Traditional Joinery: Punching & Drifting
Adult | Available
Punching and Drifting is one of the many skills blacksmiths use to create dynamic details and connections. This class will explore the various methods and materials used in punching and drifting and shaping holes in steel. The students will learn how to forge and dress the tooling to specific dimensions and how to effectively use the tooling. A small “practice” project will be created utilizing the newly made punches and drifts to help build comfort and confidence in this new technique. Students will learn to make a slitter and drift set, a slot punch and a round punch.
This class may be taken by beginners with some experience, but is open to more advanced students.
There is a $4 registration fee included in tuition.
Members will have the $4 fee deducted from the tuition.
There is a $70 materials fee included in the tuition.
**Please note that classes at Brookfield Craft Center must meet a minimum number of registrations for the class to run. Students will be notified within a week's notice whether their class will be held. If the class is canceled due to low enrollment, students may request to be transferred to another class or be refunded in full.
**SAFETY FIRST: Closed toe shoes, Fitted sleeves, Long hair tied back. Safety Glasses must be worn and all safety guidelines must be followed
Andrew Chapman
FIRE – METAL – VISION
Those three ingredients combine at the hands of Andrew Chapman to create works of metal artistry. Traditional blacksmithing techniques, using hammer and anvil, and artistic vision deeply rooted in modern sculpture work together in each of Chapman’s handmade works. Steel and copper, newly made or found object, all bend and flow under his hammer. He moves and molds the metal to his vision, making metal into all things imaginable. Leaves and branches from nature, well-crafted scrolls or classic motifs, and modern twists and turns that defy gravity all take shape on Chapman’s anvil. These pieces range from larger scale architectural elements and furniture to small, flowing table top sculpture and handheld objects. Each project shows the process and techniques learned during his 20+ years of experience. Chapman’s introduction to the field of metal began while earning his BFA in sculpture at the University of Cincinnati. Since then, he has zigzagged the country, working in custom metal shops from Texas to Michigan to Tennessee to North Carolina and now Connecticut . Learning and perfecting his craft at each stop. Homes across the country feature his works. Chapman has also added teacher to his list of skills, sharing his techniques and craftsmanship during group classes and as a featured smith during regional blacksmithing conferences. Andrew Chapman’s metal work continues a centuries old tradition in metal in the most modern of ways.