
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
1:30 pm and 2:30 pm (same tour offered twice)
Where
Incandescent Ironworks
3610 S. Harrison Street, Spokane
When you get to the end of Harrison Street, go straight and slightly to the right. When you see the house, drive to the right/back of it. The blacksmith shop is behind the house (to the right of it). The blacksmith shop is not the storage/garage in front of the house/to the left of it. Park next to the blacksmith shop.
At Exploring Families we like to introduce kids to interesting people in exciting careers. Blacksmithing has been around for thousands of years and yet its still a needed profession today. A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut. Come meet artist-blacksmith Steve McGrew at his shop. Incandescent Ironworks makes custom-designed, hand-forged architectural ironwork, ornamental ironwork and furnishings for homes, gardens and businesses. Steve offers introductory blacksmithing classes such as knife making, steel roses, and railroad spike knives (transforming a railroad spike into a knife). Incandescent Ironworks sells artist-blacksmith tools, such anvils, hand and power hammer tools: touchmarks, anvil stakes, spring swages and fullers, punches, custom power hammer die sets, tool steel bars and rods, and more. Not sure what these tools are? You'll learn all about them on this unique tour!
Ages: 7 and older. Steve says all kids "must be well-behaved and supervised. There are things in the shop that can do a lot of damage. As long as they keep their hands off of things, they will be safe, but pushing buttons, picking things up, etc., can be dangerous."
Cost: Free
What to wear: Closed shoes
Tour limit: 10 people per tour