Blacksmithing

Forge your own eighteenth century style swivel toaster, a must-have utensil if you?re into down-hearth cooking or use it for camping! Different period methods of construction will be covered such as hot and cold hole punching, splitting, mortise and tenon work, rivet making and riveting, beveling, and right angle bending, as well as a discussion of welded methods and why. Learn these basic techniques of blacksmithing while bringing home a useful project.

Dates/Times

• Saturday, June 7, 2025 – 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
• Saturday, June 7, 2025 – 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
• Sunday, June 8, 2025 – 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
• Sunday, June 8, 2025 – 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
• Monday, June 9, 2025 – 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
• Monday, June 9, 2025 – 9:00 am to 4:00 pm

Instructor: Dick Sargent

Member Tuition: $390.00
Non-Member Tuition: $450.00

Material Fee: $75.00 Included in fee shown on checkout page

Location: AFS, 51 Main Street, Lake Luzerne, NY

Special Notes: Hard shoes and long pants are required for student’s safety.

Would you like to try blacksmithing, and get a taste of the craft? Join instructor Steve Gurzler for 3 weekday evenings to learn how to operate a coal forge to bring metal to incandescent heat and shape it with hammer in hand. This class will use the Artist Blacksmiths Association of North America (ABANA) curriculum to teach the basics of blacksmithing. Students can expect to create 2 or more projects during the 3 evenings. Class size is limited to ensure all can advance at their own pace. Students should be high school age or older. Parents must accompany children under the age of 18.

Dates/Times

• Thursday, May 21, 2026 – 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm
• Thursday, May 28, 2026 – 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm
• Thursday, June 4, 2026 – 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm

Instructor: Steve Gurzler

Member Tuition: $135.00
Non-Member Tuition: $155.00

Material Fee: $50.00 Included in fee shown on checkout page

Location: AFS, 51 Main Street, Lake Luzerne, NY

Special Notes: Hard shoes and long pants are required for student's safety.

There are times when a blacksmith needs to assemble parts or make a tool when traditional joinery is inefficient. In this class we will cover the basics of MIG and Stick Welding, equipment recommendations, making crack repairs, and fabricating a simple tool or jig. Bring your own welding mask and gloves if you have them. You?ll have time to practice what you?ve learned and receive coaching from a professional welder.

Dates/Times

• Saturday, March 28, 2026 – 9:00 am to 4:00 pm

Instructor: Colin Roy

Member Tuition: $135.00
Non-Member Tuition: $155.00

Material Fee: $25.00 Included in fee shown on checkout page

Location: AFS, 51 Main Street, Lake Luzerne, NY

Special Notes: Hard shoes and long pants are required for student's safety.

Forge welding is often seen as a difficult, even mystical process. This course is designed for students who have completed a basic class or who have equivalent experience. We will demystify and cover the basics of forge-welding, learn to forge weld a loop on a bar, then will move on to forging a short length of chain. ABANA

Dates/Times

• Saturday, October 24, 2026 – 9:00 am to 4:00 pm

Instructor: Steve Gurzler

Member Tuition: $135.00
Non-Member Tuition: $155.00

Material Fee: $25.00 Included in fee shown on checkout page

Location: AFS, 51 Main Street, Lake Luzerne, NY

Special Notes: Hard shoes and long pants are required for student's safety.

This basic class will give you the foundation needed to start out on your journey of blacksmithing. You'll learn fire management, hammering methods, drawing out, upsetting, cutting, splitting, twisting, and convenience bending along with a demo of forge welding. Make punches and chisels and learn to harden and temper them. Heating material and heat management will be taught and much more.

Dates/Times

• Friday, April 10, 2026 – 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
• Saturday, April 11, 2026 – 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
• Sunday, April 12, 2026 – 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
• Monday, April 13, 2026 – 9:00 am to 4:00 pm

Instructor: Dick Sargent

Member Tuition: $540.00
Non-Member Tuition: $640.00

Material Fee: $100.00 Included in fee shown on checkout page

Location: AFS, 51 Main Street, Lake Luzerne, NY

Special Notes: Hard shoes and long pants are required for student's safety.

This basic class will give you the foundation needed to start out on your journey of blacksmithing. You'll learn fire management, hammering methods, drawing out, upsetting, cutting, splitting, twisting, and convenience bending along with a demo of forge welding. Make punches and chisels and learn to harden and temper them. Heating material and heat management will be taught and much more.

Dates/Times

• Friday, October 2, 2026 – 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
• Saturday, October 3, 2026 – 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
• Sunday, October 4, 2026 – 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
• Monday, October 5, 2026 – 9:00 am to 4:00 pm

Instructor: Dick Sargent

Member Tuition: $540.00
Non-Member Tuition: $640.00

Material Fee: $100.00 Included in fee shown on checkout page

Location: AFS, 51 Main Street, Lake Luzerne, NY

Special Notes: Hard shoes and long pants are required for student's safety.

Always a popular class, Create Your Own Roasting Fork is geared towards the novice blacksmith. Blacksmith Steve Gurzler will teach basic blacksmithing skills while the students work to create a roasting fork for marshmallows or maybe even bratwurst. Bring something to roast at the end of the day with your finished product!

Dates/Times

• Saturday, May 16, 2026 – 9:00 am to 4:00 pm

Instructor: Steve Gurzler

Member Tuition: $135.00
Non-Member Tuition: $155.00

Material Fee: $25.00 Included in fee shown on checkout page

Location: AFS, 51 Main Street, Lake Luzerne, NY

Special Notes: Hard shoes and long pants are required for student's safety.

Guillotine tools are handy for a variety of tasks. They enable the Smith to accurately butcher, fuller, forge and tenon stock. This helps with tasks like joinery, as well as isolating material when forging work like a knife tang, rivet or tenon. In this class the student will learn to use a MIG welder to make and use a useful guillotine tool that can be used in an anvil hardy hole or vise, as the student selects. A basic set of 3 dies including butchers (isolating material), tenon dies, and flat dies are included. Skills covered include learning to cut, grind, and case-harden dies, and to do simple MIG welds to fabricate an accurate tool. This tool uses readily available mild steel for the dies, so specialty dies can be easily and cheaply made when needed.

Dates/Times

• Saturday, April 18, 2026 – 9:00 am to 4:00 pm

Instructor: Colin Roy

Member Tuition: $135.00
Non-Member Tuition: $155.00

Material Fee: $25.00 Included in fee shown on checkout page

Location: AFS, 51 Main Street, Lake Luzerne, NY

Special Notes: Hard shoes and long pants are required for student's safety.

One of the most crucial skills for any smith is the ability to forge weld. This 2-day class will cover a variety of different forge welds from welding chain to more complicated techniques.

Dates/Times

• Saturday, June 13, 2026 – 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
• Sunday, June 14, 2026 – 9:00 am to 4:00 pm

Instructor: Derek Heidemann

Member Tuition: $270.00
Non-Member Tuition: $310.00

Material Fee: $50.00 Included in fee shown on checkout page

Location: AFS, 51 Main Street, Lake Luzerne, NY

Special Notes: Hard shoes and long pants are required for student's safety.