Gallery of Past Work

The objects shown here represent a body of hand forged work by Artisan Blacksmith Darrell Markewitz that stretches back into the late 1970's (!). One of the dominant stresses to all my one of a kind pieces has been the individual designs. To speed up your trip, the objects have been loosely grouped by type, each group with its own page.

This is the heart of the operation - the forge itself. You can clearly see the 225 lb 'London' pattern anvil that is the main work surface. The primary forge is made of a cast fire box set in a metal table. Although it still burns coal, the air supply is an electric blower with both a motor control and a sliding gate to modify the air volume (thus heat.) Note the sliding hood suspended from the ceiling - it can drop right down to the table and there is a large extraction fan mounted on the roof to force out the smoke.
As well as the favoured coal forge, the shop is equipped with a number of propane forges, with single, double and specialist three burner units designed for specific large scale tasks.
The shop also has polishing and grinding equipment, band saw, and drill press. Structural welding is done primarily via an industrial MIG welder, with both 'stick' arc and an oxy/propane torch system also available. Large forgings are handled with a 50 lb air operated power hammer with the required large air compressor plus a 30 ton hydraulic press. The air system allows for spray painting and sand blasting as well.