[Ponte Alto] Gauging local metalworking interest

[jselmer]

Greetings from Lord Edric of Scardeburg!

I have been inactive with the group for too long, but it was good to see a 
number of you at the tourny yesterday.  A few years ago I built a shop in the 
lands of Black Diamond, with equipment primarily for blacksmithing, and 
armouring, but also for woodworking and other loud/messy projects.  When I 
moved to an apartment in the fair lands of Ponte Alto, there was no room for 
the shop equipment.  For some time it has been mostly neglected and rusting.  
However, I am now finalizing plans to move to a 3 acre farm in Fairfax and set 
up shop locally.  There is lots of work and planting to do this spring, but 
the shop should be running, even if not pretty, this summer.  For purposes of 
planning, I would like to know what kind of interest there is in metalworking.
 I am interested in having loud/outdoor A&S gatherings for people to work on 
armour, camp and cooking equipment, and other things.  One of the other 
projects we already have in mind is charcoal making.  If there is a lot of 
positive response, I'll keep that in mind when laying out working areas.  Send 
me a quick note if this is the sort of thing you're interested in and what 
level you think you'd participate.  Are you just interested in occasionally 
riveting new straps to your armour or is this the sort of thing you want to 
put a lot of time into.

I have been a hobby blacksmith for 7-8 years.  I gave blacksmithing demos at 
Colvin Run Mill for a few years, and worked for a summer at an architectural 
blacksmith shop making high-end gates, railings, and chandeliers.  My website 
is currently being updated but can be found here:  
http://filebox.vt.edu/users/jselmer/  Those on various online forums, 
including the armour archive, may recognise me as Jacob.


In service,
Edric of Scardeburg
Armourer and Blacksmith

AKA
Jacob Selmer
Mechanical Engineer