Blacksmithing can pay for the tools you need

This has been a good effort to provide guidance, start to finish on a small hobby business that could eventually become something bigger. Thanks for taking the time & teaching us.

Hi John Talking about Tax down here in Australia I do blacksmithing as a hobby , So I don't pay any tax until I earn over $22000 dollars a year . And most of my bar stock round or square I get from scrap bins . And 2 of my Son's work in the steel industry so I really never buy anything . 🤑👍⚒🤠.

I must really like your videos. I just sat through over 4 minutes of ads so you get higher YouTube pay than when I Skip Ads! 😂

Back in 1998 my local Harbor Freight had 4-1/2 inch angle grinders for $9.95. I bought two because I expected them to have a short lifespan. The one I opened has seen rigorous use since then, and it's still going strong. In fact, not only have I not needed to bring the second into service, but I've also yet to require the use the spare brushes that were included.

Pricing is something I struggle with. Just forged a fairly elaborate lily sculpture and was told by everyone who saw it that my proposed price was way too low, so it's now for sale at an antique mall for 2 1/2 times what I was initially going to offer it for. I do sell a lot of my product at this antique mall, so there's another possible sales venue for some folks.

This series got me back into the hobby i started as a teen but quit on. My tools/equipment is 100% Harbor Freight and Vevor. Today i made my first successful leaf keychain after breaking my first attempt (at the spot where the leaf transitions to the stem). It only took me like 50 heats lol, the next step is to make a 49 heat leaf! (Some minor exageration, but it sure felt like it at the time)

I like using discs and disk axels in farm county, often times farmers will give them to you to get them out of their bone yard

I have a harbor freight angle grind that I hace been using pretty consistently for about 10 years. For a hobbyist, they will suffice for a very long time.

John I’ve found people at markets and things like that will buy things $5-$10 but not the dearer items I’m in Tasmania Australia.

The networking with other craftsmen is valuable. You can find out about the good shows & the dogs. In addition to the booth fee, some shows take a % of sales. In the late 70s - early 80's when I was doing shows we were traveling in either a van or a pickup camper selling wooden toys. After a couple of years we had found enough good /profitable shows to eliminate the low money ones from our list. We were doing this to make a living. It was fun but sometimes a skinny living. Sales were running from $500 to to $2000 per day of the shows. @ $500 we were better off wholesaling. Consignment selling is a bad idea, stay away from it. If you decide to consign, have a legal contract that spells out everything including ownership of your items, theft, damage, payment terms, etc. Art galleries typically take 50 to 60% of the selling price. If you add that to your normal pricing, sales will be very low.

For starting out, getting two of the cheap HF angle grinders has served me very well. With the right coupons, you can get both and an assortment of hard and cutoff wheels and a couple grits of flap discs for probably less than $50 total. Having two allows me to set them up with discs I’m switching between or mount one to the bench with a bracket I cobbled up and keep the other mobile; it really opens up a lot of options. And, when one finally dies (both of mine are still going strong) I’ll still be able to finish the job before going out to get a replacement.

Taking that hobby to the small business level! Thanks for the great video John!

This series is such a wealth of information! It converts over to most hand-crafts. I followed a similar path when I started making jewelry and now do it full time. You covered everything! From initial costs, overhead, sales channels etc. A really comprehensive series of videos so thank you for putting this out there. The only thing not really here is marketing. Running ads is a whole topic on its own. If you are looking to start doing this for a living rather than a hobby that pays for itself, you have to re-calculate everything. Now you have to include a livable wage into the cost which a lot of people skip over and eventually burn out.

Thanks John and was nice to meet you in Amana. I found that buying hot rolled steel vice cold rolled steel is another price saver. Both look the same in the end. Joe (from Wisconsin) of JD Forge, “…consider everything hot in the shop…”

My local post office has free padded envelopes and boxes for shipping that’s what I use for my customers

Thanks for sharing with us John, very interesting and sure glad you covered your cost and made some wages too. Always enjoy your videos . Stay safe and keep up the fun. Fred.

John, I have a dozen Harbor Freight angle grinders that I bought for $9.99 to $20 always 'on sale' as they frequently are. I have a different disc on each one. I have one "brand named" grinder ($120) that has broken once (an easy fix). I have never had a failure (other than worn brushes) in any of them. I am not a "production" smith, but I am in the shop pretty much every day.

Thank you for the informative videos. I’m a new father and recently lost my employment due to our sitter arrangements not working out. Hoping to fire up the forge and make a little money to help the wife with some bills. Not expecting to make a fortune but every little bit helps.

Thank you for all the trouble, videos are great. Blessings Dave

I really like the bare bones explanation on this . Your a great teacher sir