John McPherson Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 After verifying it on the phone, then driving a hour in the worst weather of the month, that 'HUGE wrought iron blacksmith's anvil in pristine condition' that was advertised on CL is either a un-altered chunk of torch severed RR rail, or a 70 pound cast iron ASO with a face that looks like the 82nd Airborne used it for target practice for the last decade. And they still "won't take a penny less than $300, cause that's what they sell for on the 'Bay". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 Greetings All, Here comes the big one.... When doing a demo always keep a completed project in the slack tub... IF YOUR DEMO DOES NOT GO RIGHT.. and it happens all the time... Just pretend you are doing the final cool down in the tub and take out the good one... OLD TRICK.. Most never know.. Forge on and make beautiful things Jim Thank you Jim! What a head slapper! Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobody Special Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 At exactly the worst possible moment, the kids will - break out in fistfights, drown, bleed, or spontaneously combust if necesssary at exactly the right time to burn up a good bit of metal. IGNORE IT AND FINISH. You can always make more kids........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thingmaker3 Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 After verifying it on the phone, then driving a hour in the worst weather of the month, that 'HUGE wrought iron blacksmith's anvil in pristine condition' that was advertised on CL is either a un-altered chunk of torch severed RR rail, or a 70 pound cast iron ASO with a face that looks like the 82nd Airborne used it for target practice for the last decade. And they still "won't take a penny less than $300, cause that's what they sell for on the 'Bay". Works for metal cutting lathes too. Must be a CL thing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CleetisMorgan Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 When someone pulls out their phone to snap a pic, there is an instant surge of gravity and the floor wants a closer look at my work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockstar.esq Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 Nobody Special, Your comment made me laugh. I remember a gym teacher trudging up a set of steps when kids were yelling "FIGHT FIGHT". As he passed me by I heard him mutter "...better be a good one". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anvil Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 when shoeing a horse, take one look at the prepped hoof, go to the anvil and shape it in one go around. with just the right amount of " check this dude out" check for fit, and see its "Right On" except its upside down. :) casually toss it over to the off side and do the next one correctly. Now that's an impressive save! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ausfire Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 Greetings All, Here comes the big one.... When doing a demo always keep a completed project in the slack tub... IF YOUR DEMO DOES NOT GO RIGHT.. and it happens all the time... Just pretend you are doing the final cool down in the tub and take out the good one... OLD TRICK.. Most never know.. Forge on and make beautiful thingsJim That's a great bit of advice! A bit of slight of hand and no-one's the wiser. I'll remember that.I have a couple of completed roses on display in presentation boxes but I keep one that is 'hot off the forge'. What people don't know is that I have curled and uncurled the petals on that one a number of times. It takes a long time to do a full rose at a demo, and people like to see an item in the finishing stages. A bit devious, but hey, I can live with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 I love it when folks say "but they sell for XYZ on ebay" and so I ask them why are they not selling it there in the first place? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ggraham Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 Adam, of Adam and Eve, had a 3rd cousin, twice removed that was a blacksmith, his name was "MURPHY" of Murphy's Law. If it can, It will, usually in multiples, at the most inopportune moment. ggraham Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Turley Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 Wash your hands before going to the bathroom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John McPherson Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 This applies equally to machining chips and blacksmithing scale: Spit first,THEN cuss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockstar.esq Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 John - that is very sound advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 I love it when folks say "but they sell for XYZ on ebay" and so I ask them why are they not selling it there in the first place? When I was making armor for SCA fighters I used hear ,"but X makes them for" (about half what I charged) Then buy it from X. "But yours are better." Another "trick" they used to try with stupid regularity was to agree to a price and when it was finished want to dicker. Finally I'd just tell them to either pay me or leave me alone. When I started charging 50% up front and the rest on delivery nobody wanted any more. I still have two helms and a set of basket hilts. Funny thing about one of the helms being, I give a lifetime guarantee, break it and I'll fix it. A guy brought the helm back to have it repaired but evidently forgot he never paid for it. So, there's the rule. 50% up front, remainder COD. Time and materials projects are a variant of course. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Borntoolate Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 So this is mine but sorta off blacksmithing topic... However I think it catches a theme here. Had some friends over. Showing the shop. Forge running. One lady wanted to weld something. I have a MIG and figured she could point and shoot just fine. It didn't weld well. I figured it was bad metal. It was some scrap junk stuff... Later I realized I HAD NOT TURNED ON THE GAS! Otherwise she could have point and shot just fine. So I think a common theme above is that just when we want to show people what we do and how cool it really is... something goes wrong to make it less cool. My learning then is that when we want to show people how cool it is we need to be extra careful and do what we know how to do. Be extra thoughtful both for safety and technigue. Show how professional we are. Slow if need be and methodical... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yves Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 So, there's the rule. 50% up front, remainder COD. Time and materials projects are a variant of course. Frosty The Lucky. Yes, 50% ahead of work and then no, not COD. I deliver the work when the money is in my bank account. This means that I deliver one week or so after I received a cheque for the balance. Of course the client agrees to this before we begin. For small objects, like 2 fire pokers someone asked me last week, I forge them, send a pic of the objects and demand payment by Paypal at the same time. The objects are sent when the money is in my bank account which is 3 to 5 days after transfer from Paypal to my bank account. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the iron dwarf Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 it takes 3 to 5 days there to get money from paypal to your bank! here it is up to 2 hours to do that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOONY Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 i have a tap measure elf, the tap measures go missing , he hydes them , so you have dozens of them every where to keep him confused , same with french chalk . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judson Yaggy Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 And chuck keys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel OF Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 I had the angle grinder wrench 2 seconds ago?!?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 I had the angle grinder wrench 2 seconds ago?!?! Look down, it's imbedded in your side. THE chuck key rule. Never, NEVER leave any chuck key/wrench in the chuck! Doing so is one of the few 86ing offenses a person can commit in my shop. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ausfire Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 86ing??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LastRonin Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 86ing??? delete the first 3 letters of your username and add a d at the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 86ing??? It means to be sent down the road, tossed out, dumped, flushed, down the drain, etc. It comes from the old TV program, "Get Smart" The main character was Maxwell Smart agent 86 who managed to screw up everything he did. So anything beyond recovery is 86ed. Being 86ed from my shop is getting banned for good. Doing as Ronin suggests would be 86ing yourself. I've 86ed myself from a number of sites by forgetting my password. Ironically Lumosity is the most recent, so much for improving my brain eh? Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eco redneck Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 Rehearing five or six time to get the piece right-side-right on the anvil will result in backward-ness or upside-down-ism. you dont know how many times i have done that!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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