[TheForge] Need shop space?

[Ben Barrett]

I grew up near there, and although it is certainly (and still) a depressed area,
I have great nostalgia for Appalachia, and that is close enough to the major
metro areas of NY, Baltimore/DC, etc, that large pieces could be reasonably
transported -- and it  could also be used as a school, or for weekend classes.

That area has great history, ranging from steel to railroads, and so forth.
There are a lot of old charcoal furnaces to be found while hiking around
the woods :)

Maybe the Cambria Forge could become a working museum, if there even
is such a thing...

regards,

ben


On 6/10/07, ries <ries at riesniemi.com> wrote:
> A couple of years ago, I visited this shop, Cambria Forge.
> It is amazing. And, if you were serious, you could get in there and
> work.
> But, and its a big but, it would require a lot of money, and a lot of
> jobs, to make it viable.
>
> I run a relatively small business, with up to two full time
> employees, and myself.
> I have a fair amount of machines, although nothing compared to the
> hammers in Cambria forge.
>
> And I know what my overhead is- utilities, labor, taxes, consumables,
> materials, and so on.
>
> To keep a shop like that running, I am guessing you would need at
> least 5 guys, and to gross somewhere above a half million a year.
> Probably better if you doubled that.
>
> And that is assuming you got a really good deal on rent.
>
> Imagine the expense when one of those hammers goes down.
> Imagine the amount of support equipment you need- bandsaws, grinders,
> drills, plasma and oxy fuel, ironworkers and forklifts, machine shop
> and  fab equipment.
>
> For somebody, it would be great.
> But without a really go getter of a very successful blacksmith, I
> cant see that happening.
> And there are probably only a dozen guys in the country who have the
> skills, the experience, and the business smarts to make that happen-
> and they all already have big shops, roots where they live, and
> contacts.
>
> Johnstown itself is a depressed area, to say the least- not a lot of
> $10 million dollar houses being built there that need a couple
> hundred grand in ironwork.
>
> For that shop to become vital and working again, my guess is only a
> school, or a government sponsored program would work.
>
> Its a very cool place, though.
>
> ries
>
>
>
>
> On Jun 9, 2007, at 11:15 PM, Jerry Frost wrote:
>
> http://www.jaha.org/BlacksmithShop/restoration.html
> -------------------------------
> If it ain't forged
> it ain't real.
> Wrought iron is.
> The FrostWorks
>
> Meadow Lakes, AK.
>
> http://www.artmetalradio.com/
>
> _______________________________________________
> Manage membership or unsubscribe at:
> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/theforge
> theforge mail list group photo site is
> http://www.photoaccess.com
> Login:  blacksmithblacksmith at hotmail.com
> password:  anvil
> ___________
>
>
>
> Ries Niemi
> Industrial Artist
> http://www.riesniemi.com/
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Manage membership or unsubscribe at:
> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/theforge
> theforge mail list group photo site is
> http://www.photoaccess.com
> Login:  blacksmithblacksmith at hotmail.com
> password:  anvil
> ___________
>
>
>