so, the reason im asking this is because i have no coal (i will be going to get some soon) the question is, what do you do on down time when you cant be forging. i have considered making charcoal but because i am going to get coal soon i figured that i would wait. my shop is clean and organized (it is my only excuse out of house work LOL) so what would you do?
Josh

GO DRAG RACING!!!!!

or get some graph paper and draw out some ideas on paper, weed the garden, build a rain barrel, shoot my guns, play chess or backgammon with the wife and kids, etc.

Hey Josh,

1. If you haven't made charcoal before this may be a good opportunity to practice and learn. This could come in handy at a later date.

2. You could start planning out your next projects and make some drawings.

3. You could start gathering materials (buy, scrounge, barter, etc) for your next projects.

4. Ask to take on some new responsibilities on the farm.

5. Volunteer. You can volunteer for anything. It doesn't have to do with blacksmithing. Ask around your community and see if anyone needs any help. For free. Yes I said for free. There are always people that are worse off than you are. They may need some help and since you are young and strong you can offer help. Check with your local organizations and see if they need your help with anything. Is there a soup kitchen? Volunteer to do the dishes/serve/cook etc. There is no limit to what you can do to fill your time until you get your coal or school starts up.

Who knows, you just may find that you like it.

Just a few ideas.

mark <><

#4 & #5 of what Mark said! As for making charcoal I would caution you of any burn bans in your area but seeing you are from Canada...(we are in burn bans here, NO outside burning, and no aerial fireworks!)
Do you have all the tooling you need? swages, fullers, racks for material storage, stands for grinders, etc, etc, etc.
AHHH to be in the position of not having anything to do....sigh....HEY! you could come down here and help me!!! :P

Hey Josh,

1. If you haven't made charcoal before this may be a good opportunity to practice and learn. This could come in handy at a later date.

2. You could start planning out your next projects and make some drawings.

3. You could start gathering materials (buy, scrounge, barter, etc) for your next projects.

4. Ask to take on some new responsibilities on the farm.

5. Volunteer. You can volunteer for anything. It doesn't have to do with blacksmithing. Ask around your community and see if anyone needs any help. For free. Yes I said for free. There are always people that are worse off than you are. They may need some help and since you are young and strong you can offer help. Check with your local organizations and see if they need your help with anything. Is there a soup kitchen? Volunteer to do the dishes/serve/cook etc. There is no limit to what you can do to fill your time until you get your coal or school starts up.

Who knows, you just may find that you like it.

Just a few ideas.

mark <><

ahhh let me answer your suggestions lol.

1. I never thaught of the practice making charcoal gotta start scrounging materials to make a inderect cooker

2. I have started making plans for a small railing my aunt wants

3. THE SCRAP PILE HAS A LIFE OF ITS OWN... lol my grandma put out the word that i was a blacksmith and it seemslike every day a new elderly couple is coming to see the 14 year old blacksmith and offer steel that the hd in the old barn...

4. Mark... i wake up at 5 go and feed horses and cows i get in at 6, at 7 i go muck stalls i get in at 1, at 3 i go to work i get home at 7, i go and feed horses and cows and get in at 8 then i have dinner and watch tv then i go to bed at 9:30

5. on days that i dont work i voulenteer at farms around us that are owned by older couples and move hay and clean up around the farms

i am one busy 14 year old lol
Josh

#4 & #5 of what Mark said! As for making charcoal I would caution you of any burn bans in your area but seeing you are from Canada...(we are in burn bans here, NO outside burning, and no aerial fireworks!)
Do you have all the tooling you need? swages, fullers, racks for material storage, stands for grinders, etc, etc, etc.
AHHH to be in the position of not having anything to do....sigh....HEY! you could come down here and help me!!!

we do get burn bans in the late summer and fall, its a pain with no shop and a coal forge lol. I am working on a set of guillotine tools with interchangeable dies, dont have the material to make a material rack lol. and be careful, i may want to take you up on that offer lol i need a vacation (never had 1 before)
Josh

There is always playing in traffic

go fishing!

build a gas forge, solve two problems, coal shortage, keep busy

Propane! buying coal out here is a 2 hour drive each way with prior arrangements being made. I can buy propane in the local small town at 9 pm on a Sunday from 3 different places!

Cleaning the smithy, building racks, tooling, etc or even just handling a new hammer is how I deal with "want to work but can't fire up the forge time"

I have gotten some great ideas of what to make on my down time going to pick up steel later today
thanks for all the ideas
Josh

ok, Rorymay had it right, go fishing, it is relaxing and who doesn't need a few fish in the freezer?

there is also using your phone and call some BS (blacksmith, and or bull***) buddies, grab a 1/2 sack of beer, and visit. it is summer, and a BBQ is not out of line.

Sounds to me like you have all the free time of a working farmer Josh. You are a busy 14 year old but I'm pretty sure Deb would let me adopt you.

Building a gas forge is pretty easy and I'll be happy to give you a hand, I've done a few.

Volunteering to help folk is good for the karma(sp?) or "Paying it Forward" as R.A Heinlein put it. The good you do will come back to you often when you expect it the least, sometimes when you need it most. Paying it forward is a GOOD thing.

Frosty the Lucky.

Start work on that indoor smithy with a proper chimney so the burn ban doesn't bite you! Most burn bans allow properly contained fires with flues of proper arrangement.

Gas forges are not too hard, and a small one can be done for cheap. A small one-burner can be a lot of fun and even get work done too!

You can burn feed corn.

Volunteering is always good, and at 14 can even look good on your collage or trade school application in a year or 4.

Phil

Start work on that indoor smithy with a proper chimney so the burn ban doesn't bite you! Most burn bans allow properly contained fires with flues of proper arrangement.

Gas forges are not too hard, and a small one can be done for cheap. A small one-burner can be a lot of fun and even get work done too!

You can burn feed corn.

Volunteering is always good, and at 14 can even look good on your collage or trade school application in a year or 4.

Phil

haha try to convince my parents to let me build a shop lol. i have been contemplating making a small 1 or 2 burner propane forge for smaller jobs. feed corn here is wayyyyyyy expensive because not many people grow it around here.
i am planning on university (academic and french immersion courses)
Josh

Sounds to me like you have all the free time of a working farmer Josh. You are a busy 14 year old but I'm pretty sure Deb would let me adopt you.

Building a gas forge is pretty easy and I'll be happy to give you a hand, I've done a few.

Volunteering to help folk is good for the karma(sp?) or "Paying it Forward" as R.A Heinlein put it. The good you do will come back to you often when you expect it the least, sometimes when you need it most. Paying it forward is a GOOD thing.

Frosty the Lucky.

well atleast i wouldnt have to worry about getting deb's name wrong (same as my mom's name) and i think alaska may be fun lol

go fishing!

rory i have been planing on going fishin soon i love it, then again, we have a creek going through the back of our property fill of piceral and specal trout
Josh

Practice with clay. Work out the next set of techniques that you need to master with a material that doesn't need heat and can be re-worked into raw barstock with your bare hands. No heat needed. Cheap and available almost everywhere, check local (or semi-local) craft shops and they should carry plasticene (sp?) clay. The el-cheapo no dry out stuff you surely remember from grade school. And good on ya for helping your neighbors! That's probably why you are getting such a good response from your grandmother's aquaintences. You are developing a lifelong habit of being a good neighbor, and it will pay dividends in the long run.

so, the reason im asking this is because i have no coal (i will be going to get some soon) the question is, what do you do on down time when you cant be forging. i have considered making charcoal but because i am going to get coal soon i figured that i would wait. my shop is clean and organized (it is my only excuse out of house work LOL) so what would you do?
Josh

Get some copper sheet and tubing and silver braze a still. Then make whiskey!
Ahem...But only if it is legal where you are. {legal disclaimer}

Practice with clay. Work out the next set of techniques that you need to master with a material that doesn't need heat and can be re-worked into raw barstock with your bare hands. No heat needed. Cheap and available almost everywhere, check local (or semi-local) craft shops and they should carry plasticene (sp?) clay. The el-cheapo no dry out stuff you surely remember from grade school. And good on ya for helping your neighbors! That's probably why you are getting such a good response from your grandmother's aquaintences. You are developing a lifelong habit of being a good neighbor, and it will pay dividends in the long run.

i will have to try out clay/plasta scene to practice some tecniques
Josh

Get some copper sheet and tubing and silver braze a still. Then make whiskey!
Ahem...But only if it is legal where you are. {legal disclaimer}

definatly illigal haha but that dosnt mean anyone needs to know.....
Josh

I sit in bed and read. This helps take my mind off the body's aches and pains from re-organizing the trees. (Bringing 'em down is easy. Limbing 'em up & stacking 'em ain't.) Heinlein, Zelazny, Burkes, Hasluck, others...

I made the mistake one summer when I was a boy of telling my mother there was nuttin' to do.......I never did that again......