I didn't know it at first, but it didn't take long to realize that I was doing metalwork and making jewelry so that I could buy tools. Making jewelry is great because you don't have to frame it, it doesn't take up much space, anything you can do big - you can do small. What they didn't tell me was that I would need a whole room just to put the tools in.
I usually spend a lot of time researching and pricing tools that I think I want and wait a little bit to make sure that I really do want them if they cost a lot. I also like to go to Drew's used tools and wander up and down the aisles and stumble on some great find. I have bought tools there that I didn't know what they did, but they looked cool.
I spent last Saturday at a blacksmith's shop. He had tools and metal from the floor to the ceiling. He had to move some stuff to create a path so I could walk in. Then he started showing and demo-ing his tools! He had these 3 swage and dapping blocks, one of them weighed about 275 pounds, yea, I wanted that! Most of his tools he acquired from retiring blacksmiths, garage sales, things he found on the side of the road, and tools he had built himself-an advantage to being a blacksmith!
One of the coolest tools he had that I wanted, was a treadle hammer that he had built himself.(This isn't the actual hammer because I forgot to take pictures while I was there.
It delivered a huge amount of force for stamping and a controlled almost delicate amount of force for shaping metal. (Next cool tool was the forge he built using a hairdryer part from the thrift store.)
What would I do with a treadle hammer? I'd put it in my shop and it would look really cool, then after awhile I might start smashing things with it. Maybe food.
Check out what tools other Etsymetal artists covet:
Beth Cyr - http://bcyrjewelry.blogspot.com
2Roses - http://jewelrytutorial.blogspot.com
Elizabeth Scott - http://esdesignsjewelry.com/blog
Tosca Teran - http://nanopod.wordpress.com
AdobeSol - http://www.AdobeSol.com/blog
Nodeform - http://nodeform.blogspot.com/
wildflowerdesigns - http://wildflowerdesigns.blogspot.com
Erin Austin- http://metalmusing.blogspot.com
Gyaaaa we are all such tool junkies! I would like to do some balcksmithing. Every time our farrier comes to put shoes on the horse I always eye his tools...
ReplyDeletehaha! that is awesome. It is funny because I definitely knew one of the reasons I decided to be a metalsmith was because I loved tools. and it just gives me an excuse to buy more and have it be a write-off! treadle hammers are amazing to look at, though I've never actually used one either!
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