Need more shop time?
For a small fee, we provide Community Studio Access outside of course hours in the welding, blacksmithing and jewelry departments. This is an affordable way to access tools and equipment as well as the supervision of an experienced studio monitor to finish the project that you began during your course or start a brand new project.

HOW DO I DO THAT?
Step 1: Take a course! Community Studio Access is limited to people who’ve previously taken a welding, blacksmithing or jewelry course at The Steel Yard. Please note: We do not currently offer additional shop-time/ studio access in the ceramics department or woodshop. 

Step 2: Register for Studio Access! You must contact The Steel Yard office to register for Community Studio Access. Registration is a free one-time-only process that must be completed at least three days prior to access. Contact studio@thesteelyard.org or call 401-273-7101 to register today.

Step 3: PAY*: Studio access is $30.00 per 3-hour session! Community studio access is limited to certain days and times. Check out the calendar to see when the next session is offered. 

*Free shop time for 18 & under 
If you are 18 years of age or younger and you have taken a course in welding, blacksmithing, or jewelry at The Steel Yard, you can access the studio free of charge during designated times. Pre-registration is required, check out the calendar to see when the next session is offered. 
 
Need even MORE shop time?
Do you need more time to work on a project, prototype or commission piece? Our Micro-Residency is a great way for you to get 24/7 studio access, for at least one month, or up to a maximum of three months. Learn more here on our website. 

Spend a weekend learning the basics of metalworking: ripping through steel with gas torches and fusing it back together with a 10,000° electrical arc! This two-day workshop will introduce students to MIG welding, the oxygen-acetylene torch, various metal saws, and the grinder. By the end of the first day you will be able to heat, cut, join, bend, and polish. On the second day you will have the full day to use your new skills creating a project to take home. No previous experience necessary—this is a great opportunity to explore welding for the first time. Materials and tools will be provided.

Visit thesteelyard.org to register for classes and find out more about our registration and enrollment policies.

Spend a weekend learning the basics of metalworking: ripping through steel with gas torches and fusing it back together with a 10,000° electrical arc! This two-day workshop will introduce students to MIG welding, the oxygen-acetylene torch, various metal saws, and the grinder. By the end of the first day you will be able to heat, cut, join, bend, and polish. On the second day you will have the full day to use your new skills creating a project to take home. No previous experience necessary—this is a great opportunity to explore welding for the first time. Materials and tools will be provided.

Visit thesteelyard.org to register for classes and find out more about our registration and enrollment policies.

Need more shop time?
For a small fee, we provide Community Studio Access outside of course hours in the welding, blacksmithing and jewelry departments. This is an affordable way to access tools and equipment as well as the supervision of an experienced studio monitor to finish the project that you began during your course or start a brand new project.

HOW DO I DO THAT?
Step 1: Take a course! Community Studio Access is limited to people who’ve previously taken a welding, blacksmithing or jewelry course at The Steel Yard. Please note: We do not currently offer additional shop-time/ studio access in the ceramics department or woodshop. 

Step 2: Register for Studio Access! You must contact The Steel Yard office to register for Community Studio Access. Registration is a free one-time-only process that must be completed at least three days prior to access. Contact studio@thesteelyard.org or call 401-273-7101 to register today.

Step 3: PAY*: Studio access is $30.00 per 3-hour session! Community studio access is limited to certain days and times. Check out the calendar to see when the next session is offered. 

*Free shop time for 18 & under 
If you are 18 years of age or younger and you have taken a course in welding, blacksmithing, or jewelry at The Steel Yard, you can access the studio free of charge during designated times. Pre-registration is required, check out the calendar to see when the next session is offered. 
 
Need even MORE shop time?
Do you need more time to work on a project, prototype or commission piece? Our Micro-Residency is a great way for you to get 24/7 studio access, for at least one month, or up to a maximum of three months. Learn more here on our website. 

Move beyond the appreciation of jewelry to creation by learning the fundamentals of jewelry-making techniques, design and fabrication. A range of hand-tool processes will be covered through practical exercises and imaginative concept-based projects. You will acquire a solid set of technical skills, and will also exercise your creative design skills. The non-technical side of the class focuses on idea development and the critical-thinking skills needed to realize a vision. This course will review sawing, filing, soldering, scoring/bending, texturing, forming, linkages, wire construction and more. No prior metal-smithing skills are necessary. Metal will be provided for practice and exercises, but students may need to pay for additional metals needed for their independent work.

Visit thesteelyard.org to register for classes and find out more about our registration and enrollment policies.

The bottle opener ... it's everyone's favorite tool and a great conversation starter at a party! In this workshop, students will learn the fundamentals of blacksmithing, while focusing on forging their own unique, handmade bottle openers.

A perfect introduction to the craft of forging, this course teaches the basics of heating, hammering, and shaping steel. In three hours, we will cover techniques such as punching, drifting, tapering, bending, twists, and texturing. This class focuses on forging techniques for small pieces; think less brute force and more precise detail. No need to be big and burly for this course.

No previous experience necessary; all tools and materials are provided. Students will leave the workshop with a completed bottle opener.

Visit thesteelyard.org to register for classes and find out more about our registration and enrollment policies.

Spend a weekend learning the basics of metalworking: ripping through steel with gas torches and fusing it back together with a 10,000° electrical arc! This two-day workshop will introduce students to MIG welding, the oxygen-acetylene torch, various metal saws, and the grinder. By the end of the first day you will be able to heat, cut, join, bend, and polish. On the second day you will have the full day to use your new skills creating a project to take home. No previous experience necessary—this is a great opportunity to explore welding for the first time. Materials and tools will be provided.

Visit thesteelyard.org to register for classes and find out more about our registration and enrollment policies.

In this class students will transform copper from flat discs of metal into trays, bowls and tall vessel forms via the traditional silversmithing technique of raising. We will go over simple sawing, calculations to average the height and width of our desired vessel, stretching the metal into carved out bowl forms then hammering over raising stakes to get our desired shape. This technique is labor intensive but extremely rewarding. By the end of the class each student will have learned the basics of raising and will finish multiple small bowls and three dimensional forms.

In this class students will transform copper from flat discs of metal into trays, bowls and tall vessel forms via the traditional silversmithing technique of raising. We will go over simple sawing, calculations to average the height and width of our desired vessel, stretching the metal into carved out bowl forms then hammering over raising stakes to get our desired shape. This technique is labor intensive but extremely rewarding. By the end of the class each student will have learned the basics of raising and will finish multiple small bowls and three dimensional forms.

Handbuilding will be used as the primary technique for creating objects for and about the garden. Coiling and slab building will be taught as a means to create any number of projects from planters and vases, to birdbaths and small tables and benches. Whatever you can imagine as belonging in the garden can be made with limitations of size taken into consideration. Beginners as well as more advanced students are welcome to take the course with all students bringing something beautiful home for their garden or home. Enrollment in this course includes additional access to one monitored Community Shop Access session per week.

Blacksmiths stand out among craftspeople for their ability to forge all of their own tools in the smithy. In this class, students will work in pairs to make their own forging hammers, as well as the tools to make future hammers. Students will learn basic toolmaking, punching, drifting, handle fitting, and striking. Students will leave class with a simple functional forging hammer to use in future smithly endeavors! 

This course is appropriate for participants who have successfully completed a Fundamentals of Blacksmithing class, or similar 20+ hour introductory blacksmithing class. All tools and materials will be provided, and students will leave the course with a completed hammer.

Visit thesteelyard.org to register for classes and find out more about our registration and enrollment policies.