Demonstrator: Matt Harris
Presented by Historic Blacksmith Conservancy
Demo Piece for Conference
Demonstration Overview:
Forging a Yellin-insired Grille Panel by Matthew Harris for the Historic Blacksmith Conservancy
Matthew Harris will demonstrate traditional architectural metalwork in the style of Samuel Yellin and reproduce part of the gates at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. He and his team will be forging wrought iron to size and specific dimensions and showing the tooling used to prepare the material for this demonstration. They will also be showing the tooling they developed for Pete Renzetti to reproduce missing elements from a Yellin bank teller window at the Federal Reserve Bank in NYC.
This multi-day demonstration will focus on producing an architectural framework, in this case, mortise-and-tenon construction. Everything will be forged using traditional tooling, and the advantages of wrought iron vs mild steel will be explained, as will the use of HBC’s 1006 low-carbon steel.
Mr. Harris will begin by covering the sequencing and planning of steps in the assembly of traditional ironwork. From there, he will elaborate on design and the use of different line weights and bar stock in different elements to convey both strength and delicacy. There will be a discussion of forged texture both in the context of this piece as well as some contemporary examples with tooling. Scrollwork, both by hand and in jigs, fire welding components to scrolls, leaves, collars, and flower components will all be covered. The making of the central flower component of the grille will showcase repoussé and stake work, including how to create depth in forged sheet metal using a variety of traditional techniques. The grille will be assembled and finished to complete the demonstration.
The resulting demo piece will be auctioned off during the Saturday night auction at the ABANA conference. Proceeds will go directly to the Historic Blacksmith Conservancy.
HBC’s Mission: The mission of the Historic Blacksmith Conservancy is to promote excellence in traditional blacksmithing. The Conservancy is a repository for works, materials, and tooling of present and past masters. From these historic examples we derive educational programming aimed at blacksmiths, metalworkers, architects, designers, the building trades, and the general public. Our goal is to promote the appreciation of design and craftsmanship, while training the next generation of smiths to build on our inherited legacy.
Demonstrator Bio:Matthew Harris has over 30 years of experience in the blacksmithing industry. He has studied and trained in traditional and modern methods of blacksmithing. Matthew currently owns and operates a full-time, professional blacksmith studio. His studio is a design-and-build model specializing in high-end architectural and sculptural metalwork. Matthew Harris Studio currently employs 5 blacksmiths and has a customer portfolio of private homeowners, builders, architects, and designers.