Upcoming classes

Free Event - Open to All People Interested in Wrought Academy!

Date:  September 21st, 2019  (Saturday / 11am - 4pm)

Location:  Wrought Academy / 2440 Adeline Street / Oakland  CA  94607

Free Event to Promote Wrought Academy / All are Welcome!

We're celebrating the beginning of the 2019 teaching year at Wrought Academy.  If you're curious about the shop and the classes offered at Wrought Academy this is your chance to drop by and see what's going on!  We will be forging throughout the day to give you an idea of some of the skills taught here.  Class projects will be on display as well as pieces from Jim Austin's collection of forge work and tools.

Dates:  October  26th, and 27th, 2019  (Saturday & Sunday / 10am - 6pm) 

Location:  Wrought Academy / 2440 Adeline Street / Oakland  CA  94607

Level:  Intermediate                     Maximum Class Size:  6

This class will run if at least 3 students are enrolled by the Sunday preceding the class

Class descriptions:  Students will learn how to forge-weld hammers from high-carbon steel and mild steel in a traditional technique which was used from before the Viking era all the way into the 19^th century.  The product will be a blacksmith's hammer in a form typical of the Viking age.

 Class space is very limited.  Students will be registered in the order that their payments are received.

See you at the Forge! - James Austin

 *****************************

 Traditionally Welded Hammers:  When steel was an expensive resource, hammers and other tools would be shaped from soft iron and faced or edged with high carbon steel to give them toughness against damage and wear.  The cost of the tools was reduced and the complex forging of the tool forms was executed in soft iron, which was much easier to work than the tougher steel.

 Class Set-Up and Safety Considerations:

All necessary tools and materials will be provided for the students.

Students must bring their own safety glasses and wear them at all times in work areas (a few used pairs are usually available at the shop).

Students should bring leather gloves that are supple and a little loose to help protect their hands from burns, cuts and abrasions.  Some used gloves are usually available at the shop.

Students must wear snugly fitted, long-sleeved work shirts and long pants of cotton or wool (no nylon or polyester allowed) and firm, leather work-shoes.

Hearing protection is required to be worn and is provided in the shop in the form of foam ear-plugs.  Students who need over-ear protection must provide their own.

Dates:  November 2nd and 3rd, 2019  (Saturday and Sunday / 10am - 6pm)

Location:  Wrought Academy / 2440 Adeline Street / Oakland  CA  94607

Level:  Beginning + Intermediate

Maximum Class Size:  6

(This class will run if at least 3 students are enrolled by the Sunday preceding the class)

Hone your basic forging skills by making the simple yet essential articles of hardware (such as hooks, rings, chains, and hinges) that would have been common in any early European town or settlement.

Class Description:  In this class we will continue with more core blacksmithing techniques such as punching, hot-cutting and heat treating which are not covered in Basic 1.  These techniques will introduce the students to new forging concepts and tools which lend themselves to both tool-making and decorative blacksmithing.

Class space is very limited!  Students will be registered in the order that their payments are received.

See you at the Forge!  James Austin

*****************************

Class Set-Up and Safety Considerations:

All necessary tools and materials will be provided for the students.

Students must bring their own safety glasses and wear them at all times in work areas (a few used pairs are usually available at the shop).

Students must wear snugly fitted, long-sleeved work shirts and long pants of cotton or wool (no nylon or polyester allowed) and firm, leather work-shoes.

Hearing protection is required and is provided in the shop in the form of foam ear-plugs. Students who need over-ear protection must provide their own.

Dates:  November 23rd and 24th, 2019  (Saturday Sunday / 10am - 6pm)

Location:  Wrought Academy / 2440 Adeline Street / Oakland  CA  94607

Level:  Beginning / Intermediate                                   Maximum Class Size:  6

(This class will run if at least 3 students are enrolled by the Sunday preceding the class)

Forge your own Viking style armband or wristband from solid, pure silver using steel tools you made yourself!

Class Description:  This class will focus on basic Viking silver work and that iconic status symbol of the Viking - the Sliver Arm Ring!  The first day is devoted to tool-making for the silversmith and will result in tools (decorative punches) which can be used the next day.  The second day is focused on forging silver arm rings. Read more here.

Please note:  The cost of the class does not include the silver which must be purchased separately.

Purchasing Pure Silver:  The spot price of fine (.999 pure) silver varies from day to day.  In mid-July, 2019 was about $16.50 per Troy ounce (31 grams). The recommended weight of silver for a nice Viking arm ring is 3 - 4 Troy ounces.   Students should arrange in advance with me via email (hotsteel@sbcglobal.net) if they would like me purchase silver for them.  Alternatively they may bring their own (as long as it is .999 fine and not sterling - sterling is difficult to cast into usable ingots and to forge).  Fine silver is available at jewelry supply stores as "findings" and at coin shops which you can find online.

Class space is very limited!  Students will be registered in the order that their payments are received.

See you at the Forge! - James Austin

 *****************************

Class Set-Up and Safety Considerations:

All necessary tools and tool steel will be provided for the students.  Silver must be purchased separately.

Students must bring their own safety glasses and wear them at all times in work areas (a few used pairs are usually available at the shop).

Students must wear snugly fitted, long-sleeved work shirts and long pants of cotton or wool (no nylon or polyester allowed) and firm, leather work-shoes.

Hearing protection is required and is provided in the shop in the form of foam ear-plugs. Students who need over-ear protection must provide their own.

Dates:  November 5th to November 21st, 2019  (Tuesday and Thursday evenings / 6:30pm - 10:00pm)

Location:  Wrought Academy / 2440 Adeline Street / Oakland  CA  94607

Level:  Beginning / Intermediate

Maximum Class Size:  6

(This class will run if at least 3 students are enrolled by the Sunday preceding the class)

Class Description:   This class will focus on the forging skills essential for producing medium-sized, utility knife blades.  As students gain experience they will each start working in high-carbon steel and forge a knife blade which they can grind and heat treat.  Emphasis will be placed on proper working temperatures at all stages of production as well as efficient and accurate hammer work.  The skills learned will be directly applicable to the more advanced classes we offer in pattern-welded and laminated knife forging.

Class space is very limited!  Students will be registered in the order that their payments are received.

See you at the Forge!  James Austin

*****************************

Class Set-Up and Safety Considerations:

All necessary tools and materials will be provided for the students.

Students must bring their own safety glasses and wear them at all times in work areas (a few used pairs are usually available at the shop).

Students must wear snugly fitted, long-sleeved work shirts and long pants of cotton or wool (no nylon or polyester allowed) and firm, leather work-shoes.

Hearing protection is required and is provided in the shop in the form of foam ear-plugs. Students who need over-ear protection must provide their own.

Dates:  December 7th and 8th, 2019  (Saturday and Sunday / 10am - 5pm)

Location:  Wrought Academy / 2440 Adeline Street / Oakland  CA  94607

Level:  Intermediate

Maximum Class Size:  6

(This class will run if at least 3 students are enrolled by the Sunday preceding the class)

For thousands of years forge welding has been integral to ironworking technology.  Though forge welding may seem daunting and mysterious, it actually rests on a few solid practices which are quite accessible in our well-equipped and maintained smithy.

Class Description:   In this class we will focus on forge welded joinery which was essential to building much of the beautiful ironwork and tools which were common in our pre-industrialized past.  Students will learn to recognize and regulate the all-important temperature required to join brilliantly incandescent steel, and how to fashion and weld various joints into strong bonds for use in a variety of situations.

Class space is very limited!  Students will be registered in the order that their payments are received.

See you at the Forge!  James Austin

*****************************

Class Set-Up and Safety Considerations:

All necessary tools and materials will be provided for the students.

Students must bring their own safety glasses and wear them at all times in work areas (a few used pairs are usually available at the shop).

Students must wear snugly fitted, long-sleeved work shirts and long pants of cotton or wool (no nylon or polyester allowed) and firm, leather work-shoes.

Hearing protection is required and is provided in the shop in the form of foam ear-plugs. Students who need over-ear protection must provide their own.

Dates:  January 18th and 19th, 2020  (Saturday and Sunday / 10am - 6pm)

Location:  Wrought Academy / 2440 Adeline Street / Oakland  CA  94607

Level:  Beginning

Maximum Class Size:  6

This class will run if at least 3 students are enrolled by the Sunday preceding the class

Class Description:   In this class we start with the basic blacksmithing skills which will set you on a path to forging the hardware, decorative articles and tools which were common throughout the Iron Age.  These items were essential to our ancestors and were often forged with exceptional quality and striking beauty.  All of this will inform our work.

Class space is very limited!  Students will be registered in the order that their payments are received.

See you at the Forge!  James Austin

*****************************

Class Set-Up and Safety Considerations:

All necessary tools and materials will be provided for the students.

Students must bring their own safety glasses and wear them at all times in work areas (a few used pairs are usually available at the shop).

Students must wear snugly fitted, long-sleeved work shirts and long pants of cotton or wool (no nylon or polyester allowed) and firm, leather work-shoes.

Hearing protection is required and is provided in the shop in the form of foam ear-plugs. Students who need over-ear protection must provide their own.

Dates:  January 24th, 25th and 26th, 2020  (Friday, Saturday and Sunday / 10am - 6pm)

Location:  Wrought Academy / 2440 Adeline Street / Oakland  CA  94607

Level:   Intermediate                                  

Maximum Class Size:  6

This class will run if at least 3 students are enrolled by the Sunday preceding the class

Forge welding traditional, laminated knife blades is a custom that has long been maintained in small smithies throughout Norway.  I learned this traditional technique in 2015  from Jan Tommy Kirkholt in Trondheim.  Class Description: In this class students will learn how to laminate knife blades by forge welding high carbon steel between two layers of soft steel, then forging out the blanks so produced into traditional, Scandinavian style knife blades of the type traditionally worn on the belt.

Class space is very limited!  Students will be registered in the order that their payments are received.

See you at the Forge! - James Austin

 *****************************

Class Set-Up and Safety Considerations:

All necessary tools and materials will be provided for the students.

Students must bring their own safety glasses and wear them at all times in work areas (a few used pairs are usually available at the shop).

Students must wear snugly fitted, long-sleeved work shirts and long pants of cotton or wool (no nylon or polyester allowed) and firm, leather work-shoes.

Hearing protection is required and is provided in the shop in the form of foam ear-plugs. Students who need over-ear protection must provide their own.

Private Instruction with James Austin is available at the rate of $110 / hour (minimum of 2 hours per day).  Discounts are available for larger blocks of time (starting at 4 hours) and multiple students when paid for in advance.  Please arrange dates, times and pricing with James  at hotsteel@sbcglobal.net