Shop Build

In 2016, a friend encouraged me to act on my interest in blacksmithing, build a small shop, and start selling some small items and see where it would go. I built a 10 foot square 3-sided shed, set up an anvil, forge, post vise, and crude workbench. That shop, though tiny, served me pretty well (though as a minimum starter shop size I would recommend 12 feet square) until I decided to take blacksmithing full time at the end of 2018. I knew a bigger shop with space for tools, bigger projects and occasional help and small classes would be essential. Being on a tight budget, but having the help of an intern at the time, we started cutting a few trees out of the woodlot and milled them into lumber. We built the new shop around the old one, and then tore the old one down when it got in the way. The new shop is constructed using a simple post-frame design, and is divided into two rooms- a 16’x16’ woodworking/storage room, and a 16’x22’ blacksmithing shop. We still have a lot of work to do to finish the shop, I am really enjoying the larger space.

Above left is the old 100 square foot shop, and right is the shop as it stands currently. The sketch at the top of the page shows how it will look finished and painted. Below right is a view inside the new shop, with temporary forge in place. Eventually we’ll be building a stone double forge in the center of the shop.