sorethumb

Thanks for the welcome, all. There is a lot of good information here, and I should be able to learn a lot. I really like the blueprints, they are a great source for ideas. Now a little story......The Guild of Metalsmiths from the Twin Cities had their annual fall conference over on the other side of Red Wing, so I figured I would take a drive over and see what was happening, watch the demonstrations, see some of the work the members had created in the Gallery and see if I could find some Tools I Couldn't Live Without from the tailgaters. So I drove over today only to find out it is next weekend. Man, did I feel silly. But it was a pretty nice day for a drive, and I figured I'd drive through Pepin on the way home and they were having their annual Laura Ingall Wilder days, and Tom Latane was demonstrating, and there were bowl turners and flint knappers and weavers and carvers and lots of other folks doing artsy crafty things, so the day wasn't a complete loss. At least next weekend I'll know where to go...........

Hello all, I have been lurking and reading here for a while now, and thought it was about time I quit lurking and registered. I am kind of a beginner, always interested but not really sure how to get started, when I ran into a group of local smiths and started pounding. At this point I make a lot of scale and sparks, but I figure we all have to start somewhere. I am planning a shop, when I sold my farm I intended to buy someplace with a place I could go and tinker, but as often happens my wife had other ideas. (Nice shop, not so nice house; nice house, no shop....I guess I don't have to tell you who got their way) I plan on breaking ground next spring, and then I can clean my tools out of the garage and maybe get two cars back in it. Anyway, I look forward to asking questions and learning without having to learn it all the hard way.