George, Smitty's anvil says Valley Forge on it?

Hey Brian, I finished my shoeboard in '05 and the toughest part was not that i could do workable modifications but that i could demonstrate that i could move the metal into the corners , fit a proper hoof shape consistantly , follow the directions given for each modification as laid out in the guide. Its a demonstration of abilty that takes a lot of practice and a few failures to achieve but what i did come out with was a better understanding of blacksmithing technics which is what you have to have to build these shoes especialy from scratch. I got a lot of help from Dave Ferguson, Chris Sparks, Steve Sermershiem and a lot of other talented forgers and that got me through it and by the way it was the hardest part of the CF test at least to me,, good luck
Skip Messick

Hey Brian, are those your initials on the heels of your shoes?

Amy

Phil, Nice anvil magnet

NHFarrier wrote:
Wise guy!!

Hey did you see my intitials on my shoes. SSP Super Shoer Phil.

Yes, those are my initials... But also my logo. I use it on my tools, "regular customer" shoes and other stuff. I like having a logo because it gives an easily identifiable mental picture for people to identify you with. This logo is also on my work shirts and my truck.
http://s157.photobucket.com/albums/t59/wellshodhorses/truck%20side/th_S4020347.jpg

LOL, I wasn't being wise, I left that stuck on your anvil during the October clinic. I had to leave early and forgot all about it! Glad to see it's getting some use!

Brian, that's pretty neat, where did you have it made? Is it a punch?

Amy

It is a stamp. Made by master marking....
www.mastermarking.com
I sent them a copy of my logo, they reduced it and cut the stamp.It cost about $90.00 but most of that was setup charge. I can have another made any time for around $45.00. It was a good investment as far as I am concerned. :cool:

NHFarrier wrote:
That's your magnet? I will have to get you a new one. I thought you were being wise about how loud my anvil is.

Hey Skip,
I agree with you on your points of "fitup". All of the shoes I made for my board are made to match a pattern.(except that crazy heart bar) I have one hind and one front. Now don't get me wrong, I am not saying that I am a "master", but I have been fitting up horses professionaly on my own book for around four years now. Before that, starting in the mid eighties, I worked off and on with several farriers (admittedly both good and bad) and I dont feel like they all could have been wrong in their instruction. So I feel relatively confident in the way I "fitup". The problem I was eluding to is one that has alot of people frustrated right now (from what I can tell). Inconsistancy in the "standard" for each shoe. How square is a square toe? How is definition of a "rocker" percieved? (If you leave a line on the foot surface of the shoe, that is not acceptable.) Anyway, good points. I am not as fortunate as you to know so many well tenured and talented farriers, I have looked for help but have found that most guys that are any good are really busy. Meanwhile I guess I'll just keep pluggin' along and give the test a try when I have time. The worst that could happen is I could fail and I dont think any of my clients will dump me for that........

Phil A
I think this is what smitty was sayin' about the ballpien....
This is one of mine I bought and modified.
http://s157.photobucket.com/albums/t59/wellshodhorses/ballpien/

Brian Purrington wrote:
I keep checking Snopes and other urban myths sites, expecting to see a page added concerning AFA Certification. Sooner or later, we'll be up there, right alongside Bill Gates sharing his fortune, Demi Moore being ravaged by a dolphin, and adding your cell number to the "do not call" list.

The book is available from the AFA, and it can be downloaded from the home page of the AFA site. The square toe shoe is described and shown. The leading edge is to be straight. The corners are not to be excessively rounded--but if the leading edge is straight and it actually fits the pattern, the issue of the corners becomes a given. There is nothing mentioned concerning a line on the foot surface of the shoe for the rockered toe shoe.

Yes. Some of these things have been problematic in the past, but the Certification Committee has worked hard to fix these problems.

Daddy had a Ford truck that was a lemon. He would never buy another one, no matter how good they were or how successful his friends were with their Ford purchases and no matter how much trouble he had with his Chevys. For years, I thought that all Fords were bad, 'cause Daddy had trouble with one when I was six years old.

danverschild wrote: The difference is that its not six year olds who are having trouble with the shoe display. And their comments are based on their own experience, not necessarily that of others.

Seems to me that if we clean the language up, and provide examples of minimum levels of acceptible work, we solve the problem.

Rick

danverschild wrote:
That is funny, my dad is the same way. I have owned chevy for my whole life, but really like that F350 Deisal with leather interior. Maybe I will change when I get my next truck.