Blacksmiths' Guild of the Potomac Inc.

06/13/2022

BGOP is hosting another Beginner's class soon... please contact [email protected] to sign up!

05/21/2022

Josh Fikentscher demonstrates sand casting with bronze at the 5/20 meeting.

04/23/2022

We had a great time at the BGOP Spring Fling! Fantastic demonstrations from Richard Sullivan, Mark Sperry and Aislinn Lewis! We are so happy to be gathering again. It was a beautiful day to spend with new and old friends and share the craft.

04/18/2022

BGOP Classes

We still have a couple slots available for our upcoming Beginner's Blacksmithing Class, starting this week (April 21 - May 26). Please email [email protected] if you're interested.

https://sites.google.com/view/bgopbeginnersclass/bgop-beginners-class?authuser=0

COVID-19 Requirements: All participants must be masked. We will leave the doors open and ventilate as weather allows. Students are encouraged to keep safe distances.

04/07/2022

BGOP Classes

The Beginner's Blacksmithing class is moving from Wednesday evenings to Thursday evenings, 6-9pm, effective April 21, 2022. If you're interested in signing up, please contact Christopher Price at [email protected]. Seven slots total, must be 14 or older (minors require an adult present, if not actually participating).

https://sites.google.com/view/bgopbeginnersclass/bgop-beginners-class?authuser=0

COVID-19 Requirements: All participants must be masked. We will leave the doors open and ventilate as weather allows. Students are encouraged to keep safe distances.

02/17/2022

COAL FOR SALE!
The Guild (through the enormous efforts of Keith Kuck), has come into a considerable amount of good forge coal. We will have several hundred pounds for sale before and after the meeting at the shop on Friday, February 18, 2022 (meeting starts at 7:00 p.m. ET). 5 gallon buckets-full for $5 a fill. So, bring a container and be ready to take home what you can haul!

02/15/2022

Blacksmiths' Guild of the Potomac Inc. updated their information in their About section.

Blacksmiths' Guild of the Potomac Inc. updated their information in their About section.

07/01/2021

Gentle reminder: please put your tools away and clean up after yourself. There were several things out when I taught last night that ought to be put away when you're done using the space. Thank you.

06/25/2021

Members!

We are excited to announce a few updates to the shop protocol. First, you may have seen that there are now weekday slots available on the SignUp Genius (SUG). We are now allowed to have shop hours all week, so check out the SUG to make your reservations.

Second, the County allowed us to relax the mask requirement. Now, if you are vaccinated, and remain 6 feet away from other members in the shop, you may remove your mask.

Third, the County let us know that they are running summer camps onsite at the Nature Center this year. BGOP members should be aware that there will be kids there every day, and traffic in and out of the lot will be heavy Mondays through Fridays, from 8:30-9:00 am, and again from 12:00-1:00 pm. So, during those times please park on the street and walk-in to access the shop. If you do drive into the lot (at any time), please drive as slow and cautiously as you possibly can.

Remember, in order for members to use the shop, members must be current (please visit http://www.bgop.org/join_09.htm or email [email protected] for instructions on joining or submitting dues), and follow both the regular shop rules and the updated COVID protocol. Members must reserve slots to use the shop on SignUpGeninus: https://tinyurl.com/BGOP-SHOP-SIGNUP. The updated COVID protocol and the regular shop rules are available on the SignUpGenius page. We hope to see you in the shop!

06/02/2021

BGOP Members! We finally got the good news that the County will allow us to re-open the shop in the Gulf Branch Nature Park. We are currently only open for general member use on the weekends, but hope to soon re-open more broadly (in the coming month or so). In order for members to use the shop, members must be current (please visit
http://www.bgop.org/join_09.htm
or email
[email protected]
for instructions on joining or submitting dues), and follow both the regular shop rules and a COVID protocol. Members must reserve slots to use the shop on

SignUpGeninus: https://tinyurl.com/BGOP-SHOP-SIGNUP.

The COVID protocol and the regular shop rules are available on the SignUpGenius page. We look forward to getting back to work!

04/24/2021

Cathedral Spotlights: Wrought Iron and Nol Putnam - Washington National Cathedral

Thanks to Fontana Forge, LLC for the heads up:

On this coming Tuesday the 27th at 4:00 pm, there will be an online tour of Cathedral ironwork and a discussion with gate smith, Nol Putnam. Please let others know. Please consider a contribution towards the Cathedral as part of the registration.

https://cathedral.org/event/cathedral-spotlights-church-architecture/

In the grand spaces of the Cathedral, it can be easy to overlook the masterpieces in wrought iron. Explore how one master artisan has used centuries-old techniques to beautify the Cathedral. Docent Barry Bem will talk about wrought iron in general, focusing on the work of blacksmith Nol Putnam and s...

04/17/2021

Here's the Zoom link for the upcoming Guild meeting. All members and prospective members are encouraged to join, the board will be bringing up schedule for the reopening of the shop space and the COVID policies that will make a safe opening possible.

April 23rd, 7:30pm to 9:30pm

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82913179275?pwd=cSsvNnBKK1Y5aHF3amVqeDFPZkgrdz09

03/27/2021

We know that we've all been missing the shop for the last year or so.

Here are some photos to remind you how it looks when in use!

We'll be posting the links to the membership zoom meetings here, so stay tuned for those.

12/18/2020

Join our Cloud HD Video Meeting

Dear BGOP Members:

The Board met on December 17, 2020, and agreed to hold the BGOP Annual Meeting on December 30, 2020, at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time via Zoom:

https://zoom.us/j/94427952558?pwd=RENTYzNJY3NMUFpXc2pWWHIyeFdpQT09

The Board agreed that given the pandemic circumstance, an Annual Meeting at this time, even given short notice, would be most beneficial for the membership, including to elect Board members and discuss Guild business for the coming year.

The Board also agreed to extend by one year all memberships. So, dues paid members who paid annual dues for 2020 are current through the end of 2021, and members who paid for three years are extended for a fourth calendar year.

The agenda for the Annual Meeting on Zoom will be as follows:

-Open Nominations for Board members

-Close nominations for Board members

-Comments on nominations – 2 minute limit per speaker (speakers are to send a message on the Zoom chat to be put on the Speakers List, with each speaker allotted 2 minutes)

-Voting will be conducted via email to [email protected]

‐Open Meeting (speakers are to send a message on the Zoom chat to be put on the Speakers List, with each speaker allotted 3 minutes, plus 2 minutes for questions and answers)

The Board selected Keith Kuck and Daniel Clark as Inspectors of Election. They will facilitate the nomination and election processes.

To manage this process most efficiently, if you plan to nominate someone during the Annual Meeting on Zoom, please email in advance [email protected] that you plan to nominate a member for a board position, copy that member on your email, and encourage that member to attend the Annual Meeting on Zoom.

*Message from the Board*

The Guild agrees with the County’s goal to reduce indoor gatherings so we will be following the County’s directives on when we will re-open.

The Board plans to work over the coming three months to prepare a plan for the Guild to present to the County when the County initiates the re-opening process; a protocol for how the Guild will operate the shop to mitigate transmission risks.
The Board is continuing work with the County to finalize a Memorandum of Agreement to formalize the legal relationship between the Guild and the County.

Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise video communications, with an easy, reliable cloud platform for video and audio conferencing, chat, and webinars across mobile, desktop, and room systems. Zoom Rooms is the original software-based conference room solution used around the world in board, confer...

07/27/2020

To keep everyone up to speed with reopening discussions:

The BGOP forge reopening will be tied in with the reopening of the Gulf branch nature center, which is looking to reopen in the fall.

As the board is made aware of a more firm date, we will keep members appraised as to when we can start lighting fires back up and hammering hot steel.

05/05/2020

BGOP Beginner's Class

Despite being closed, we still get emails asking about classes. Here is a new resource for people interested in taking our Beginner's Blacksmithing Class once we open back up again:

https://sites.google.com/view/bgopbeginnersclass/home?authuser=0

BGOP's Beginner Blacksmith Classes are offered as a six-week course, four hours every Wednesday evening from 6-10 pm. This 24 hours of instruction costs $300 per person for guild members ($40 annual dues). Checks should be payable to "BGOP" and are collected at the beginning of the first class. Clas...

03/23/2020

At the request of Arlington County, Guild is closed until further notice. Please do not access the shop.

03/19/2020

As a result of current federal and state guidance, the BGOP Spring Fling is officially canceled.

We will be in contact with those who have already prepaid, and will be letting demonstrators and vendors know shortly as well.

03/19/2020

Due to both federal and state guidance on social gatherings of more than 10 people during the Coronavirus pandemic, all regular buisness meetings and demos will be canceled until further notice.

Also, for the time being, the shop will have strict limits of no more than 9 people inside the shop at all times.

The Board will revise access to the shop as more guidance and recommendations from local, state, and federal official becomes available. We understand how important shop access may be, and will do what we can during the current crisis.

03/18/2020

Good afternoon.

The Beginner's Blacksmith Class is suspending curriculum for the time being. Even though we're a group smaller than 10 in a spread-out area, enough people are concerned and self-isolating that it makes sense to simply postpone the second half of our instruction until larger groups are authorized by the CDC.

Tonight, I will be at the shop for students who haven't indicated a preference, but will treat it as open-forge time instead of instruction time. I will limit the number of the people in the shop to 8, total, disinfect all hand-touch surfaces, and lock up by 9pm.

Resumption of classes will be announced to current students by email, and here, when social-distance recommendations begin expanding again. Thank you for your understanding.
- Christopher Price, Instructor

03/13/2020

Potomac Antique Tools and Industries Association, Inc. (PATINA)

FYI: Emails came out, but I don't see this on FB or their webpage yet. Sorry for the large post, but I wanted to share the whole thing. Eric

"The PATINA 2020 Spring Tool Sale and Auction scheduled for Friday March 13 and 14, 2020 will NOT take place and is being postponed until the current coronavirus health emergency is over.
Today, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan announced drastic measures to try to limit the spread of COVID-19, including closing public schools. In addition all gatherings of more than 250 people are banned and even smaller senior activity centers will be closed.
PATINA apologizes for any inconvenience this causes to all who were looking forward to participate in the annual sale and auction, but the Governor’s announcement about the current health emergency dictates we take this action.

Moving forward, PATINA is working to arrange a future date for our tool sale and auction, and will provide this information on our web site: http://www.patinatools.org/

We wish you all health and safety, and look forward to having everyone back at our next event.
PATINA ."

The Potomac Antique Tools and Industries Association, Inc. (PATINA) is an educational, tax-exempt organization for people who have an interest in the tools, crafts or manufacturing processes of the past.

02/22/2020

Please do not deface the guild's tools like this. They are difficult to repair or replace, and this is nobody's personal shop where they can modify anything to their liking.

02/21/2020

Hey everyone, I had a student drop out at the last minute for our next Beginner's Blacksmithing class, starting 26 February and running through April 1.

Classes are every Wednesday evening from 6-10pm in the BGOP shop at Gulf Branch Nature Center. Class is $300, and guild dues are $40/year if you're not a member already.

To sign up, please email [email protected] to confirm. First come, first served.

Thanks!

01/31/2020

FYI, all you people who think making knives is the most fun thing to do. A couple of your guild members have been there and done that, feel free to ask them questions.

Josh Fikentscher
Christopher Price

Season 8 casting call. Looking for Bladesmiths , blacksmiths, ferriers, metal.workers who live to makenbkades and compete on Forged in Fire.
As Wil Willis says " Your time starts now" !

11/28/2019

Members will be in the shop from 10 AM to 4 PM on black Friday.

11/08/2019

Open forge tonight from 5 PM to 8:45 PM

10/22/2019

Open forge tonight, Oct 22nd 6:20 PM to 8:45 PM.

10/15/2019

open Forge tonight from 6:30 to 8:45 PM

10/14/2019

We still have a couple openings in our October beginners class, starting this Wednesday and running 6 weeks.

10/14/2019

Open forge tonight from 6:20 PM to 8:45 PM.

10/12/2019

The view from Sky Meadows and Darius heating up some steel.

10/12/2019

National Building Museum

Hello folks. We are demonstrating at several locations this weekend- come out and see us!

http://go.nbm.org/site/Calendar/1017803029?view=Detail&id=122529
(Today only)

https://sites.google.com/a/pagecountyheritage.com/pcha/heritage-festival

https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/sky-meadows

Members must be signed in to access discounted tickets. For instructions. Members will still see this message once logged in.

10/11/2019

Hi Folks, we still need demonstrators for Sky Meadows THIS weekend for Sunday October 13th. Please contact Phil Travis or George Anderton if you can help us out.
Thanks, Eric.

10/09/2019

We're still looking to fill a couple seats in next week's Beginner's Blacksmithing Class.

Please email [email protected] if you're interested.

10/07/2019

Open Forge Tuesday Oct 8th from 6:20 to 8:45.

The kiln will be available for annealing and heat treating for members.