June 20, 20251 yr Started posting in other sections before I did the logical thing and introduced myself to the group. Rob here, The Toolshed ; Name given to me way back at a new job I was way overqualified for, I referred to myself as nothing more than a tool....Supervisor was kind enough to call me other.... I live on 150 acres of Michigan woodlands and have five distinct "shops" not including the garage or tractor barn, not to mention other areas I tinker in. Professionally I am an I.T. Analyst with over 35 years experience. Unprofessionally (the other 16 hours of the day I am very unprofessional), I am someone who loves playing with woodwork, metals, fiber arts (knotwork and crochet), leatherwork, leather tanning. I have been a metal caster for 10+ years. As well as playing around with "beating on hot billets", certainly not blacksmithing. I took vocational drafting classes back in high school , which is why you'll see me drawing a lot of things out. I enjoy testing things out, so you'll also see a lot of my projects made from foamboard mockups first before I ever make a cut in material. Foundium, Dumpsterium, Givemium, Trashium, these are all some of my favorite construction materials. Hoarding things that might be useful....Yeah, I'm using materials I scrounged back in the 80s. However, Frosty gave me this crazy idea that NEW A-36 might be a good addition to my hoard, so I got 100' of it yesterday. I was surprised that 20' was 51 bucks, and 100' was only 30bucks more....CRAZY!! Anyhoo, BANG ON!!
June 20, 20251 yr Good Morning Rob, Welcome to the 'Shed of Tools'. There are people here from many places around this Round Rock. The knowledge base is Ginormous!! I live on the Continent of Vancouver Island. To get to your Island, swim or take a Ferry is the method of transport. We can't see the light cloud of Vancouver or Seattle but sometimes there is a haze (not purple), but we see the lights of Port Angeles and the Rocks called the Olympic Mountains. Every Freighter that goes to the Lower Mainland (Vancouverish) or Pugot Sound (Seattle, Tacoma, Everett, Bellingham, Olympia, etc.) floats by, past Victoria down Juan de Fuca Straits. Vancouver Island Blacksmiths Association has about 85-120 Members. Enjoy your Journey!! Neil
June 20, 20251 yr Toolshed, This is a formal welcome aboard from 7500' in SE Wyoming. Glad to have you. Although there are lots of blacksmithing tools which make particular tasks easier it is basically a pretty low tech craft. All you need is a heat source, a piece of metal to get hot, something to grab it with, something to hit it on, and something to hit it with. There are some good videos on Youtube (and some really bad and dangerous ones) and there are good hard copy books around. Ask if you want recommendations. Welcome to the mysteries of the craft. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."
June 20, 20251 yr Welcome aboard Rob, glad to have you. I would've said hi sooner but SOMETHING has had me distracted. I married a UPer who is herself a spinner and learning to knit. To quote a dear departed forum member Thomas Powers, we're a steel wool couple. Frosty The Lucky.
June 21, 20251 yr Greetings and welcome! I’m another half of a steel wool couple, as my wife runs a yarn shop here in Ohio.
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