preparing for class...

Last week I ordered a couple pounds of fancy square cut nails from Tremont Cut Nail Co. Those nails come from a machine made in the 19th century. This week I'm at work preparing for the class (June 11-15) that Bob Patrick and I share, making a Viking style chest. The chest is simply an excuse to engage in the making of your own hardware, but you will create an heirloom, and there are still openings in the class. It is all about learning. What you make will be ample evidence of that.

Enroll if you are a wood worker hoping to broaden your horizons into hand forged iron. Enroll if you are an experienced blacksmith and want to expand into wooden furniture and cabinetry. Both groups are welcome. In fact, you can have experience in neither and thus learn a great deal about both.

The chest itself will offer the opportunity to use both hand and power tools. Students will be divided in two groups, one with Bob in the blacksmithing studio and one with me in wood. Bob and I will trade students mid week. and finish as a whole group on Friday. Even though I bought ready made square cut decorative nails for the project, Bob will demonstrate making nails and you are welcome to try that, too. Who knows, you might get good at it and lay claim to an even deeper level of accomplishment.

This is not a huge chest, so you need not be wondering too hard where you will put your finished work. The prototype measures 7 in. x 15 in. x 9 in. high.  In case you need a different size, it can be made slightly larger or smaller without a change in the hardware you will make yourself.

If you want to enroll, call ESSA 479-253-5384 or go to ESSA-art.org   http://essa-art.org/workshops/iron/make-viking-chest/

Make, fix, and create. Assist others in doing likewise.