Blacksmithing Introduction Workshop Pictures

What to expect from the Blacksmithing Introduction Workshop

Mary, Scott and Scott joined us for the Blacksmithing Introduction workshop, where the day consisted of:

• 09:00 - 09.30 AM: Introduction, Safety Talk, Blacksmithing tools
• 09:30 - 12:00 PM: Demonstration and forging of bottle opener
• 12:00 -  1: 00 PM: Lunch break
•  1: 00 -   2:30 PM: Forging free time: Making another bottle opener or other small project
• 2:30 -  3:00 PM: Tidy-up and discussion time; recap, questions

Each student is provided with a leather apron, eye/ear/hand protection after the safety briefing. The safety briefing covers the tools and processes for the day with points like hot steel looks like cold steel (assume all steel lying on the ground is hot), how to safely get steel out of the forge and quickly move to the anvil.

The first project of the day is forging a bottle opener. The instructor goes through each step and answers any questions, then each student completes this step before the instructor covers the next step.

After completing the first bottle opener - it is too early to test it yet - the students have a few hours to work on other projects. The steel pieces being worked are small so the work is not too hard, no one is tired yet and all three kept forging all day.

The students can make more bottle openers, stamping them with letters or patterns, twisting the end or coming up with their own design. Or make another smaller project like a wall coat hook or a leaf key ring. There is various sizes of steel available and the students are free to create what they feel like forging.

At the end of the day we shut the forges down at 2:30 PM and tidy up, before the group sit down and can finally test those bottle openers on a beer or soda! This is a good time to talk about the day and answer any questions on equipment, process or other thingst that have come up during the day.