Sonotube Containers

In 2007 I decided to try showing some work at a couple of summer art/craft shows.  One of the issues was making a display system and also there was the problem of transporting the heavy pieces without getting them banged up.

This idea isn’t original with me.  I adapted my system from some of the blacksmith meeting gallery displays I had seen.  I purchased 16” sonotube cylinders at a local hardware store and cut them into 2’ sections.  I got some 2” thick blueboard and cut out circles which would fit inside.  The bottom one was glued in place.  I learned a bit about proper adhesives for the job after trying one which dissolved the plastic.

The top circles were about 20” diameter and cut from hardiboard.  One of the blueboard circles was centered and glued to the hardiboard to help it fit securely in place.  All exterior surfaces were painted white.

The containers were sturdy and I thought the concrete tops might be good insurance against a sudden summer shower.  For transporting, I put the cylinder inside a heavy-duty contractors trash bag, put the ironwork inside the cylinder, added protective packing material, then pulled up the bag and tied it so there was complete weather protection.  The lids were all placed in a couple of other trash bags.

When we set up at a show it was relatively easy to move each cylinder on a hand cart, untie, unpack the ironwork, put the bag and packing back inside the cylinder where it was out of sight, put on a lid and arrange the ironwork on the display pedestal.

I’d say it all worked pretty well.  I’ve thought about using pieces of sonotube with blueboard ends as shipping containers but haven’t actually tired it.

I don’t do shows anymore so the containers just serve to store finished items and keep them protected. I enjoyed the show experiences except for the effort involved in getting there and back and the setup and take down.  It seems like an activity suited for the young or for crafts that don’t involve a medium as heavy as iron.

http://www.persimmonforge.com/

More About Hammer Care

While thinking about hammers some thoughts came back to me from over 30 years ago when I first read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values. It is one of the few books I have read more than once. It explores the notion of quality from the perspectives of romanticism and rationality. It seems to conclude that striving to combine the views may result in the greatest satisfaction. I suppose it appealed to me because I regard some concepts such as art/craft metaphorically as poles of a bar magnet. The poles can be stretched very far apart yet the field is never broken. Art isn’t worth much unless crafted well and craft is worth much is not artful.

So part of any project is forming the creative vision of the tactical goal and part is planning the strategic approach. I was thinking about an extension of the “Choosing a Hammer” ideas and the maintenance issues crept in.

It didn’t take long for me to learn to treat my forging hammers with special care and not use them for demolition, chipping slag, driving and stamping which are better accomplished with hammers whose face polish isn’t as critical. Appropriate segregation of use for each hammer is a starting point for maintenance.

Keeping the head solidly connected to the handle hasn’t been any problem for me since I switched to the Gorilla super glue bonding technique.

With use the handles of my forging hammers get worn slick and hard to grip so I lightly sand them to increase the friction. I like the flexible pads about 1/4” thick and 4.5” x 5.5”. Some handles have been spray painted for identification and that seems to do about the same thing as sanding.

The faces of the frequently used hammers get dressed about monthly. Sometimes I have to use a zirconia flap wheel or sanding belt but usually only the silicon carbide wheel and hard felt wheel with chromium oxide buffing compound will do the job.

With the tools in good shape I can turn my imagination loose to do some creating.

http://www.persimmonforge.com/