For the past two years the Northmen Guild have been working on an exciting and unique project, the construction of a historically faithful, timber framed forging workshop to act as a new centre for the Guild’s blacksmiths. 

The forge, designed as a space to exalt the creativity of the artisans and inspire visitors and students, will be open for all to visit as part of the wider woodworking museum and forest park at “Vienkocu Parks, Ligatne.”

Designed and constructed in large part by master blacksmith and timber framer Soeren Uhlmann, the building has risen steadily over the months and now stands close to completion. Soeren has travelled widely across the world for the last decade, from Northern Europe to the South Pacific, honing and expanding his skill set working with numerous master craftsmen in blacksmithing, leatherworking, jewellery making and carpentry. The raising of the forge marks the culmination of this journey to mastery, setting down solid roots with the aim of continuing the spread of knowledge and expertise in these ancient crafts.

The Guild’s vision for the forge encompasses artistry, education and preservation. 

We seek to create a space where blacksmiths from all corners of the globe will be welcome to practise their craft, share their expertise, and create beautiful and functional works of art. 

We seek to educate beginners, amateurs and enthusiasts by offering intensive, two to three week long training courses in blacksmithing. Utilising the established model of the Northmen Guild timber framing courses, these masterclasses will teach the skills and confidence to begin (or continue) participant’s education as blacksmiths and craftspeople. 

We seek to preserve and protect the skills and traditions handed down to us by generations of masters from ancient times until today. Not only are the techniques, methods and skills of the trade worthy of preservation, so too is the philosophy that underlies them. The exaltation of craft over business, value over price, quality over quantity, artistic creation over mass production.

One final push is necessary to finish and round off the project. Whilst the building stands ready, it is empty of much of the specialist equipment required for a fully equipped, multi functional blacksmithing workshop to reach its full potential. 

The aim of this fundraiser is to raise contributions towards the cost of this equipment, laid out in greater detail below. All donations will go towards purchase and installation of equipment that will make this forge a world class centre for blacksmithing. Our ideal timeline will see the workshop fully equipped and ready to realise its potential for artistry, education and preservation by New Year’s Day, 2025. 

Equipment List:

Silent compressor

Foredome Dremel

Tig welder

Gas Forges

Swage block

Belt grinder

Turning machine

Electric material

Water installation and connection

Power hammer restoration

Transport for machines

Windows

Kitchen set up

Gas line set up

Material for tools and gates

Heat treatment set up

Material for workbenches, bellows and doors

Labour

Any left over funding from the fundraiser will directly be used to finance the next Northmen Guild project, the construction of a leatherworking workshop in the same vicinity as the forge.