[TheForge] question for part-timers & hobbyists

Sat Mar 1 10:00:01 2003

        Michael,  I'm not answering this thread as I'm a full time
metalworker, but I really enjoyed your note on the smithing magician.  If
you'd like to swap die ideas, I'd see that as a really nice topic of
discussion on theforge.
        Do you have pictures of the slitters, acorn and ball, etc.
        I've got a few pictures I can send or post with what I've done in
the past......and much like you I just picked up 12 feet of 3/4 x 2 cold
roll to play with on these "new die ideas".

Ralph

----- Original Message -----
From: "Michael Horgan" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, March 01, 2003 9:18 AM
Subject: Re: [TheForge] question for part-timers & hobbyists


>
> >Back to the questions.
> >What are your personal goals for blacksmithing?
>
> To be able to make real what I visualize.
>
>
> >Are you more interested in technical skills, design skills, or equally
> >devoted to both?
>
> More on the technical side, although I love designing new tools to
simplify
> whichever task I'm working on at the time.
>
>
> >Do you like to do projects or make up your own, or both?
>
> Both.It's fun to do a project from the mind of another smith.  In
> completing it you get an insight into the mind, tooling and training of
the
> designer. Many times I'll look at a design and try to figure out why the
> original maker made it THAT way, when it would be ever so much easier
> to  mumble, mumble,,,
>
>
> >How much time per week, or month do you set aside for your blacksmithing?
>
> I get about 8 hours a week. Part of that time is design time, or reading.
> Between a 3 hour commute to work and a 2 year old, much of my smithing is
> virtual.
>
>
> >How much time do you set aside for studying blacksmithing in other ways,
> >through book research or your own sketching?
>
> most of my free time. <GRIN>
>
>
> >Do you set yourself certain goals in the shop?- for example, maybe in
June,
> >you are going to work strictly on collars, or in August, you are going to
> >work on perfecting scroll designs.
>
> Yes... For example I just "finished"  up a Smithin' Magician III kit from
> Jere Hoffman. I've come up with several modifications to make it easier
for
> me to use, and I bought a couple of sticks of 3/4 x 2" steel that I'm
> converting into tooling. Slitters for piercing bars on the square and on
> the diagonal, dies for making acorn and ball ends, and so on. I'm
> re-reading through all my books and looking at videos for ideas that can
be
> converted to this type of tooling.
>
>
> >If you don't like to work with a goal system- then how do you decide what
to
> >work on ?
>
> Sometimes the marketplace. I love commissions to do something new. They
> make me expand my skills (and tools), which makes the next job easier.
>
>
> >What motivates you?
>
> The fun of tinkering. being able to make something that wasn't there
before
>
>
> >Do you have anything else to add that I didn't think about asking?
>
> I started out, many many years ago in lapidary. I had to make some of my
> own tooling then too. That led me to silver smithing to make settings for
> all those shoe boxes of cut and polished stones. Learning repousse,
> casting, and so on. Later I picked up medieval and renaissance costuming
> skills, needing jewelry and oh... knives... Woodworking,  machine shop
> skills, the list goes on and on.  The point I'm making is  that there is a
> serendipitous overlap between the different skills. You get that AHA!
> moment when you realize that in x we did y, and it should work as well for
> z...  Like using tumblers for steel,  or being able to easily make tooling
> stamps for leather working, or a branding iron for woodworking, or being
> able to hot forge a part to near finish dimensions quickly, then put it on
> the lathe or milling machine to complete it.   The cross-overs often make
> me go back and pick up an old skill and look at it again with new eyes,
> opening new possibilities.  Now if I only had more time!
>
>
> >I'll answer it too, but I don't want it to be about me right away.  I'd
like
> >to see a cross section of responses from all of the part timers and
> >hobbyists.
> >-Kirsten
> >[email protected]
> >http://hosting.acegroup.cc/~koka/
> >http://www.mnartists.org/?loc_name=viewartistfeature&artistid=2713
> >___________
>
> Michael D. Horgan , [email protected]
> http://members.aol.com/lughaid/
> posting from
>   A BRAZEN FORGERY
> Blacksmithing and Metalwork
> Claremont, Ca.
>
>
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