FieryFurnace Posted May 23, 2010 Author Share Posted May 23, 2010 Well I took a stab at this and it did not work so I'll try again. Here are some items that I have sold, and continue to carry. Love em! I need someone to show me how to do hinges cause the ones I tried the pins bent when I flattened out the second side! Your's look GREAT! LOVE the texture! The latch is another thing on my list of things to make, but I've had no play time for experimenting! Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
divermike Posted June 6, 2010 Share Posted June 6, 2010 I always had the idea that craft fairs were not worth my effort and time, because of all the extra work involved, and the days where no one buys a darn thing, but I have been invited to be a smith with a NY regiment of civil war reinactors, so I went on saturday and set up for the first time, I got 3 comissions for stuff, and found myself making the tent stakes for the troops, and pole hangers etc.. just had a total ball, traded some work for a fried chicken dinner, mmm mmm. Got a deal on a tent, you can see it in the background, and my sign was almost finished so it went up as well. I need to make a wooden table and get a proper stool, and my forge is too low for me so I have to make a stand for it, but all in all I can see doing this a few times a year. I just put up a string to keep the gawkers back, suggestions on handy ideas to make your setup more functional are very welcome, as a matter of fact, any comments are welcome, thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 Well I took a stab at this and it did not work so I'll try again. Here are some items that I have sold, and continue to carry. I don't know how I missed your post Mark but I'd say you got posting pictures down. If you run into a snag you can give me a call I can probably talk you through it. Some web sites use a different process for posting pictures but most are really similar. Frosty the Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 Love em! I need someone to show me how to do hinges cause the ones I tried the pins bent when I flattened out the second side! Your's look GREAT! LOVE the texture! The latch is another thing on my list of things to make, but I've had no play time for experimenting! Dave Dave: If you'll visit Deb and I, I'll introduce you to Mark and I'm sure he'll show you some really useful stuff. He not only hand forges moose head finials in one or two heats and a couple minutes he has a wide range of similar animal heads. A couple weekends ago he took the time to show me how to make a pair of tongs and since I've made a pair of scrolling pliers. No fooling, an hour or two with Mark is worth days and days of experimenting on your own. Oh yeah, we're having a tool making clinic in July so you have time to make reservations and get some decent air fares. Frosty the Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 I always had the idea that craft fairs were not worth my effort and time, because of all the extra work involved, and the days where no one buys a darn thing, but I have been invited to be a smith with a NY regiment of civil war reinactors, so I went on saturday and set up for the first time, I got 3 comissions for stuff, and found myself making the tent stakes for the troops, and pole hangers etc.. just had a total ball, traded some work for a fried chicken dinner, mmm mmm. Got a deal on a tent, you can see it in the background, and my sign was almost finished so it went up as well. I need to make a wooden table and get a proper stool, and my forge is too low for me so I have to make a stand for it, but all in all I can see doing this a few times a year. I just put up a string to keep the gawkers back, suggestions on handy ideas to make your setup more functional are very welcome, as a matter of fact, any comments are welcome, thanks. While I've never really done the craft fair thing I do love doing public demos. The trick I currently use to keep folk back a bit is to place my little steel table/tong rack right in front of my anvil. It's not ideal but it keeps my tongs handy and shields kids from hot scale and such. What I was going to do was use the safety fence as a product sampler. For city or town demos I was going to make a railing sampler. However many sections it takes to make a good safety zone in different styles so folk can watch me while standing touching close to a broad selection of things they can buy. Then for a reinactment demo such as you just did I was thinking of making a number of tripods and either set them up as tripods or if I needed a longer fence set them as single stakes stuck in the ground like spit uprights and string a rope around them. Once again, spectaters are kept at a safe distance while touching close to another wide sample of appropriate period products. Of course just laying a field of caltrops around your forge will work really REALLY well keeping folk back. The second time anyway. Frosty the Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 Hi Frosty nice to see you getting back to 'normal' (for you that is, no offence, but you are a one off) Now just explain for the uninitiated what a caltrop is, and how do you make them, I may have misheard but I think they be what has been termed a cowdrop, whatever, they are pretty painful and very effective, especially against the old mounted cavalry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithgartner Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 [Now just explain for the uninitiated what a caltrop is?] A caltrop (also known as caltrap, galtrop, cheval trap, galthrap, galtrap, calthrop, crow's foot) is an antipersonnel weapon made up of two or more sharp nails or spines arranged in such a manner that one of them always points upward from a stable base (for example, a tetrahedron). ... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caltrops Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 Picture would be easier to understand, I can't find the one I made years ago to photo, but it was made from a small piece of 1/2" x 1/42 by 2" long, by splitting from each end, leaving a small portion solid in the centre, and opening out the ends to 90 degrees each to give a cross, then drawing out each one down to a point, then twisting the central portion to 90 degrees again, this way it will stand any way it lands when scattered on the ground with one point sticking up. Good little exercise in forging small items, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 WOW! That's more spellings than I'm familiar with. Basically what I'm familiar with is similar to a jack as in the children's game including a bouncy little ball, "jacks" but with sharp points so they lay with a point up no matter how they're dropped, thrown, artillary or catapult spread so anything from horses, human or whatever feet or wheeled vehicles is painfully discouraged from crossing. I've only ever made caltrops as demo requests and have no pictures nor liability. Frosty the Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hildenmw Posted September 23, 2010 Share Posted September 23, 2010 hehehe! I make pretty good on my dinner bells as it is! Mine are different though, not just a triangle! I use 3/8" round instead of 1/2" and put a scroll on the bell. I think I'm going to start doing some large 15" ones out of 1/2" and sell them for a bit more.....maybe include a hook and string! The chimey sounding smaller ones get the women everytime but the 1/2" big boy will get the single men I suppose! LOL Here are some more ideas! I got this change dish idea from another blacksmith but her's was copyrighted so I changed the shapeing of mine quite a bit. Mine isn't copyrighted and it is made from a 5 inch square of 1/8" plate! Dave I have a question on the Rose with the heart . nice work? Are thy the same piece. what dia. odf the material. Thanks Marc The last event I did was on Mother's day so I took a venture and made my mother my first rose on site! Turned out well! Paul Garret (artist in resident at John Campbell) showed me some square stock s-hooks he made. They were bent on the corner instead on the flat side of the square bar and then had a twist in the middle. I made 10 total in four sizes to take to this last event and couldn't keep up with the sales! I use 1/4 inch square and start with the following lengths: Small: 8" Medium: 12" Large: 16" X-Large: 20" I sold 14 of them all weekend, mostly small and medium but I sold two each of the larger ones too. They are fun to make, are good demo pieces, and at least for me, successful! Like I said before, I think it is good to have some larger pieces out just to show people what is possible and maybe get an order or direct sale that really puts you ahead in covering expenses and making the trip worth it. I got a $500 custom firescreen order off of my display screen at this event! It is my first real big custom job so it is neat for me but even better, it really made the trip worth it. So keep that in mind when preparing your displays! (I told mom she was going to have to sell a lot of soap to catch up with that one! LOL We kind of tease each other about who makes more!) Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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