The team of the Village Blacksmith hand forging 3/8" rivets using a bolster block. They were made using a 1018 low carbon steel. There are quite a few ways to make rivets by hand this is our method. We used a Oxy/fuel torch to heat the heads where, we normally we would have them cooking in a gas forge for large quantities or we could buy them already produced. Since we only have a few to make after running out this what we chose to do. Hand forging rivets involves a blacksmithing technique called upsetting in which the material is made "fatter" by specific impacts or hammer blows. Hope you like our YouTube channel! More videos to come! The forged...
Dave Parker stopped by a little while ago and shot a great short video of what Historic Gloucester is all about! He spent some time at the Village Blacksmith as well as some other really cool things this historic town has to offer! Great Job Dave Parker!
We had a great time with embedded reporter Barrett Baker during one of our basic blacksmithing Classes at our shop in Gloucester, Virginia. Click the link to view the article and view some items our students made!
http://www.coastalvirginiamag.com/May-June-2017/The-Village-Blacksmith/
