeding" of a non-stainless blade. Otherwise, good luck on your venture!

Very easy, my friend. Minimize your other windows (that little minus button on the top left if you don't know). Open iphoto, make sure it doesn't fill the whole screen. (This can be adjusted with the little tab at the bottom of the window that looks like a bunch of little lines making a triangle) Then just click on the photo that you want to send us and drag it to the desktop. Release the mouse button and there you have it! Your picture should be sent to the desktop for easy finding, probably imgxxxx.jpg or dscxxxx.jpg, whatever format it was taken in or if you renamed it. Then just post a reply, scroll down to manage attachments, little box will pop up and select Choose File. After finding your file on the desktop, click upload - wait for it to finish and then close the little box. Hit submit reply and you're done! If the file size is too large, there is another method. In iPhoto after clicking on the file you want, click on File on the menu bar, then click export. Under Kind select JPG, Quality can be set to High or Maximum, File Size should be set to Small. Then click export, it will give you the option of saving the file where you want. Hope this helps. (Yeah, I'm a Mac Geek)

I suppose the damage is not a huge deal but it's still there. $250 would probably be a reasonable price and I'm sure he'll take it, after all, he has had this thing in his shop for over 2 years! Attached is a diagram showing the damage. I'd still like to see what could be done with it or what problems damage like this could indicate for the future life of this tool. -J

I have the luxury of having a permanent demo setup. I have wooden railings around my demo area and it is backed by black metal square netting. Very useful for keeping out reaching hands. Sometimes when asked if blacksmithing is dangerous I place a piece I'm working on, usually as though I'm not paying attention, just over the edge of the anvil - then I tap it with the hammer and it goes flying into the mesh. Very good for getting the crowd to have a seat. Another question I get rather often is "do you make mistakes" - my reply is that blacksmiths never make mistakes, however we make frequent product redesigns! When asked if I can make them a sword, I just normally point to the counter which typically has several dozen and tell them that I already did. On a side note, we often get people who think they know it all. While attending the counter one day a few years back I had a lady insist that none of our knives were sharp because they were all "fake" knives. We insisted that, despite her attitude and general ignorance, all of our knives were indeed sharp and should be handled with care. At that point she was sure she knew better then us, picked up a blade and with a loud triumphant "See!" she produced a dark crimson pool in her hand as she sliced deeply into her own meat. She dropped the knife, our shop manager never missed a beat and took her over to first aid. Her boyfriend was left standing there with a look of horror on his face, I asked him for his credit card. Still in shock he looked at me funny, so I pointed to one of our many signs with the inscription "You Blood It, You Bought It" The constable that came up to the booth was kind enough to wait for him to finish the transaction and even carried the knife for him as he escorted the shocked man to his waiting girlfriend who was ushered off the property after being bandaged up. Something tells me that was the last $200 he ever spent on her. -J