Inventory Time

At year end, when the hustle and bustle of the holidays is past, it is time to focus on preparing for tax season and also plan the work schedule for the coming year.

Optimistically, Betty will put all the income/expense records in order and I will concentrate on the inventory. I once dreaded this chore even when there was much less accumulation to account. Now I find some enjoyment and satisfaction in the process and it has become much easier.

From my perspective the least useful goal of the inventory is to satisfy the accountant who will then satisfy the IRS.

One of the most helpful activities is looking at each thing and making a status decision. “Is this useful and should be kept?” “Should this be sold, gifted, converted to something else, etc?” Clearing away less useful items opens more work space and the less the clutter the easier it is to find the things I really need.

In most cases it has been a year since I last really took specific notice of each item. In most cases there is no change in the status. Occasionally there is an “ah-ha” moment where I have a new insight about how to do something or use something in a new way.

In the early years there were a lot of discovery moments, “Oh, that’s where I left it!” Thankfully, most of that experience is a thing of the past.

The biggest change in the inventory this year will be in equipment. I replaced a MIG welder, bought a used compressor, built a hydraulic forging press and an electric reversing bar twister, and two heavier spare tire power hammers and a number of dies. I’m selling my 50 pound Little Giant. The metal and consumable supply stock has remained rather stable in recent years.

This is also the time to reflect on what has been accomplished in the past year and plan what I want to do this new year and even further into the future.

2011 will necessarily a lot different from 2010. I will not have the assistance of a very capable certified welder friend whose youth and strength I came to rely heavily on for several years. He has moved California and, optimistically, better job opportunities. I’m going to adjust the scale of my work to match my own physical capabilities. I’ll have to improve my TIG skills too.

http://www.persimmonforge.com/

How Persimmon Forge Got It's Name

As long as I can remember I have loved what we used to call “natural history.” And long ago, in my early high school days I was quite interested in native trees and helped my grandfather, Gus, tend his little tree farm. I thought I knew just about everything about our trees and I did know more about trees and nature in general than a lot of other people. I spent most of my time outdoors wandering, poking and observing.

Betty moved to our neighborhood in late grade school years and we grew up and played sports with a group of kids in “the field” which was the wild remnant of a small farmstead adjoining the MKT tracks. There were a number of outbuildings, fenced areas where livestock once lived, a small creek and what was left of an orchard. It was an wonderful place and there was enough level pasture for a good baseball and football and shinny field. Several trees were ideal for climbing and we devolved our talent for throwing pears with a long pointed stick. The passing trains made great targets.

Betty’s older brother, Bob, was a ham radio operator and somewhat of an electronic genius. I was fascinated by his gadgets and knowledge and spent a lot of time watching him work and make things, and I got to know the parents, Red and Virginia.

Several years later Betty and I began dating and sometimes we would drive out in the country to visit some of her relatives. Red’s parents lived on a small farm south of Flat Creek up on a bluff overlooking the covered bridge and the red brick buildings of the water intake plant. Red had worked there since he got out of school.

Grandmother and Grandfather Heuerman were elderly and still retained a lot of their German heritage. Louis still did a little plowing with a team of horses. There was an old coal mine on the property and on the edge of he bluff there was sandstone with wave patterns on the face testifying to it’s long ago sea floor residence. It was a fun place to wander in the fall.

On a rise up above the home was a small grove of trees with fruit. The leaves were all down. “These are persimmons”, Betty said, and she knew all about eating them at the right time when they were sweet and avoiding the unripe ones which are astringent and quite inedible. I was impressed with all she knew about this interesting new, for me, nature thing.

As time passed I learned a lot more about persimmons and continue to be fascinated with their biology and their folklore and enjoy eating the fruit every fall and enjoying its beauty. Likewise the bond with Betty grew and we were later married and raised a family and much later in retirement I started my forging business and chose the persimmon fruit as the logo because it is associated with so many fond memories.

For one who has much of an imagination, they may have been reminded of the Garden of Eden story here. Perhaps a fellow should be wary of eating a fruit offered by a girl but for me things worked out pretty well.

This image was taken by my older son, Keith, a few years ago. The studio is visible beyond the persimmons.

http://www.persimmonforge.com/

Redundancy

Redundancy is one of the most powerful ways I have found to insure efficiency. It is part of my overall "fail safe" plan. In the beginning I had one angle grinder and was frequently stopping to change from a grinding blade to a cutting blade or a flap disc. As business picked up I added one after another so that now I have one for each type of abrasive disc I commonly use. The same thing happened with the industrial gases. I found I needed a backup oxygen tank and another acetylene tank and so on because I couldn’t afford to run out of something critical when the welding supply shop was closed or I was being pushed for time.

As my projects got bigger and deadlines became more important I took a hard look to define the “critical nodes” in the studio. Critical node as defined by the Department of Defense is “An element, position, or communications entity whose disruption or destruction immediately degrades the ability of a force to command, control, or effectively conduct combat operations.”

Well, I’m not doing combat here but I do expect to have command and control of my operations. I studied the equipment and determined which things I was most dependent upon. I felt I first needed backup capability for the forge, power hammer, bandsaw, MIG welder, torch and drill press. Establishing backups for those tools and others has made the studio, so far, almost immune to work delays due to equipment failure.

I still worry about the solitary tumbler, portable generator and hydraulic forging press but, realistically, financial limitations eventually draw the line.

http://www.persimmonforge.com/

A name and a Home

I believe profitability requires turning out good work as quickly as possible. Quickly doesn’t necessarily mean working lickety-split rather it requires not wasting time and motion.

During the early working years I progressively organized the studio into a stable arrangement in which I could work efficiently. I really dislike searching for something I need so is is satisfying to know exactly where to locate any particular item. To aid that process I decided to give frequently used tools unique names and “homes.”

I try to give each frequently used tool a specific name and a permanent home. The home is a resting place as close as possible to where the tool is used most often. That way I always know where the angled peen two pound hammer or the straight bow pliers are to be found.

My forging hammers all have dedicated resting places. The straight and angled bow pliers always return to their hangers. The pickup tongs go on the left end of the rack, and so forth.

I have made a lot of dies to use with the power hammers and hydraulic forging press. I stamped each with an alphanumeric identification to distinguish them individually and they hang on racks with their number by their hook or they are boxed with other components needed for a specific product. The cabinet drawers and the hardware carousel bins all have labels announcing their contents.

This labeling takes some time but I believe it pays off eventually in avoiding frustration and saving time and fuel.

http://www.persimmonforge.com/

The Store Window Gallery

A year or so ago friends made window space available to me at 311 Broadway in nearby Cottonwood Falls, Kansas. I displayed a variety of small ironwork pieces and was really surpassed at the number of responses from prospective customers both in the desire to purchase a displayed item and to commission other custom work.

While Cottonwood Falls is a small rural town in Chase County it has an interesting history and several popular tourist attractions which draws a steady stream of visitors from all across the US and abroad. You can check it out at this and other web sites:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cottonwood_Falls,_Kansas

The gallery is over 20 miles from my studio so I can’t actually be there but it offers people a chance to see some of my work and signs in the window advise them how to contact me by phone or Email and how to find the website.

The header image of the entry was taken by Cheryl Unruh and posted on her website:
http://www.flyoverpeople.net/news/2010/05/16/persimmon-store/

While on that subject I’ll put in a plug for her new book. Check:
http://www.southwindartgallery.com/estore/pid-646-Flyover_People_Book_by_Cheryl_Unruh.html

It is always a struggle for artists in midwest small towns to get marketing exposure. I was lucky to be given the window space.

Looking ahead, I’m working on some articles about using the hydraulic forging press. I built one this summer when it was too hot to get much forging done. It is proving to be more useful than I imagined. I’m still learning more about it’s applications every day so when I feel I have enough experience you’ll hear about it.

Hurry Up Jobs

My operational intent is to work on commission projects on a first-come-first-served basis. In practice it is hard for outsiders to see this working.

Usually several projects are in varying states of progress simultaneously and each will take a different length of time to complete. I move from one to the other in what I judge to be the most efficient manner, but, interruptions do occur.

Breakdown of some essential piece of equipment is sometimes a problem but can largely be mitigated with a good redundancy plan. I’ll write about that in a later post.

I am most likely to take on interrupting work if the request is based on a safety issue. For instance, twice this year I have had to do handrail projects because the homeowner was concerned about a fall risk.

In the fall I have a period in which my schedule is frequently interrupted by a chimney sweep friend. He is an expert on fireplace safety and when his customers start calling for inspections and cleaning he starts showing up with urgent requests for firebacks and smoke guards and other items needed for fire safety. So again this seems like a legitimate excuse to accommodate his schedule so I don’t sense any conscience conflict.

However, I feel like I’m stepping out onto the slippery slope when people, usually friends, call and request something for a birthday, anniversary, of holiday gift. So far, I’ve always caved into those request too. Fortunately, these items are ordinarily small things and sometimes I have some completed items from which they can choose.

Finally, here comes the Christmas season. The Arts Council features an “Art Gifts” display, there is a “Holiday Gift Shop” run by a consortium of regional artists and there is an “Artists Open House” weekend gallery shortly before Christmas. All these require production of an inventory of items appropriate to the gallery.

After the opening of the new year there is a three or four month period of calm when I can get a lot of client work completed. I’m really looking forward to that now.

http://www.persimmonforge.com/

Cracked Fingers

Maybe I’m just abnormally clumsy or inattentive but I think I manage to acquire at least one minor wound a day a welding splatter burn, a burr cut, a bruised thigh just at anvil horn height, whatever. Thankfully I’ve never gotten seriously injured but the injury squeamish person might argue that’s just a definition of terms issue.

Those are random and quickly resolving unpleasant nuisances but cracked fingers are an enduring aggravation. I was going to take a picture of one of the cracks but I found a nice illustration on a better looking finger at this URL.

http://www.planetfear.com/blog.php?id=77

It is even more disturbing that I can’t seem to figure out exactly why this happens.

The cracking season begins around Halloween and lasts until just about income tax filing time - half of he year. The splits develop on the tip of some fingers at the tip of the fingernail on the side nearest my little fingers and are more prominent on right, dominant, hand.

Maybe this is a genetic thing with environmental overtones. One of my sons, a working carpenter, shares the pain of the finger splits so we can compare and share our experiences.

So, what can be done about this malady? I have some suggestions based on my experiments. First, I think keeping the nails trimmed short and well manicured can help. Second, Using skin softening products on the calloused areas on a regular basis, daily or more often. I carry a Chap Stick tube in my pocket. I keep a couple of jars of Udder Balm in the studio and a plastic tube of Gold Bond Ultimate Healing lotion in the pickup and at my computer work station. I believe all these products, and probably many which I haven’t tried, help heal or prevent the painful cracks, but I haven’t found a real magic bullet so I’ll be dealing with this until the trees leaf out next spring. Worse yet, Chapped Lip Season is coming soon too and will run almost as long.

http://www.persimmonforge.com/