[TheForge] blacksmithing / metalwork formal training and higher education

[Larry Brown]

Loosing money can be a great educator. I try to remember that each time I 
do or break even. There is something to learn in each disaster. I have 
taken a few jobs that were close to the profit/ loss line because I wanted 
to do them and now I just try to keep them far from each other, still not 
as smart as I should be.

L Brown



>Ries has a point,  back in 2000 I took a forge welding class from Bob
>Patrick.  It changed my life and forge welding became a normal part of my
>work.  Before that it was kind of a last resort.
>
>I might have figured it out on my own if I had spent a whole week just
>practicing forge welds, but that wasn't going to happen in my shop where I
>had paying work waiting for me to do.  It was hard to block out a whole week
>for a class, but was well worth it.
>
>I can only imagine what would be learned if you could dedicate a whole year
>to just practicing new things and not trying to turn out sellable product.
>
>My tendency is to only take jobs that I know I can do and avoid the ones
>that have a big learning curve, knowing that I will loose money on them
>initially because they will take a lot longer than they should as I learn a
>new technique.  In the long run they probably make money because they give
>me a skill that I can apply to future projects.
>
>
>Robert Ehrenberger
>Shelbyville, Mo.
>eforge at centurytel.net