J W Bennett Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 As Dutchman Creek pointed out it was hot and humid in Illinois and Indiana this weekend. I demoed at a local Strawberry Festival this weekend. Friday night mother nature took any hope of profit by destroying both my canopies with a thunderstorm and high winds. Saturday the flooding from 8+ inches of rain forced a state of emergency in all counties in the area and I couldn't get to the festival till about 1:30pm to check my equipment that I ended up covering with a tarp the night before. Everything was fine but the days activities were canceled due to all roads being closed in the state of emergency. I was already set up so I went ahead and forged a chain from 3/8 round stock of 11 links and had another group of three ready to join but the heat and humidity finally convinced me to shut down and have a cold one. Sunday morning I got there early and made one canopy out of the remnants of two so I could have some shade. Opened up on time and forged a connecting link for the three links I had made and then forge another set of three and linked them also. I had four kids really interested in what I was doing so I forged a rams head for them. It went well and they thought it was cool. I sold one tripod, One wavy pot stand and made a rather large bean pot bail for a fella. Not enough to cover the damage or gas. But to be able to forge weld 3 1/2' of chain and a rams head while doing a demo and only miss one weld was priceless as the commercial goes. If you think your going to get rich smithing you might be right but it will be inside yourself not your wallet. Hot,Dirty,Tired and Thirsty but It's been a good weekend. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dablacksmith Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 ya weather can ruin the best demos.... but they will remember the crazy blacksmith next year!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 John, I went camping recently with high winds, rain, high winds, hail---only about 1/2" to 1" deep pea sized hail, high winds, high heat, high winds, and dust. What paid for the trip was making tentstakes from rebar for all the folks with very understaked canopys, tents, etc. Actually I leant them out the first day I was there and *all* of them were bought by the last day---including a bunch still in place when I was loading up. Last Sunday I had my student paying for his share of forge time by making up all the rest of the scrap re-bar into stakes for the next campout... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 Turning raindrops into pennies from heaven. Well done Thomas. Other wise it's like the old saying. " Q. How do you make a small fortune as a blacksmith? A. Start with a large fortune." Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete46 Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 Our You Could Marry A Woman Who Works In Town! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammerkid Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 Turning raindrops into pennies from heaven. Well done Thomas. Other wise it's like the old saying. " Q. How do you make a small fortune as a blacksmith? A. Start with a large fortune." Frosty I like that old saying. Its sorta sad BUT TRUE:rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J W Bennett Posted June 11, 2008 Author Share Posted June 11, 2008 Thomas, I have sold stakes at other events too. This was a small town festival an everyone was sat up on the street pavement. Only about 8 outdoor vendors total. But I will keep that in mind in the future. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Pook Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 (edited) I like that old saying. Its sorta sad BUT TRUE:rolleyes: You guys need to enlarge the picture you want to work in. Get beyond the nick-knacks, you could look at doing architectural work and larger projects for high end homes etc. Where there is a will there is a way. You can make money as a blacksmith, you just may need to combine it with some fab work every now and then. I have lately been thinking there is still a way to do smaller scale industrial work for various machine shops, if you have the skill and can save them material and time. I'm thinking there is still a way to make a $ in the world of cnc machines and push the start button operators, its just figuring out how... Edited June 11, 2008 by Chris Pook Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J W Bennett Posted June 11, 2008 Author Share Posted June 11, 2008 Chris, I agree. I have been working toward doing architectural work and have done 2 commisions so far. I use the Demo's to show my work to the public and also I do enjoy the demo's. I beleive there is still a need for high end work it's just getting your foot in the door. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chyancarrek Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 If you think your going to get rich smithing you might be right but it will be inside yourself not your wallet John's sentiment here hits the mark. But maybe getting rich isn't what we should be shooting for - go for making a reasonable living doing what you love. For me, it came down to finding a way to make my wallet less hungry so my soul can feast. I've found a mid-point market between trinkets and architectural work. I specialize in creative functional accessories for the home - serving dishes, small furniture etc. This work carries a much higher price point than the nick-knack market but not the involvement or overhead (and risks) associated with architectural work. The key for me was being honest up front that smithing isn't exactly a high margin craft . . . I countered that by following a model where I bought everything I needed outright - My home and shop are paid for as is all of my equipment. I don't incur new debt (except emergencies) and only buy when I have the money available. I work almost exclusively with re-claimed materials so my upfront overhead is mostly confined to shop consumables and specialty items when it makes more sense to buy them then make them. Is it perfect? Will this approach work for everyone? Definitely not, but I'm making a comfortable living and absolutely thrilled to walk out the door every morning - That's an exchange I can live with! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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