Get out of your comfort zone

[Glenn]

When was the last time you took on a project that was beyond your skill level?  When was the last time you took on a challenge that was brand new, you had no knowledge about, and no idea where to start?

 

 

Step one, the chair

It is easy to grab a cold drink, relax, and get sucked so far down into that arm chair so far you can not get out. It is just as easy to sit in an straight back chair and while you have that cold drink in hand. and use the time to think about what you are going to do next. You will NOT go to sleep in a straight back chair.

 

Step two, the computer

The computer and the internet connection is much like the arm chair, it can suck up hours of your time without your taking notice. Like the straight back chair, it can provide you with information on most any subject you can imagine.

 

Step three, the project

Choose what interests you. Use the internet search engines to locate information and details about that project. It is out there, somewhere, you just have to do a general search, then refine your search for more specific information until you find the answer you are looking for. Be sure to keep on the subject at hand and resist the temptation to be distracted or wander about. 

 

The cost of materials is or can be minimal. For instance with blacksmithing, you do not need some exotic alloy to start. Mild steel will do, and can be found for free or at little cost.  For woodworking, the wood can be found for free or at little cost. For masonry the rocks, bricks, etc can be found for free or at little cost. You have to research the subject and figure out where to start, then where to obtain the materials to work with.

 

 

Step four, you are allowed to fail

No one ever said it had to be perfect, or perfect the first time. The fellow you saw working had 20 years of experience (read practice) to get where he is today. If you start right now, you can be as good as he is in 20 years. Or if you research and learn from the mistakes of others, take classes etc, and can cut that time down dramatically.

 

Assemble the information for your project. Lay it out so it makes sense to you. Gather the materials and some minimal tooling and give it a test run. Do a small portion (or part) of the project to learn where you need more knowledge. So go back to the internet and research some more. Tear the project down and start over. Build the next version better and fix any problems. Build it a bit larger and then tear the project down and start over, again.  Many times the project will function as intended, but look ugly and crude. This is where the practice part is needed, you have to make several, or do the work many times to work out the details and make improvements. 

 

Let us get specific.

At some point you will get into that comfort zone, and stall out. This is where you need to restart the research and move one step forward. Big projects are just a bunch of small projects put together. Make a circle say 12 to 18 inches in diameter. Make a bunch of scrolls to fit inside the circle in a pleasing pattern. Now rivet, collar, or forge weld the parts together. Add legs and a glass cover and you have a small table.  The double gate for the drive way is just a bunch of small projects assembled into a larger project, without the glass cover.

 

Build that end table you saw in the gallery. You can do it after all it is just a bunch of the small stuff you have already made assembled together. 

 

Get outside your comfort zone

The point of all this is to get you out of the arm chair, to step outside your comfort zone, and to learn one more trick. You can do amazing things one small step at a time. You only need to convince yourself to take that one small step. 

[Glenn]

I just finished laying about 300 sq feet (17 feet square) of concrete pavers for a patio and walk. First 20 or so did not level up so they were taken up and the ground prepared again.  This time they did level up with each other. During the process I found of all the tools I had, the adz was the best tool for leveling the ground. 

 

Having never done that type work, or at that scale before, it was definitely outside my comfort zone. 

 

Let us hear your story.

[Francis Trez Cole]

it is a great thing to do. Some times I do demo's at the Faba meeting of things I have only seen never tried just to push my self. 

[basher]

I am working on arrow heads at the moment , the scale, finesse and finikityness of these tiny pieces means that I have done more wrong arrow heads than any other kind of smithing, I have a big fail pile but am getting the routines I need and they are coming out well now . I have had to change or make most of the tooling to adapt to the scale differences...

 I have an inlayed patternwelded ingelery sword coming up and I think that will be a similar learning curve.

[Fe-Wood]

Funny timing for this post Glenn! I am going in exactly the opposite direction. I have been working outside my comfort zone for so long that I have begun to fell like I don't have the skills to do the work well. I have found that staying outside my comfort zones has caused me to loose sight of what I can do effectively and well. 

[Glenn]

Then I would suggest practice on those parts that you feel are lacking. It is one trick at a time, and make it a good trick (grin).

 

 

 

Fe-wood you have the layers on your web site reversed. The background coverts over the images you want to show. This note will be deleted 

[Rich Hale]

Glenn If I read this right and you are suggesting that we crawl out of our comfy chairs and leave keyboards behind and actually hit the shop, (gasp),,,Then you can expect the count of daily users of this site to decrease. 

The entertainment value is a huge attraction when compared to actual physical work, sweat and blisters. 

[Jim Coke]

Greetings Glenn and others,

 

I agree with Glen..  In the past I have had many students and have found that as soon as you show them how to make an element like a ball form or penny scroll YEP it will end up in the next customers project...  I make a lot of new and different shapes and forms and continue to create new fun things.. One trick I do is to make 5 or 6 elements and set them on the project table with no planned finished product..  As I work along on something new I can draw from the pile and usually come up with something different. Challenge your skills on small elements.

 

I wish you all well

 

Forge on and make beautiful things

Jim 

[DSW]

I end up doing it all the time at work since I'm sort of a "Jack of all trades" doing home repairs.

 

This year so far it's been learn how to replace slate roof shingles. I still need to do a similar repair on old diamond asbestos shingles on the same house. I'll probably end up forging a shorter slate ripper to do those as the full size one is too long to fit between the ground and the lower shingles, so that will be another "new" project, forging the ripper.. I have a feeling this week or next the same customer will want me to do spray on insulation at the house. Fully rewired a small summer house this year.  I've done small rewires, but nothing this big before. A friend who's an electrician said it passed inspection when the inspector came by so I guess I did it all right.

 

 

 

Taught myself how to do positive/negative molds out of pourable plastics and urethane rubber to make concrete stamps a number of years ago. Most of that stuff was all new at the time, so most of the specialized stuff that's out now wasn't available. You sort of had to develop it and try it out to see what did or didn't work. For that reason I did a  lot of 1st's when we were doing stamp work, especially forms, specialized tools and a variety of "new" ways to do different color and textures. For a while my nickname was "damage control" since I'd always end up being the one who got asked, "Well how do you think we can fix this...", or "What do you think you can make so we can do that..."

[VaughnT]

Excellent topic for discussion, and one I've been pondering for awhile.

 

My goal, lately, has been to produce to the best quality possible, and I take this to mean a 'store-bought' finish.  I was looking at some chisels I made years ago and noted that, while they work, they look like someone hammered a coil spring straight and put an edge on it.  Granted, I was knew to smithing at the time, but...

 

Another goal is to start trying to do "artsy" stuff.  I am not an artsy type of person and this has been my biggest hurdle.

 

Third goal?  Complete Aspery's first book from beginning to end.  Honestly, I think this will allow me to accomplish all of my recent goals as I can finish the individual parts to top quality and learn to be more 'artsy'.

[anvil]

Sheesh, what a topic. 30 some years a traditional smith. More projects than not filling your description. Been rode hard, put away wet for this last bit of time but always kept the forge hot. A great man once said/told me-"proper setup, proper tools, proper job". Setup's about done, tooling figured out, a long winter's personal project coming up.

By hammer in hand, lock, stock and barrel, a flint lock rifle.

How do you say thanks to all who have made this possible? So thanks to all, from the beginning to now,, our craft Rocks!

May your fires always be hot, and your clinkers small. Special thanks to you, Glen, for this great site!

[Dan C]

Excellent topic.  As a new blacksmith with barely more than a year experience these were all projects initially out of my comfort zone.  A straight razor because most of my knife experience was RR spike knives, did a few file knives prior.  Big fear of the grind itself and overheating the blade, turned out well though.  Building a knife grinder (still in progress) concern over getting everything to align and not wasting time & money.  Forging a bickern from a jackhammer bit and making a spear head from 5160 axle steel, concern on the amount of work involved but these have really turned out to be fun and demonstrated to me how much better our craft is when working with a 2nd person.  I don't have a trip hammer, nor the means & space to acquire one. 

[LastRonin]

I can't add any real insights other than that at my level of inexperience, I haven't had the chance to develop a 'comfort zone'. Unless you count the chair with my laptop and IFI on the screen. ;)

So far, everything has been new to me, and therefor outside my comfort zone. I have a full-time job that keeps me away from my forge quite a bit. And then when I am at home, the necessary chores and tasks to keep the family and house working cut into available time. What time I am able to scrounge/create for metallic manipulations is woefully shy of what I'd like. Some day... I'll be able to free up more time. But until then, I'm happily exploring 'uncomfortable zones'.