Handled Struck Tools 2025

Instructors: Bob Brown, Dave & Jesse Gavin, Herb Fick, Wayne Olson, George Auel

Class size: Maximum students: 4                 Minimum students: 8

Class description:

This is Herb, organizing yet another Handled Struck Tools Class for the day before the holiday party. We are electing Bob Brown to be our lead instructor this year. The Gavins, Dave and Jesse, are anxious to see how Bob would lead the workshop.
We will still use 4140 AN steel; 5/8 and ¾ diameter. We use this alloy because it is well known, makes a good tool, and makes a good example for teaching heat treating. The handle will be whatever Bob wants it to be as long as it uses 1018 rod. Special quench oil is supplied courtesy of the Northfield VFW. 
The instructor’s goal for the workshop is to produce students comfortable with the process of forging and heat treating tools from nominal tool steel.  A secondary goal is to have the students comfortable with the use of treadle hammers. We expect to have three treadle hammers of different styles available.
Herb procures the stock and a literature package reviewing the heat treat principles and a bit of really ancient history. The principle reference used will be the book Steel Metallurgy for the non-metallurgist by John Verhoeven.   (ISBN-13: 978-0-87170-858-8) This year’s demonstrator at the fall conference, Howard Clark, made a contribution to that book and is a friend of Verhoeven. The book is available through the internet without charge. 
This crew has offered the workshop for quite a few years. They have developed many ways to offer guidance on technique. Ask anyone who has taken the workshop. Rarely has anyone left the day with less than two working tools, punch or chisel. 
A feature of this particular workshop is the use of treadle hammers. We usually have three or four available for the participants to try/use and we encourage participants to also try striking for each other. Or ask a helper to strike, to get a feel of how this is done in demonstrations at fairs and shows. 
On Saturday, December 6 we gather at 8 AM at the MN School of Horseshoeing, Ramsey Minn. We do introductions, safety, and review the literature that gets sent out when people register. Then at 9 AM we are in the shop. Lunch is brown bag, or area restaurants. We usually are shut down at 5 PM.