Life phases

[kandrathe]

My latest consulting gig ended July 31st, and I've tucked away another bundle of cash (who wants to be in the stock market anyway these days?). This time though, I told them I was through with it. I'm not sure what happened, but in these last few years all the joy and fun I've derived from my work was just missing. I never really planned to end up in the career I did, but it took me 25 years to get there, and now I'm pretty much walking away from it. Financially, my wife and I have done well, so money was never an issue for us.

I thought I'd share my plans with you here who know me a little. You might know also that I was raised on a cattle ranch, and I trained horses as a hobby. I left the farm for University, and never really found my way back to a rural lifestyle. I've always pined for it though. There was something comforting in walking out your back door and being "on the job" every day. I met my wife at the University, we married in her senior year, and she is a city girl. Her only requirement for our first house was that it be close to a major bus line. Yikes! But, we found a good compromise house next to a large park (cue music: "gimme land, lot's of land..."). We owned that house for 5 years, and were lucky to sell it for double what we paid for it. This let us get into our next house, where we still are situated. It is rustic, yet not rural. We are in a tight knit community with about 2 acres which I (and my neighbors) leave wild. So, while I still pine for a ranch, and livestock, I don't relish all the work it takes to run that kind of operation.

My children(now 6 & 8) have now both entered school, and my wife is aching to go back into her career (but with her own twists). My boys are also at the age where they will begin needing more dad and less mom. To remain sane when I was on the job, I would do various artistic things at home including painting oils and acrylics, pottery and ceramics, wood carving, and metal work (smithing and welding). What I've decided to attempt is to take my hobbies and make them more of my vocation now. I'm not really sure what I'm doing yet, so if anyone here makes a living as an artisan, then I would love to discuss how that works for you. I'm beginning by making connections into the arts community in my locality, and finding out who does what I plan to do. I've signed up for some advanced classes on casting metals. One idea I've had would be to connect my love of gaming, fantasy, and things medieval into my craftsmanship. I guess my thinking is that I'm pursuing the profession of craftsman, and artisan, rather than say artist. I'm interested in making useful things that don't collect dust. That's my plan at least, and I'll post some updates here in the future as my ideas work, or not.

Am I nuts? :lol:

[--Pete]

Hi,

Am I nuts? :lol:

Yep, but in a good way;)

I'll give this some more thought, but two things jumped into my mind as I was reading your plans. Science fiction conventions and SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism). Unless things have changed much in the last few years, those two could be both a source of inspiration for what you could make and a place to sell what you do make. Creative metalworking ability (what I used to call 'metal whittling' when I was active) was always in demand in the SCA. The ratio of armorers needed to armorers existing was big.

Good luck in these endeavors. The freedom to create is wonderful.

--Pete

[eppie]

My latest consulting gig ended July 31st, and I've tucked away another bundle of cash (who wants to be in the stock market anyway these days?).

Nice question on the day the dow went up 11 %. The answer is of course 'everybody'.

[kandrathe]

Nice question on the day the dow went up 11 %. The answer is of course 'everybody'.

Eventually, when it's stable I will. There is an equal chance that the Fed Chairman passes wind and the market panics too.

[kandrathe]

Hi,
Yep, but in a good way;)

I'll give this some more thought, but two things jumped into my mind as I was reading your plans. Science fiction conventions and SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism). Unless things have changed much in the last few years, those two could be both a source of inspiration for what you could make and a place to sell what you do make. Creative metalworking ability (what I used to call 'metal whittling' when I was active) was always in demand in the SCA. The ratio of armorers needed to armorers existing was big.

Good luck in these endeavors. The freedom to create is wonderful.

--Pete

Thanks for the tip. I looked up my local SCA group, and I'll get involved.

[VinnieJones]

I"m not sure how most groups down south do it, but our local sca chapter didn't use a whole ton of meta. What you will find will be in demand will be helms. A good idea would be to google ScA grad helms - most likely 12ga or better unless the standards have changed.

For the most part the armor that is used is a heavy plastic - i forget the guage. But! if you are thinking more general crafting if you came up with good armor patterns - the lorica segmentat is a neat one if you can get a good pattern going - you might have a bit of niche there.

To be honest though, unless you plan on perhaps running an online store you may only get enough work from your local chapter to keep your hands busy as a hobby. I know the first basic basinet I bought ran me several hundred dollars, but I'm not sure just how large a volume you can get to run you full time.

It's been a few years since I was a combatant, but if you have any questions about it I'd do my best to answer them.

[VinnieJones]

Oh, yeah didn't really collect my thoughts there, sorry it's 2:30 am.

If you also like working with leather, a lot of the pieces of armor can be made of cured leather. There are avrious forms of scale mail that people have made from leather - horribly tedious, I think there are seven holes per piece and several thousand pieces for chest armor, and then more basic forms such as grieves and leg armor.

Here is the link for the sca marshals handbook. Armor standards start on page 11. I had though that helms had to be minimum 12ga, but that might have just been the local chapters rules, as apparently the official book only requires 16ga.

http://www.sca.org/officers/marshal/combat...al_handbook.pdf

[kandrathe]

Oh, yeah didn't really collect my thoughts there, sorry it's 2:30 am.

If you also like working with leather, a lot of the pieces of armor can be made of cured leather. There are avrious forms of scale mail that people have made from leather - horribly tedious, I think there are seven holes per piece and several thousand pieces for chest armor, and then more basic forms such as grieves and leg armor.

Here is the link for the sca marshals handbook. Armor standards start on page 11. I had though that helms had to be minimum 12ga, but that might have just been the local chapters rules, as apparently the official book only requires 16ga.

http://www.sca.org/officers/marshal/combat...al_handbook.pdf

I will probably focus on two crafts to begin with. Casting the non-precious metals (bronze, copper, aluminum, pewter, etc), and throwing pots. The first products I'm going to focus on will be extremely artistically made game boards and cast metal pieces to well known games like chess, checkers, Chinese checkers, go, and any other game that isn't copyrighted. The boards will be some combination of high quality woods from my locality, like walnut, or oak. For pottery and ceramics, I will focus on mastering Medieval Celtic and Scandinavian styles. I've been researching Ogham and Futhark inscriptions, and northern European designs and patterns from the 800AD to 1200AD time period. As my blacksmithing and metal smithing skills improve I will take on more things like making some pieces of armor, or weapons. The skill required for them is quite high, and it would be a frustrating place to start.

I also need to get my workshop in order. Lot's of chicken and egg issues there. As I expand my repertoire I would need more and different tools.

[kandrathe]

Today was pretty frustrating. The long story short is that all the great stores I went to today that had the things I needed are not there anymore. I'm not sure if it was the "urban renewal" in that area that drove the rent up and the stores out, or if it is the pressure from internet sales that make store fronts obsolete for some types of products. Anyway, I was looking for a good art supply store, leather boots good enough for welding and casting metal, and any type of venue where the type of thing I will be making might be sold. I struck out on everything. That last one is a good news and bad news result at least. There is no good venue, but also there is no competition.

The biggest disappointment was the missing leather shoe store. It will be hard to find good work boots without a rubber/plastic sole, and no laces. From what I've read, in the presence of molten metal which may be up to 3000 degrees Fahrenheit (1650 C), many materials will spontaneously combust due to the intense radiant heat. Or, an accidental spill of hot metal on cloth or plastic laces would result in a pretty bad accident.

P.S. I found some. Definitely not a fashion statement.
Herman Survivors - Men's Workhorse Steel-Toe Work Boot
Tatra Safety Boots & Shoes, Inc. Yup, the Canadians still work hard...
Forge Shield Boots: Met Guard Steel Toe Made In USA Boots 26866 -- I believe these also have a +3 to saving throws against magic spells.

P.S.S. It's extremely funny to me that most of my searches (e.g. "Forge leggings" ) result in FRPG results (such as "Forge-crafted Elven Leggings"). However, "Foundry Spats" gets closer to what I need.

[--Pete]

Hi,

. . . all the great stores I went to today that had the things I needed are not there anymore.

It's happened to me in hobbies many times in the past thirty years. And I'm part of the problem. I buy my materials from the hardware store, it's cheaper. Or on-line (before that from mail-order catalogs), cheaper and more convenient. And then, when I need something today and I find the store gone, I look at my reflection in the empty windows and tell myself I should have been a better customer. Doesn't make me feel better, doesn't get me what I need. But I'm thankful for overnight FedEx. :whistling:

--Pete

[Sir_Die_alot]

I have no idea if these guys are worth a damn but I hear ads on the radio constantly touting their work boots. http://www.bootbarn.com/?gclid=CJfzt6S9v...awodZmGIyA

[kandrathe]

I have no idea if these guys are worth a damn but I hear ads on the radio constantly touting their work boots. http://www.bootbarn.com/?gclid=CJfzt6SI9vpYCFRIcawodZmGIyA

I am leaning toward these...


... because they are so darned stylish and the saving throw. No, actually because A) more than steel toe, they have a full metatarsal protection, B) the soles are rated to 700 degrees Fahrenheit (which I would move out of as quickly as is safely possible), and C) not too much more expensive than the just adequate steel toed boots. My wife and I stopped by the mega-Walmart yesterday to do a massive grocery run and they had the Herman and Brahma line of work boots which were running about $50 there as well. Most accidents in a shop happen to feet, so good protection is worth it. Also, I've read other welders comments on the Carolina brand where they last 10 years on the job, so a pretty good investment.

I would also make one comment on what I found regarding soles. For good heat protection you want to look for soles containing nitrile, and for soles that don't get impregnated with metal shavings you want to look for soles with Vibram.

Next, I will focus on good eye protection, a mesh inlaid face shield and good dust mask. I have shop safety gear adequate for power tools, and when I needed it the cheap dust masks. But, if this is an every day/week endeavor I will need something more substantial.

[kandrathe]

I bought these boots on e-bay for cheap (final bid was $15.51 with $9 shipping).



They are Work One, with metatarsal protection and an Alpha 1, Biltrite sole which will withstand up to 300 degrees C.

I had my first metalworking class yesterday. It was very encouraging. The instructor has a masters degree in metallurgy, and one in materials science. He is near to finishing his PhD in education as well. I did quite a bit of welding on the farm 20 years ago, and it came right back to me like riding a bike. We worked on oxy acetylene welding for about an hour, and if I must say it myself, I had some sexy looking welds. The class is full, with about 10 people in it. The most dangerous thing so far has been the other people in the class. They quite frequently shower me with bits of hot metal. :)

[VinnieJones]

I bought these boots on e-bay for cheap (final bid was $15.51 with $9 shipping).



They are Work One, with metatarsal protection and an Alpha 1, Biltrite sole which will withstand up to 300 degrees C.

I had my first metalworking class yesterday. It was very encouraging. The instructor has a masters degree in metallurgy, and one in materials science. He is near to finishing his PhD in education as well. I did quite a bit of welding on the farm 20 years ago, and it came right back to me like riding a bike. We worked on oxy acetylene welding for about an hour, and if I must say it myself, I had some sexy looking welds. The class is full, with about 10 people in it. The most dangerous thing so far has been the other people in the class. They quite frequently shower me with bits of hot metal. :)

Well, these definitely aren't as sexy as the bottom of the three you had linked earlier, but you really can't complain about the price.

[kandrathe]

Well, these definitely aren't as sexy as the bottom of the three you had linked earlier, but you really can't complain about the price.

:) It's like finding the BMW X5 of foundry boots for the price of a beat up Daewoo Nubira.

[VinnieJones]

Heh. you said Daewoo. That just reminds me of the line in Pineapple Express

"You just got killed by a Daewoo Lanos, B****" heh heh

[Munkay]

I'd love to hear an update when you find the time Kandrathe. I had taken a break when this first was posted, so please accept a very hearty, though belated, goodluck.

All the best,

Munk

[kandrathe]

I guess the easiest way for anyone interested to keep up with what I'm doing would be to look at my blog.