Author: John Switzer

I first started blacksmithing seriously in 1984 and started a part time blacksmithing business in 1990. At that time I worked full time as a Firefighter for the City of Aurora. In 2014 I retired from that carrier and picked up may hammer full time. Today Black Bear Forge specializes in tools and hardware for traditional wood workers. I am also starting a journey into making educational videos for other blacksmiths on YouTube.

by on

Several years ago I was accepting orders for a number of standard items which were then made and shipped. This quickly became an overwhelming amount of work often time leading to many months of lead time to get the order out and little time for me to explore my own interests as a blacksmith. A wait list seemed like a good idea. Working at a comfortable and only dealing with a few customer requests at a time. Unfortunately, that proved difficult as well. It would often times takes weeks of back and forth communications to finally be able to quote a job which the customer then chose not to follow through on. The wait list grew quickly with even more people hoping to place an order all the while my time available to work on orders was becoming less and less. So the wait list was put on hold and eventually it went away, but there are still people contacting me in hopes that they are still on that list. The simple answer is no, the list no longer exists and I am no longer taking orders. Anything I have for sale will be listed in the Etsy shop. So this is a what I feel like making when I feel like making it system. If you need it right away, you will need to look elsewhere. But if you’re willing to wait and check back often, there will be an ever changing variety of goods in very limited quantities. http://www.blackbearforge.etsy.com

Keep in mind that this is my retirement activity that helps pay the bills. Not something I want to be obligated to a 40 – 60 hour work week.

For now my main shop activity is producing YouTube videos about blacksmith for anyone interested in learning about the art and craft of blacksmithing. Videos may be seen at https://www.youtube.com/c/BlackBearForge

by on

Toward the end of last year I was out of the shop due to an injury.  During that time orders continued to pour in.  As a result I found myself topping 100 pending orders at one point.  While that sounds great, I find that now 6 months after getting back to work full time I still have nearly 70 orders pending.  It has seemed like and endless treadmill trying to get caught up.  So I have decided to stop taking any new paid orders for the time being.  Instead I have set up a  wait list so that customers can secure their place in the queue without having to commit to an order with lead times that could be several month (or longer) out.  Once at the top of the list we can discuss the specifics of the order and make arrangements for payment.  But there is no obligation until the order is finalized.

Currently on the top of the list of paid orders are several adzes.  nearly 30 in all by the time I reach the end of the current list. adzes

by on

I have finally found some time to sit down and start working on a new website for Black Bear Forge.  Switching over to word press is a whole new learning experience.  But I hope that it will be a cleaner easier to use website for everyone.

by on

I know it has been years since I have used my blog page here at WordPress.  But This seems like the best place to get my thoughts down concerning some upcoming changes to Black Bear Forge and the way I accept and process orders.

For years I have had a website with a simple shopping cart system that allowed people to order and pay upfront for a variety of items.  Those orders would then go into the queue and hopefully be completed and shipped in a timely manner.  While this works and allows the customer to secure their place in the queue, it has become a very burdensome way of doing business.  It was great when I had 10 – 20 orders in the queue and lead times of about 4 weeks.  But as more and more people started buying my products the list grew faster than I could keep up.  At one point I had nearly 100 prepaid orders pending in the queue.  Thats a lot of people with lots of expectations on receiving their order in a timely manner.  When you factor in the little things that life brings your way to keep you out of the shop, things like injuries, bad weather, family vacations and so on. the wait times can not only be long, but also extremely difficult to predict accurately.  Currently working a 60 plus hour work week, I anticipate lead times of about 16 weeks.

So the time has come to put the brakes on an regain control and hopefully a more sane approach to doing business and taking orders.  In the next month or so i will start the process of removing the ordering option form the items listed on my web site.  This is also to prepare for a completely new and revised web site.  Once all of the options for ordering and prepaying for items is gone from the web site I will concentrate on the current backlog of orders.  With no new orders being accepted I hope the backlog will start to clear out in a more timely manner.

Once things are back under control I plan to use a slightly different approach to making items for sale.  Instead of accepting an endless number of paid in full orders I will make items for sale so that if you pay for the listed item it is available and ready to ship.  To facilitate that system I am looking at simply using my Etsy shop at: http://www.blackbearforge.etsy.com  This will make my life and the listing of things for sale much simpler since Etsy is designed just for this purpose.

But I know that some people will miss out on limited production runs or one of a kind items unless they just happen to look at the shop at the right time.  So with that in mind I will also be starting an unpaid waiting list.  I will add names to the list with no deposit.  The list is not an obligation to buy nor does it guarantee I will make a given item when I get to your name on the list (so if you get on the list hoping for a sword or a driveway gate, you’re still going to be out of luck).  As the time allows between stocking the Etsy shop, building stock for shows and trying to live a life outside the shop, I will slowly take a few names on the list.  At that time we will discuss your project quote a price and accept a deposit with full payment due on completion.

I hope this all makes some sort of sense.  I also hope that it allows me the freedom both in the shop to make what I am inspired and excited about making at any given time.  But also the freedom to live life without feeling like I cannot enjoy a day off because the list keeps getting longer an longer by the day.  After all we have been building our home for 10 years and I haven’t done a full weeks work in the last two years due to the overwhelming amount of work in the shop.

Thank you for everyone who has been supporting Black Bear Forge.  I won’t be going anywhere, just destressing the process a bit.

by on

I started working for a private ambulance company back in 1980.  Then was hired by the Aurora Fire Department in 1987.  I have progressed through the ranks from probationary firefighter to paramedic and for the last 14 years have served as a suppression lieutenant on an engine company.  Most my time as an officer has been at station 10.  I have had the honor of working with a great crew at 10s.  However after 34 years in emergency service, It is time to retire. from firefighting and emergency medicine.  It is with great excitement that I pick up my hammer to begin a new career as a full-time blacksmith.  I have been running the shop part-time for 20 years or more and the time feels right to make it a full-time job.  So thank you to all of those I have served with as a fire fighter and thank you to all of my customers past and present who have made this transition possible.  Wednesday October 8th will be the start of a new adventure.  Please come visit at http://www.blackbearforge.com

by on

I have received a very nice bit of recognition recently.  I was asked to demonstrate axe forging at this years Rocky Mountain Blacksmithing Conference in Carbondale Colorado.

http://www.rockymountainsmiths.org/conference/conference.html

While this is a great honor and I am really looking forward to it.  I also am a bit nervous.  One of my blacksmithing idols, Peter Ross, will also be demonstrating this year.  I know Peter has made quite a few more axes over the years than I have.  In any case it promises to be a great conference.  We will also have Mindy Gardner and James Makely to fill out the demonstrators.  If you’re a blacksmith or simply interested please come and join us.

by on

Boy, have I been bad about writing this blog.  I don’t think any of the great bloggers have any competition from me.

Anyway,  Today I finished up a few planing stops or bench stops, I’ve also seen them called bench hooks.  These are a small fishtail shaped iron hook that had teeth filed into it.  Typically these are set into a wooden square 2″ – 3″ that is mortised through the bench top.  This allows the iron hook to move up or down to adjust to the board thickness.  These are a real improvement to most hand tool workbenches.

Three planing stops ready to be put to work.
Three planing stops ready to be put to work.

When you cut the hole in the wooden part of the stop, just make sure it is a good fit so you don’t cause a split like i did.

Here is the bench stop inserted into the wooden planing stop.
Here is the bench stop inserted into the wooden planing stop.

In use be sure to keep the iron stop well below the path of your plane iron.  This will dull your cutter badly if you’re not careful

The planing stop in use
The planing stop in use