Mark Emig Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 When I decided to start a shop and make a living at this I had this romantic notion of being this artist blacksmith, doing nothing but making beautiful things. The real world quickly intervened. For instance, today I am doing a sub job for another smith-which I am VERY glad to have-wrapped up 160 scrolls that started at 20 inches of material,made 4 more jigs for the next set of work,cut 320 pieces of material, pulled tapers on 160 pieces of that material, spent 2 hours this morning with a guy who wanted to work with me and then he realized that it is quite a trick to roll up 20 inches of 2000 degree material around a scroll jig and decided hot iron was not his thing. Glad he figured that out before he roasted his arm or something. A lot of days it is just hot,hard, dirty work. Don't get me wrong-I am VERY happy to have a bunch of work,clients that pay and all, great to work for myself (as I am a PIA to work with at times-well more than at times:)), but it is a funny how life ends up different that you thought( in a good way). Tommorrow it is back on to finishing up another 480 or so tapers(glad to have that air hammer), then start rolling them up. Life is GOOD. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnptc Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 sometimes work is work and other times its my favorite thing !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arftist Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 I love what I do which is why I do it. That I can support a family while playing with my tool collection is an awesome bonus. Some days are certainly harder than others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dablacksmith Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 well it is still work... but at least you get to make something for a liveing ... i have seen many people doing jobs they hate and not being happy ...i get to hammer on steel for a liveing ...they get a better paycheck but i get a better life... i WIN! i still have people come by and ask if i can shoe theyre horse tho ... and one guy today asked if i could straingten his gait or sum such... i said SURE come on over i got a sledge that will fix ya right up! got a good laugh from everyone on that one...still fun tho even at 90+ degrees... injoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winston Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 I have an opinion on this topic that not many have. Most people tell young people to find what you love and do it. I say, do something you like that supports what you love. If you do what you love it becomes work. Everyone I know that ‘does what they love’ has mixed feelings as you have expressed. It is not so much doing it everyday. It is the having to do it everyday to survive. It is the dealing with clients on the mundane. It is the never having time to fulfill your own dreams because you are trying so hard to fulfill someone else’s. While in college my love used to be in a field of work that included metal and creativity. I was working for myself when I had a wealthy client that wished to invest in my business. It would have meant quitting school and taking the business seriously. It sounded great at first. Yet I had seen others try the same. I knew that if I could make enough money elsewhere, I could do my loves without the having to deal with what was mentioned above. So, I stayed in school, and I have been happy with my decision. I might be happier though if I would have picked a profession that supported my loves better. I have a friend that is another example. He grew up in the country and loved the outdoors. He loved the woods and roaming large tracts of land. He had dreams of lots of land of his own. So went to school for his love, and became a forester. He now manages other people’s property and cannot afford any land for himself. He, himself has said he should have chosen another profession he liked that would allow him to support his love of the outdoors. I know there are people who do what they love with no regrets. I know this does not work for everybody, but I think it would for most. Also I want to make clear that I am not advocating doing something you hate. There are lots of things and individual can like. I like my job very much. But I would not call it a love. Just my 2 cents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andgott Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 (edited) I can see where it would get tedious.. When I was in college, working in the college shop, I felt much the same way. It was the first time that I'd worked in a production environment, and making 100's or even 1000's of the same thing, day after day, week after week, got a bit boring. So much for the romantic notions of the noble blacksmith pounding away at the anvil in front of the coal forge with the big leather bellows. More like hours in front of a power hammer drawing tapers on round stock that was autofed into a propane forge. Such fun I could support myself doing what I love- But I don't know if I'd continue to love it that much if I HAD to do it. And, I know that there are times when I would just be supporting myself, barely getting by, and not a lot more. So, I found a job that I only have to work 6 months a year. I still make a good buck, have insurance, and retirement... But, I also have 6 months a year to do whatever I want to do. That way, I can do what I love, and not worry about paying the bills! I would LOVE to work as a full-time artist someday. I'll have full retirement in 12 more yrs, and not be 42 yet- So I might jump on the chance then! Edited April 8, 2009 by andgott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 I did what I had to for 30 years to make enough money to retire and do what I want. I love making knives and also ornimental things but if I had to make them to support myself it would cease to be fun and I would probably stave to death by the end of the month. The fact that in my working life I was able to do a job that I enjoyed was a big plus but I kept reminding myself that if it was all that much fun they wouldn't call it work and pay me to do it. Sometimes the only difference between work and a job we enjoy is the amount of positive reinforcement we get in the workplace. If no one ever tells you "good job" and or "nice work" no matter what you do or how much you enjoy it in the beginning it eventually becomes teadious and boring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monstermetal Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 Boy there are a wide range of views represented in this thread. I can give my two cents but thats all its worth (maybe not even that) I quit what most guys would consider a dream job.. I was in charge of buying tools and equipment for a large surplus equipment company. I made good money and had a future with the company... but I hated it. I sat at a desk and had to deal with a phone that rang a few hundred times a day.. I also understood that If I was ever going to be the metalworker that I aspired to be that I would need to invest more than a couple hours a week learning the trade.. So I made a huge jump.. From a 70K plus a year desk job to working out of my garage doing metal work that was really barely equipped to be a hobby shop. The day I left my job I had saved up enough money to pay my mortgage and bills for 6 months.. I figured if I could'nt support my self in half a year Id have to go find another job.. That was about 6 years ago.. I have out grown my shop three times... Am now in a 7000 sq foot that is really to small, have bought about a hundred and fifty grand worth of equipment (that is all paid for) and have been doing about 250K a year as a one man shop.. I can tell you I am a slave to the shop.. I work 10-16 hours a day 6 or 7 days a week.... I really dont have a "income" as every penny goes back into the shop. I dont have near enough time to do the things I would really like to (personal projects) But I can tell you that I almost always find joy in the work I do. I have done my share of crappy work. Lately that seems to be about all there is to do (its been months since I had a paying forge job... its all been fabrication) But I still am doing the things I love.. In every aspect of any metal work there is the opportunity to learn or improve. At some level it all interrelates and increases your ability.. When people ask about what I do... I give them the whole run down and range of work I do and then always finish with "it beats having a job" which I truly believe Maybe I will feel diffrent in 20 years but for now I couldn't imagine doing anything else... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iron Falcon 72 Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 Thank you all for this thread!!!! All of your words are inspiring. When I have taken a few more steps on my journey perhaps I'll have some of the wisdom you all are sharing. And then this thread will come to mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fe-Wood Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 What a timely thread for me! I'm looking for inspiration. Sadly the romance is gone for me as well. Rather than Hijack this tread, I think I will post what I was thinking earlier today in another thread. Anyway, always nice to have another perspective... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Emig Posted April 8, 2009 Author Share Posted April 8, 2009 I like the part in monstermetal's reply- " in every aspect of metalwork there is an opportunity to learn or improve". When I do a production job like this it really gives me an opportunity to improve my forging skills. When you draw hundreds of tapers one after the other, you really get a opportunity to get efficient at moving metal and become very accurate in forging to a specific dimension. This job is a lot of 3/8X3/4 stock with only a 4" taper for the scroll (too short for my taste, but I have to make it to the drawing), which I now can pull out and smooth with a flatter under the air hammer at the rate of about one per minute. This translates into more $ in the long run-the faster and more efficiently I can work means more $ per hour, and the faster I get the bread and butter work done means I get to the fun stuff sooner. I also look at what I do and say it sure beats having a "real job" by a LONG shot. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
divermike Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 there is always the risk of losing that "first love". It happened to me with scuba diving, I started out as a dive for the love of it guy, then became a dive master, then a hardhat commercial diver. Along the way I discovered I had moved from loving what I was doing, to detesting it. It ruined diving for me for over 10 years, I have rediscovered the joy of recreational diving, but I will never work another day in that field. My artistic endevour into blacksmithing will NOT follow that path. It all depends on the person, when people ask me to make something for pay, if it is not interesting, and a challenge, I just won't do it, and if I do a project for someone, it is "fun money". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DClaville Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 I have an opinion on this topic that not many have. Most people tell young people to find what you love and do it. I say, do something you like that supports what you love. If you do what you love it becomes work. Everyone I know that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saintjohnbarleycorn Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 Well it seems that is true for everything, it comes down to work. I have been trying to focus on enjoying what I do what ever it is, even washing dishes. Some days it is easier to do that than others. Some days I am just glad that I got done what I got done and that is over with. Money does seem to play a part in it, but it doesn't have to be the end-all of life. I see it all as a balance, with some things a whole lot more fun and satisfying, and others .. well they just got to be done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 I was very lucky as I got to serve an apprenticeship with a top swordmaker for a year---6 days a week in the shop; no pay but I did get 2 meals a day with his family and anything I made to sell *he* put the price on and took the shop's cut right off the top. I learned that as a hobby I loved it but as a job I didn't and went on to interesting and worthwhile work that pays for my hobby and had medical and retirement benefits; not to mention the possibility of international travel that I could not have afforded on a self employed with family salary. When I counsel folks I tell them to have all their basic equipment---and for a blademaker that includes a professional belt grinder and a triphammer paid for and money to support themselves for a year or two and be making at least half their "day job" salary doing their smithing business on the side before they think about switching. (also to be married to someone with spousal medical benefits as that is a common place that self employed people go under in the USA---1 accident and they are bankrupt.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cross Pein Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 I have never been self-employed. I have worked in lots of factories and always dreaded going to work. I also always went to school evenings. It took me over twenty years, but I finally got my degree Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brasilikilt Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 I have an opinion on this topic that not many have. Most people tell young people to find what you love and do it. I say, do something you like that supports what you love. If you do what you love it becomes work. Everyone I know that ‘does what they love’ has mixed feelings as you have expressed. It is not so much doing it everyday. It is the having to do it everyday to survive. It is the dealing with clients on the mundane. It is the never having time to fulfill your own dreams because you are trying so hard to fulfill someone else’s. Winston, I agree with you wholeheartedly, and I did exactly that. I went to the local Community College and took an AWS welding certification course. When people asked me why I chose welding, I told them that it's the closest thing to blacksmithing that is (supposedly) still in high demand. I like welding, but I don't yearn for it as I do for pounding iron, leather work, or making powder horns. Welding pays a decent wage, which hopefully will be enough to maintain my family's lifestyle, and hopefully improve it. With the family financial situation taken care of, I can go ahead and do what I want in my free time. Blacksmithing combined with my other crafts are a way to have a lot of fun making the things I want or need instead of buying them, and having the satisfaction of knowing you made it yourself! Plus there's the added bonus of people checking out your wares and asking "How much do ya want for it?" I love having hobbies that tend to fund themselves :-) Excellent topic! Iain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easilyconfused Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 I lived with a guy once who told me a story that sums it up for me. He went into mechanics fresh out of school because he loved it. The day he walked past his fixer'uper and didn't want to work on it after work, he phoned in and quit. Never looked back. There are good jobs and you can look forward to going to them but you always need a hobby too. Some people can get away with living their job but most burn-out fast once the deadlines hit. I'd rather burn out of a job and still enjoy my life outside of work than loose a hobby and not have anything fun to do outside of work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruce wilcock Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 for me blacksmithing was my job and i have had a great time ,i did other things by way of hobbies ,now i have retired i potter around the smithy and it has become a hobby ,in short i make just what i want to when i want to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bentiron1946 Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 I loved my day job and I loved my off day job(hobby). On the day job I had all of the benefits that one could wish for and then some. On the hobby side I had none of the benefits one could wish for and all of the benefits and then some one could wish for. The most important was respect for what I knew and what I could do and what I did. Just be thankful that you are still able to do either. One careless driver can take it all away from you. Twenty years of pain and deterioration of health gets to you so be JOYFUL that you can still work or have fun with your hobby.:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Browne Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 I have an opinion on this topic that not many have. Most people tell young people to find what you love and do it. I say, do something you like that supports what you love. If you do what you love it becomes work. Everyone I know that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adirondacker Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 Just my thoughts on this subject, nothing is ever as it seems and accepting this up front helps. One has to ask himself just what it is that makes this endeavor worth while, it more than just pounding red hot iron or more that just sawing 2x4's? For me its building a nich market, meeting people and teaching and learning. And lets not leave out creating and selling something one of a kind, the real marrow of all this. Some advice given to me that I will share "start where your at don't wait, things will start to happen and be willing to change when you have to, be open to other ideas and remember you have two ears and one mouth so listen twice as much as you talk. Lastly enjoy the journey. Adirondacker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unkle spike Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 I blacksmith as a hobby, and it is 180 degrees from my "day job" as an IT Administrator, so every day in the shop is a good one. I look forward to retirement, if it happens, so I can go out and putter in the shop whenever I want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrynjr Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 I blacksmith as a hobby, and it is 180 degrees from my "day job" as an IT Administrator Same for me, IT during the day. I'm doing some cost of materials jobs for people at work but prefer to keep it my fun hobby! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ichudov Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 There are many things that I love doing as a hobby, and would hate to do for a living. They include blacksmithing, welding, and other metalwork. It is fun to do in a home shop, not so fun to do in a production setting where you do the same thing every day and compete with Chinese and Indians for the lowest job rate. I am fortunate in being a computer programming and liking programming a lot to even do it as a hobby as well. At least that puts bread on the table in a clean and healthy manner that is also enjoyable, plus I actually do different things every day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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