ArtMetal

I've started to fulfill my Journeyman's experience. OK, I know that there aren't apprentices and journeyman anymore (more the shame), but I wanted to do it anyway. So I've been slowly sending out e-mails to folks and offering my services for short term work. I'm hoping to work at several different shops in the next couple of years. After a bit of fishing, I finally got a bite and have just finished my first week as a journeyman at Chris Gavin's shop. It was quite the eye opener. As I do most of my work by eye, I've grown use to being very casual about measurements and fitting. Not so at Mr. Gavin's, everything must be spot on. I was feeling a bit of stress trying to be that precise, but managed to get through the week with only a couple of correctable mistakes. This is going to be a good learning experience for me. Along with the forging area, he has a well equipped machine shop. Three years ago, I took a machine shop class, but never got to use it. Now I'm getting a chance to develop a small level of skill in that area.

Here's the e-mail I've been sending out:

Good Day Sir

Please allow me to introduce myself and my ambitions: The name is Gerald Boggs and I'm a aspiring blacksmith, full time for about seven years -three of which have been running my own shop. Life has been good and I've done reasonably well. However, working on my own has its drawbacks in terms of blacksmith development. My thirst to learn and advance my skills is great. Having put my affairs in order, I've reached a stage in my life where I would like to leave my shop and try my hand as a Journeyman smith in the true sense of the term.

I am looking for short-term employment in busy shops around the country -as a way of fulfilling the journeyman experience.

My preferred area of work is at the forge and anvil, but I know my way around a mig-welder and angle grinder. Rather than list the things.I am skilled at, I feel it best simply to send interested parties a few photos of past commissions and a link to my current web site.

What am I looking to get from this? I look to expand my skill base in the broadest sense of the term. Greater knowledge and experience in design, layout, construction and installation of ironwork. While I've done well enough at ironwork to make a living at it, I'm aware of my shortcomings and see no reason to try to re-invent the wheel, when there are so many others that have gone before me.