Will Work For Beer!

[HWHII]

I got this idea for this thread yesterday while replying to another.

In the past before I started my buisness, it was common place for me to work for beer. When it came to friends and family. I do not like to exchange money and would rather barter for stuff. This is because I believe money is a root to evil. It is nice if you have it, but it can bring head aches and trouble.

I have done countless repairs, traded tools, tongs and even coal for beer. Recently I had 9 very good friends help me raise my shop in an old time barn raising for beer and steaks.

On the flip side there countless things I have done because of beer that have not been good. Like quote a job over a couple of beers and have it come back to bite me hard.

I do believe Benjiman Franklin was right when he said, " Beer Is Proof God Loves Us."

I would love to hear some of your stories! :D

[chyancarrek]

Well, the last barter job I did wasn't for beer - it was poultry products. I did some skinning work on a neighbor's property backfilling and leveling out an area around his new shop. When I first looked at the job I told him I'd do if for a couple of his fryers ready to go on the spit and a couple dozen eggs - he threw in the diesel for my tractor and a six'er of Black Butte Porter. It was a good day.

A few of the other things I've received in barter:

Home cooked meals from lovely women.

Post vise

Burnout kiln

Custom made clothing

Telescope

A great dog

The list goes on but the best thing I've ever bartered for was the heartfelt thanks and sincere appreciation of some folks who couldn't afford anything else!

[beth]

nice thread! i like bartering too - me and my other half do it alot - we have bartered lorry-loads of wood, trucks, meat, allsorts - am in discussion with an artisan ice cream maker who we are doing a job for - fill the freezer! also am going to talk the guy i get soup off when im running past in a hurry (he makes beautiful soup) into trading a little swinging sign for his deli for more soup. i never have cash so it would work well to have some soup credit we did have one guy pay us continually in fire extinguishers but there are only so many of them that you can be bothered with... :lol:

[Mainely,Bob]

One of the best trades I ever did was to completely rebuild my friend, Dr John`s,`67 Harley shovelhead for numerous tattoos and paint on my bike.He was a painter/tattoo artist.
I have traded metalwork for;pottery,exotic woods,art,raw metal,rabbits,dogs,stonework,jewelry,framing work on the house/shop and,of course,BEER.
Now that I don`t drink anymore I generally trade by the hour.An hour of my time=an hour of yours.The catch is that I have to need your services in order to get mine. :)

[monstermetal]

Well I dont know its the same exactly but... Yesterday my friend Joe and I where headed into Seattle to show off a couple of bikes... On the way up HY 18 headed west I saw a caravan of people, obviously on a camping trip, with a broken trailer... Looked like the whole frame broke in two.... Kids and gear all over the freeway... So I made a mental note to check on them on the way back.... When we came back through they had piled off most of the camping gear and drug the busted trailer to the bottom of the hill... I offered to to get my car trailer and tow theirs back to my shop and get them on the road.. So after about three hours... and a couple chunks of 2 X 4 X 120 tube to stiffen the frame... they where headed back to the lake... During the repair one of the wives ran up the the corner and bought three 6 packs of wheat beer as payment ( I told them I didn't need any payment but was happy to accept) Not a big deal to me, But I bet something those two family's will talk about for years.... The kids will remember being at the tattoo'ed blacksmiths shop when they where headed to Lake Chalan..

[Mainely,Bob]

Funny how if you can get past the "war paint" tattooed people are some of the nicest folks to be around(ask one of us,we`ll prove it to you ).Most wear their heart as well as ink on their sleeve.
Having been a "Person of color" for more than 3 decades now I have hundreds of stories (my kids keep at me to write them down).
I still love to walk up on a situation and see the "Oh no" look on someone`s face.Then I smile real wide and proceed to help them out.The response after it`s over is something money can`t buy.

Like the old bike club cards used to say,"When we do right,no one remembers.When we do wrong,no one forgets".
I`m here to tell you that the kids remember long after their parents forget. :)

[civilwarblacksmith]

Going around to CW re-enactments, there is alot to barter for. I made an ash shovel for a lady in the 24th north carolina to do dutch oven cooking. For that I got a standing order of pie, and she makes really good pie in a dutch oven. Made trivets for inside of a dutch oven for bread making, net--standing order of bread. Made a spit for campfire cooking, net-- standing order of meat.

need to find someone for beer and vegetables yet and dinners complete.

[Bad Creek Blacksmith]

The best barter job I did was replace 2 windows for a .410 shotgun that I gave to my son when he was 9 years old. He told me the other day he will never part with that gun.

[Fe-Wood]

I love to barter!! I've had good ones and I've had bad ones. Worst was when I was in Collage. Guy I new did stained glass work. I am a woodworker so I helped him set up for production glass cutting on a bandsaw and several other things. I was nieve in those days. I thought the trade would be hour for hour. He thought it would be one of mine for three of his. All I wanted a stained glass window. I walked away from that one after a couple of " oh, I don't have time right now"...

Currently I have traded about 10 cases of really good California wine as partial payment for a bathroom I remodeled I did and I have been getting my hair cut for the last 2 years for some plumbing I did and I'm getting a new website by building a bathroom vanity for a web designer. The list goes on. Trades can be great, just make sure who you are dealing with a has a good reputation. I usually do an hour for an hour or I base it on my regular hourly rate against whom I'm trading with if the rates differ too much. I think I'll go and have some of that nice traded wine :D

[Larry H]

I once traded my skills for beer, I must have done a real good job too!, there was a lot of beer involved, I wish I could remember what the job was

[HWHII]

I once traded my skills for beer, I must have done a real good job too!, there was a lot of beer involved, I wish I could remember what the job was

Smithy1, LOL, I do remember. I did a job Monday and made a spit for a camp fire for a friend who is taking his girl friend camping on Thanksgiving and they want to cook there turkey on the fire. I did not charge him for it. Yesterday when I went to open up the shop there was a nice rack of mixed micro brews on the ground with a thank you note from the beer fairy. I had to fight every instinct in my body by not having a couple for breakfast. :rolleyes:

[beth]

just traded a fire poker with a little leaf on for 4 pheasant and 6 partridge at my kids school gates :)

[rawtiron]

just traded a fire poker with a little leaf on for 4 pheasant and 6 partridge at my kids school gates

Good trade Beth!! I haven't had pheasant for years. I did the same a while back for a whole lamb. And our neighbours feed us wine for the jobs they get done.
Jason

[ThomasPowers]

I bring a forge to one of the SCA's "wars" and always "pay" for my space at the period demo center by making one or more items for open hearth cooking for them. By an odd coincidence I seem to get fed a lot of great open hearth cooking---and it's real fun to be able to work with a cook to get a custom items "just so" for them when they are used to only getting whatever a store sells.

Several times "improvised" equipment has morphed into regular items---like spitholders that are built into the front of a mud beehive oven to allow cooking of items using the IR from the oven.

I've got to finish off a renaissance cook's knife before February...

And one great memory of a cold and rainy war where I was dry under the waterproof canvas forge tarp with a warm forge in front of me and the bee hive ovens throwing out heat behind me watching the wet and muddy fighters trudge off to battle in their cold wet armour...

As far as casting your bread on the waters: I've been teaching a couple of kids the basics of forging lately and one got an elk on a youth tag and gifted me with about 10 pounds of elk meat---had the steaks in a medieval deer recipe and the ground elk in 3 large crockpots of elk chile---a lot of great eating!