Blacksmithing Basics 1 (TUE AFTN)

If you had a hammer, would you use it to drive a nail? Or would you rather use it to forge a nail from red hot iron? This course is designed to ignite your passion for blacksmithing and introduce you to the seemingly endless ways of expressing yourself by shaping iron with fire and hammer. You'll gain basic knowledge of iron and its characteristics, an understanding of the dynamics of forging, and the ability to safely shape iron with heat and a hammer.

By the end of class, you'll have covered the basic forging processes, including drawing and tapering, splitting, cutting, drifting, punching, twisting, upsetting. You'll develop those skills through projects such as: hooks, utensils, bottle openers, trivets, and forging tools.  |  $385 ($330 tuition + $55 materials)

Instructor: Brad Buxton began his blacksmith/metalwork journey in 2009, taking classes through the Guild of Metalsmiths, North House Folk School and with nationally recognized blacksmiths. He works out of his shop, Acme Project Shop, making metal sculpture, bottle openers, campfire cooking tools and other utilitarian pieces. He teaches copper chasing/repousse blacksmith classes, to adults and high school students. His philosophy for teaching blacksmith classes is to focus on five basic processes: drawing and tapering, slitting and punching, bending, twisting, and upsetting.