1 When you arrive
On arrival, you’ll be signed in and introduced to the smith who will talk through the course step-by-step and help you select which design you would like to make. We’ll discuss what you want to achieve for the day before providing you with protective equipment and a safety briefing.
2 Firing up the forge
The forge will have been lit and heating up before you arrive, so it’s ready to go! You will get an introduction on how to control and maintain the fire of the forge to a forging heat.
3 Punching the Eye
The first technique you will learn is how to punch the eye for the hammer, drifting a bracket to shape the eye for the hammer ready for a handle to be fitted. When shaping the cheek side of the hammer, you’ll use fullering tools and cross peen hammers to manipulate metal by moving the material to produce the desired shapes.
4 Forming the Hammer
When the eye and the area around is shaped you will then move on to forming and shaping the rest of the hammer through a number of different forging processes such as set downs, octagonalising (yes, that is a real word!), rounding and drawing out. Once the hammer is forged you’ll start the heat treating processes to normalize the hammer and prepare the steel for heat treating later.
5 Finishing
Once the hammer is cooled you will move out to the grinding bay where you will use grinders and files to further refine your hammer. Once you are happy with the overall shape of the hammer you will heat the hammer to a certain temperature, quench your hammer, and clean it using the grinders. The next stage is tempering – gently heating and cooling to regain the steel’s toughness.
6 Handling
The last step is handling your hammer. If time allows our team will discuss handle options available and either assist with fitting your handle or support in how to do this yourself at home.
7 Photo Time
It’s great fun working alongside one another and crafting something unique! Once the forging is complete, it’s time to pose for those all-important photos at our wooden stage!
