Ozark Folk School Beginning Blacksmithing Workshop
Taught by Pat Thompson
March 11 - 15, 2019
Meeting Place: Administration Building
09:00 am - 04:00 pm, all days
Registration fee $106. The class fee of $500 is due to directly to the instructor at the beginning of class. Pat accepts cash or check.
Total cost of class - $606
Learn to forge iron. This course, taught by OFC resident blacksmith Pat Thompson will cover the basics of forging, hammer-work and tools used to learn to blacksmith. You’ll go home with several finished pieces including a triangle dinner bell, iron cross pendant and other items that you choose to create. You'll go home with about 8 pieces. Minimum age 16-years-old.
You will need leather gloves, closed-toe leather shoes, a long-sleeved shirt and safety goggles.
On the first day of class,
1. You'll learn the equipment, it's layout in the shop, and how to work with it safely.
2. You'll learn how to build and maintain the fire in the coal forge. You'll also learn to use an LP forge.
3. You'll learn some history. You'll learn just how important the blacksmith was to a frontier community.
4. You'll learn about the types forges, fires, iron, and steel.
5. Then you'll learn the basic lessons of all blacksmithing work. You'll round a square rod. You'll square a round rod. And you'll learn how to draw out the stock to the desired shape you want. You'll learn how to make a decorative twist. You'll learn the proper temperature to work the piece.
6. By day's end, you will have made a few simple hooks that you can hang your hat on.
On the second day of class,
1. You'll learn more about how to select tools, what makes a hammer good, what will make your work easier.
2. You'll console yourself that the hook you made is a good one. But you'll want to make a better one.
3. On the second day, you'll apply everything you learned on the first. You'll also learn how to cut, split, and fuller the work. Your instructor will assign you a project. You might make a towel bar with a decorative leaf.
By the time you’ve finished your fifth day of class, you will have completed several projects. These lessons and techniques will expand your ability to create just about anything you can imagine creating from iron. You will have learned a lot about selecting the right hammer for your hand. The same with tongs. And you will have become pretty good at managing the fire. But most importantly, you will have learned that you need a lot more practice to give your work that natural looking flow.
Pre-registration required
Total Class cost $606.
A non-refundable $106 registration fee is due when you sign up.
The remaining $500 covers all materials and is due to the instructor at the beginning of class. Pat accepts cash or check. Tools and extra materials may be available for purchase.
Registration deadline is 3/1/19.
Class starts at 9:00 a.m. Meet your instructor and pick up your packet in the Administration Building lobby. Class usually finishes about 4:00 with a break in the middle for lunch.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Meet Your Instructor
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A metalworker and welder early in his life, Pat Thompson rekindled his interest in 2004 as an apprentice at the Ozark Folk Center State Park, where he was resident blacksmith from 2013 to 2018 and for whom he still teaches classes.
Pat is a native of Little Rock. He lived in Austin, Texas, for 20 years before moving to Mountain View, where he came to blacksmithing while visiting the Ozark Folk Center. Pat owns and operates Heritage Springs Forge out of his studio in Mountain View Arkansas. Heritage Springs Forge’s products, although often produced with modern methods and tools, are made with the same dedication to quality that blacksmiths throughout history incorporated into their pieces. That heritage is the fuel that fires creativity and passion. Using steel, copper, brass and wood, Patrick Thompson blends raw materials into exciting pieces of art. Many of his designs are based on nature.
Need lodging? Our Cabins at Dry Creek offer comfortable rooms just down the hill from the workshops. There is a private bath in each room and a lovely view of the surrounding forest. The Cabins offer a special rate for Ozark Folk School students who book 5 nights or more, call 800-264-3655 to book your room.
