Bjorn makes sharp things. My beginners log book

[Bonnskij]

Latest completed axe. Mild steel body and spring steel edge.

Over three years into this venture and some neighbour has finally taken umbrage with me working out of my backyard. I'm staying within legal hours and doing what I can to mitigate noise, so it wouldn't be much of an issue (for me at least) if I owned the place, but alas, the voes of being a renter. Found a maker space between here and my job that seems positive to letting me set up with them though, so hopefully it all works out. 

Frustrating time for it though, as this smithing venture seems to have steadily picked up, and I've somehow gotten several custom orders lately. The markets have been going great and I'm being visited by people who bough knives from me and are stoked about how well they hold their edge. It really feels great, and this whole thing has been really good for my mental health.

[Scott NC]

  A maker space is better than being idle.  I've had big shops, little shops and no shop.  I am in limbo right now.  I think your axe is awesome.  I have yet to make one but I know what I like.  Good luck on your journey.  

[Frosty]

A war with a neighbor is a lot worse than a maker space, especially one between work and home. I don't know much about a maker space . . . place. Do you have to bring your stuff each time or do you have a secure area, or?

Nice axe. The pics a little dark to see clearly though.

Frosty The Lucky.

[Bonnskij]

Thanks fellas. Some space is better than nothing.

Frosty, I should be able to keep some stuff there. Primarily my anvil. I'd like to take my forge whenever I need so that I can still do heat treating and twisting at home, but we'll see. I think I can keep whatever I like there pretty much. On the plus side, I'll have access to much more tools, including cnc router, laser cutter, electric kiln and a larger bandsaw than I currently have. Could be a positive overall.

Still working on my photography. The axe does actually have a proper poll. It just doesn't show because as you said, it's too dark.

[ThomasPowers]

Make sure you have a locking container for stuff you don't want to share!  Several friends have lost or had tools damaged in maker spaces!

[Jobtiel1]

Yeah I'd be quite wary of leaving my tools there. People like to use anvils as welding and cutting tables. Maybe you can have the people that want to use your stuff have a mandatory training and proper use guide with access taken away when they mistreat your stuff.

~Jobtiel

[Frosty]

By secure storage I mean under lock and key, I'd NEVER leave my smithing tools where just anybody can use them unless I'm there to yell at them for doing dangerous or damaging things. 

Many years ago when I lived in Anchorage there was a rent a stall place not far from home where you could rent a stall in a mechanic shop to work on your vehicle. It was a way for the building's owner to pay bills after the repair shop closed. The hourly rate was darned reasonable compared to trying to work on your vehicle in winter. 

They rented tools and had some basics like floor creepers, drop lights, drain pans, trays, etc. on hand free. I have the tool box I made a living out of when I worked on cars and things like my swivel head ratchets are expensive but sweet to use. I'd be doing something, turn around and the ratchet and extension was gone. Some dingus working on his car "borrowed" it!  My tools are a lot nicer to use than the rentals so what the hey? 

After yelling  and the shop manager, employee, (?) just shrugging, "it's not my job to watch your tools," a few times I changed tactics. I'd walk over, take my tool back, make sure I had any of my attachments, extension, socket, etc. right out of his hand if he was holding it and not pay much attention to what socket, extension, etc. was connected. All my mechanic tools were painted my shop colors so it wasn't hard to spot them. Of course being covered in dirt and grease made telling rental tools from mine was harder and I was busy. 

Happily I rarely had to use the rent a shop and keeping my tool box on the floorboards of the vehicle as a PITA but I didn't have to hunt my tools much. "Borrowing" my tools might have gotten a rep too. The rent a shop charged new price for missing tools even though they didn't buy good ones I expect having to pay for a new ratchet, a couple box wrenches, handful of screw drivers, etc. probably cost more than a couple hours stall rental. 

If a maker space is anything like that rent a stall place I'd be thinking of ways to put my tools in an easy access lock box when I'm there. 

Just sayin.

Frosty The Lucky.

[ThomasPowers]

Long history of folks not treating things right if they don't own them; several variations on "to work like a rented mule", "to beat like a rented mule", etc.  Just teaching students for not even a break even fee; I've seen a lot of that.  One student was having terrible hammer control, hitting the anvil face hard with the edge of the hammer time and time again.  I finally asked him if he was using his dominate hand to hammer with and he replied that "No he was trying to learn to hammer with his off hand."  I told him he wasn't paying enough to damage my equipment learning and either stop or leave the class.

[Bonnskij]

Yes, those are all certainly some concerns of mine. I will have a tool box with the tools i intend to use for the most part. At the end of the day, I do things fairly bare bones, so that shouldn't be too much trouble. The anvil I will have to leave in place. I have quite recently acquired it. Just a cheap 30kg, but steel and a massive upgrade from what I was previously using. I am open to leaving my forge if people are interested, though I would like to have it available at home for twisting and heat treating, (unless the neighbours even have a problem with the slight roar of the forge too...) In which case, people would certainly need to bring their own gas.

Mandatory training is a must for sure. I want no welding or cutting on the anvil.

I also have a small belt grinder in my shed. I was hoping to keep using it as it would be a lot more quiet than the anvil and angle grinder i use outside, but my partner doesn't think it's a good idea. Renters have deplorably few rights in Australia, so I should probably listen the voice of reason... I don't really have a problem with anyone using my grinder. It's not hard, and it's not super expensive. Provided mandatory training and people supplying their own belts ofcourse. I'm happy enough to donate my old belts which will still work fine for steel and with no problem for wood.

[Frosty]

How do you plan to guarantee the people using your equipment have successfully completed your mandatory training? In my experience if you're not standing there glowering people are going to do whatever they want to your stuff. 

On two occasions I've had guys do exactly what I told them not to to show me it didn't matter. I had to show them the door and tell them they were NOT welcome back. 

Never underestimate idiots ability to do stupid things to other peoples property. At only 30 kilos that anvil would be the first thing in my vehicle when I was finished. I MIGHT leave a belt grinder but it wouldn't have a belt on or near it. Probably not though.

Frosty The Lucky.

[Jobtiel1]

Good point, at 30 kg it is easily transportable. Maybe it's possible to have a tool chest on wheels where all your tools and anvil fits in, then you can just load it up every time you leave.

~Jobtiel

[JHCC]

Check out the Rolling Anvil Project:

 

[Bonnskij]

Well the anvil is mounted to a stand which probably makes it around 70kg. My car is also tiny, and i need to maintain my ability to pick the kids up from school and daycare, with a very limited amount of hours in the day that I'm trying to make the most of. It's not ideal. But it is what it is.

[Scott NC]

  I used to burn the midnight oil.  I can't do it any longer.  Do you have a luggage rack for your car?

[Bonnskij]

Yeah it's a bit exhausting that's for sure.

Don't have a luggage rack for the car. I'm able to fit everything bar the anvil though. And my anvil is left alone. It's open three evenings a week. There's not a lot of people, and I can be there most of the time.

Broke the eye of my most recent axe... wrought iron. Fixable or just best off scrapping it?

[Bonnskij]

Made a cleaver with a buloke and ancient redgum handle and this custom carving knife with an octagonal western myall handle. First spear point knife I've made. 

Maker space is working out pretty well. My anvil is left alone. People like watching me make stuff and most days it's just me there. Though its only open for at most three evenings a week which isn't ideal. Got access to a big bandsaw though, so can cut up some of my larger and more exotic wood blocks.

[Frosty]

Nice looking clever, I really like the wood.

It's good the maker space is working out. Maybe if more people start using it they'll open more days per week. 

There used to be, maybe still is a place in Anchorage you could rent garage space to work on a vehicle and how often they were open changed with the number of folks renting a bay. I even rented an apartment close to it when everything I drove was a fixer upper. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[Bonnskij]

Thanks Frosty. There's so many beautiful Australian handle woods. Looking forward to using a few other ones that I have stashed aside currently. 

Yep, it seems very much a work in progress at the moment. Looks like they've got funding to get some impressive gear, and then they're trying to recycle and reuse a lot of other stuff which I think is great. I hope they manage to keep developing and it seems they want to be able to be open more often.

The garage space sounds like a great idea too. Wish there were more places in general where people with no space could still be able to engage in their passions or work on projects.

[Frosty]

I love wood grain but don't do much that uses wood. It's ALMOST enough to make me make a blade but I'm not interested in making blades. 

I think like the rent a bay place needs enough population that can't afford new vehicles close by to work out. The property owner or lease holder might have been looking for a way to pay the bills on an empty property. It could be a win win. 

Could be a living nightmare too. I feel nervous every time I let someone I don't know work in my shop, I spend the first session mostly watching them to make sure they don't injure themselves or others. Damaging equipment and tools is a second concern. Like I say it's nervous making, I have insurance coverage but definitely NOT for a commercial concern.

Details details but potentially a decent maybe good business.

Frosty The Lucky.

[JHCC]

Not all smithing projects incorporating wood have to be knives:

[Frosty]

True dat. It's as beautiful now as when you first showed us.

I still don't know where the blade is though.

Frosty The Lucky.

[ThomasPowers]

Bishop's Mitre for one you don't like?

[Frosty]

I can't think of a response that won't get me in trouble. I guess I'll have to leave my unbearably hilarious response to your imagination. Sorry about your ribs

Frosty The Lucky.

[Bonnskij]

I would certainly be nervous about letting someone i don't know near my tools. I have had a lot of people ask if I do lessons or if I can teach them, and first of I don't think I've been in the game for nearly long enough nor know enough to be teaching anybody, and second I don't want that kind of responsibility for somebody's safety or letting people use my tools.

I also enjoy just doing this by myself to be honest.

Beautiful thing JHCC. What is it exactly?

 

Also, someone wanted a set of custom door pulls:

 I'm getting a slowly but steadily increasing amount of custom request at the moment. Compared to just making what I like, I'm not sure what I think. I feel the pressure of getting it right to what the client likes as opposed to just something I like is relatively stressful.

Im obviously just doing this as a little side gig, but still feel that in the current economic climate I can't turn down a lot of work either. I do like these pulls though, and I had to learn a couple of new things which will be useful down the road.

Also made some cyclone resistant tent pegs.

 

[George N. M.]

Bonnskij, I always like to put a twist in tent pegs.  I don't know if it increases holding power very much but it makes it look like it will.  It probably depends on soil conditions.  Also, I have heard arguments about whether the end of a tent peg should be 90 degrees like yours or 180 degrees.  Again, it may not make much real world difference.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."