Ralph, I have seen this tool artist's wares listed on eBay off and on over the years. I just spotted a goat head hammer he had listed. The link below is for items he currently has listed on eBay. Maybe this will give you some new ideas of things to try. Just trying to tickle your creative thoughts. Les

Forgot the link!

http://www.ebay.com/sch/heinztools/m.html?item=201049757837&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2ecf7fd88d&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562

Hey Ralph
This is John Heinz. He is very shy.

From time to time you see some spectacular work coming from the Pacific Northwest.
You will hear the name Chris Laarman.
  Chris is definitely involved with the merry pranksters,
but the little man behind the curtain..... is John
    http://heinztools.com/index.html
  yours Scott

WOW, Scott. 

Much of that stuff is right down my alley. 
I can certainly appreciate the artistry and marvel at these creations.
Just looking at them is gratifying.  Thanks for sharing all of this. 
It does give me ideas, but much of it is surely beyond my skill level. 

Of course I'll look again - and again and maybe kindle some advanced creativity.
In the meantime, I'm not the maestro but the appreciator of this great Art.

Ralph

Hey Ralph

I am just curious...What go you interested in miniatures, and what keeps you doing doing it?

Yo Ralph
  I just heard interesting news last night.
Do you know this guy, Bill Roberson?

  http://www.craftsmanshipmuseum.com/Robertson.htm

He makes miniatures too, but unlike the rest of us who never had 3 nickels in a pile all at once,
this guy got around $20,000 for his draftsman kit and even more for the toolbox!!
 
This was enough to get my attention.
Times are fixin to change?? 
Actual respect in the marketplace for miniatures for the first time, like, ever????
        yours Scott

Hi, guys.

I don't really know what got me interested in building miniatures but have always found the strange and unusual captivating and yet somewhat  familiar and even kin.  I was that strange kid in town who hung around the carpentry and blacksmith's shops where they allowed me to emulate the masters as I created tiny horseshoes, furniture, etc.  And, of course, creating tiny tools became a trade mark that has remained with me and became my major interest after retirement from a conventional career.  I haven't created anything lately because I've been distracted by real scale life remodeling my wife's house.  I live here too, but thought that the house was good enough as it was, and now I've got things torn down and some back up and some I just can't figure.  Damn I hate the full scale world. 

Well Scott, some might be professional scale builders who do it for a living, and I can appreciate and maybe even envy that, but I am an amateur in the truest sense of the word.  I do it just for the Love of doing it.  In fact, the few times that I have built commissioned pieces, I have had no fun and did not enjoy the pressures of life as an artist for hire.  What makes it even less likely that I'll earn any money at this is that I am a serious collector too and have difficulty parting with my creations except those which were built as a gift with a special person in mind.  I suppose that enough $$ might change my attitude, but then I would have only $$.

Ralph

QuoteI suppose that enough $$ might change my attitude, but then I would have only $$.

That is the truth!

I appreciate the Amen, Papaw.

And by the way, Les, thanks for giving me some new ideas.  It does tickle my creative thoughts, but , oh my goodness, those creators are skilled beyond me.

Ralph

I posted the whole story about these wrenches in the  Wrench Forum under  "Wrench ID  Started by Papaw" and thought I'd cross reference it here.   Ralph

Art, you been busy!   First time I saw a twist handle monkey, really liked it.   What is the finish on the black one?    Got to ask, ever build a full size wrench?  Or maybe half size?

Hi, John.  Yeah, busy now and then.  Here I attempted to replicate a miniature 1/4 scale version of a wrench Papaw posted.  The black finish is a product called "Silver-Black".  It is an acid used by jewelers to create a dark patina on some gold or silver jewelry.  I have not yet had the pleasure to build much bigger than 1/4 scale.  Miniaturization adds a new dimension and multiplies the difficulty as margin of error gets smaller and tolerances tighter.  It's just that everywhere I go, I like to take a pocket full of miniature tools, and folks who know me kinda expect to see new ones each time, so it keeps me busy.  Maybe some day I will tool up and scale up some.   Ralph

Hey Ralph,

Glad to see that you're back out in the shop!  That's a great looking wrench.  Well done sir!

Jim C.

Thanks, Jim.  I'm still knee deep in the remodeling project but took a little break from that for a little play in my favorite hobby.  Now back to work and more play later.   Ralph

Hi Ralph,

I just read your comment about bringing a pocket full of wrenches to show the hungry
guys,  it brought back some great memories of when we used to go to Dick Cranes auctions in Hillsboro, New Hampshire, there was this older fellow, Fred Courser that
was a local, he would go to all Cranes auction looking for hammers, some of his
collection were shown in the hammer book. he always wore this levi jacket and as
soon as he would show up for the auction, a good size croud would gather around
him waiting for him to take his newest hammer out of his pocket. sometimes more
than one. 1 that I will never forget was the goatshead hammer.

bless his soul, he is no longer with us.

thanks for the reminder, Frank

I have always carried some small wrench or screwdriver in my watch pocket and some thing else in another. Always ready to show people the kind of things I collect.

NOW- I carry Ralph's little Sterling Silver Monkey Wrench in my watch pocket. I found a perfect carrier for it. Package of box cutter blades minus the blades.