So, you've gotten yourself a forge, an anvil, some kind of vise, and a big ol'hammer. Now what? You still need some tools.
Fortunately, you have what you need to make them.
We'll be making tongs of several sorts (but not the rivets, we'll do that the easier way), we may make a medium-sized hammer (maybe convert a ballpein to a crosspein), some punches and chisels, a bending 'U' with the notches for diagonal bending, a box-joint plier, a bottom-tool blank/anvil block, a bick-iron, at least one kind of cutting hardy, a spring fuller... many of the tools you are used to finding on (or somewhere near) the bench at PHF.
Exact content of the class is somewhat up to the class members. The focus will be on the mental tools (techniques and approaches to answering your tool needs) more than actually making every physical tool you need.
Some of the tools will require the class to get together and do some gang-hammering Striker-Team-style.
Gift Certificates for Making Blacksmith Tools are available.
12 meetings at least, 3 hours each dates×
Instructor: Carl West
Fee: $1200 per student
Maximum 4 students, one per forge
Please wear proper clothing for visiting or working in the forge:
closed toe shoes (preferably leather, preferably high-topped. Sneakers are sufficient, sandals, crocs, pumps, mules... are not), natural fiber clothing, long pants that cover the tops of the shoes.
Click here for more safety information.
This class is either: If you're interested in taking Making Blacksmith Tools and it's not on the calendar, please tell us using our Notification-List Page.
Dates and Times:
If none of the dates below work for you (or are already full), we suggest you
Add yourself to the Notification List for this class.
(The notification list gets emailed soon after classes are put on the schedule.)
- not upcoming on our schedule,
- or we've fallen behind in our clerical duties and not entered it in the database.
If you found it on our calendar page, we are planning to offer it on that date.