Learn how to forge a knife out of a railroad spike!
This is the perfect class to learn one of the basics of knives-making: balancing durability and hardness of the metal to make the perfect blade.
Students will utilize a high carbon railroad spike and learn methods that induce carbon into the metal while also learning how to temper in a process called normalization. The metal will then posses both features of a durable and hard metal that is ideal for knives.
As far as knives are concerned, the harder the steel, the better the edge, however, the harder edge makes for a brittle knife. A balance is needed between the soft flexible metal and the hard brittle metal to achieve a knife that will hold an edge without breaking. In this class more techniques for blade smithing will be covered, including various heat treatments, tapering, and tempering methods used to maximize strength with durability.
About the Instructor: This class is taught by Kenneth of Fire & Brimstone Forge.
Age: there are no age restrictions to the class. Minors must be accompanied by an adult.
What to wear: At RMM, you must dress safely and appropriately. Arrive for class in all-natural fiber clothing (100% cotton), long pants, and closed-toe, closed-heel shoes with socks that protect up to the ankle. Long hair must be tied back. Nylon, polyester, spandex, or other synthetics are not allowed around machines, equipment, or processes that can produce hot fragments, sparks, or flames. Additional protective gear will be provided as needed.
Please review our Refund and Cancellation Policy.
From light bulbs to fiber optic cables, vases to garden sculpture -, everything in glass starts with a "gather". In this class students use traditional glassmaking tools to learn the basics and sculpt hot glass into a desired shape or design. Our focus is to gain the beginning skills of glasswork imperative to working in a "Hot shop." This class is taught by Garrett of Whimsies Hot Glass.
About the Instructor: Garrett began teaching at a young age, first as a martial arts instructor and later at a trade school for massage therapy. While teaching massage, he found a glass studio in town and was accepted as an apprentice under Daniel Bell of Red Flower Studios and Jeremy Thomley of Hot Glass Mississippi. After about a year, Garrett was hired on as an assistant in the shop. For 2 years he assisted full time in the studio while honing his glass basics. The shop focused on customer experiences and instruction. In an industry where most artists are fighting for four hours of furnace time Garrett was thrown into 12 hour days 6 days a week. After his assistantship Garrett was placed in charge of student glass experiences for 2 seasons.
During the off time he found his way out to Utah and Texas for more education and glass work experience in other studios. After moving to Birmingham , Garrett began growing his education in furnace building with the help of Charlie Correll of Correll glass studio and now has his own portable furnace for demos and classes on the go allowing him to open his own studio: Whimsies Hot Glass. The name comes from an old glassblowing term for the creative items a glassblower may get to make at the end of the work day for themselves; whimsies are all the beginnings of glassblowers personal creativity and so it will be your beginning as well!
While his focus and passion is in student experiences, blow your owns and classes Garrett's personal work can be found at local artist and makers markets in the Birmingham area.
What to wear: At RMM, you must dress safely and appropriately. Arrive for class in all-natural fiber clothing (100% cotton), long pants, and closed-toe, closed-heel shoes with socks that protect up to the ankle. Long hair must be tied back. Nylon, polyester, spandex, or other synthetics are not allowed around machines, equipment, or processes that can produce hot fragments, sparks, or flames. Additional protective gear will be provided as needed. The CDC has a guide to acceptable cloth masks that help prevent the spread of infection.
Refund and Cancellation Policy
In the intermediate glassblowers class we will explore the blowing portion of glass work. Starting with a "seed bubble" we hope to grow our seed into basic forms in glass like the tumbler or ornament. Shaping and focusing on the centering aspect of our work. Team exercises are inevitable in glass and we will be working as a team to help each other reach our desired design. Blowing glass adds a much more detailed focus in glass as opposed to sculpting and requires swift but purposeful movements to get where we want. In this class attention to movement is a large part. If you move right, the glass will move right. This class is taught by Garrett of Whimsies Hot Glass.
Learn to make an elegant hand-crafted “Baron” Fountain Pen OR a Roller Ball Pen!
The “Baron” fountain pen is trimmed with nibs, clips and other elements made out of the highest quality silver plating which gives each pen a distinguished look in addition to durability. Experience in turning would be helpful but is not required.
The fountain pen features an ultra-smooth threading removable cap that screws on to both the bottom and top of the pen. The Baron Fountain Pen not only is a great looking pen, but it is also light weight and one of the smoothest writing instruments available for everyday use and has a two-tone German made nib with an iridium tip. The artistic fittings are hand worked and polished and the solid metal external components add to the pens expensive and hardy feel.
The Baron comes with both a siphon pump and blue ink cartridge. This hand-crafted pen will make a unique gift to others or yourself and will be completely one-of-a-kind!
The Baron Rollerball was designed for comfort, style, and function with its classic design and six striking facets on the nib.
The Baron Rollerball is extremely easy to make and includes a ceramic tipped Schmidt cartridge for ultra-smooth and effortless writing.
Each pen will be turned from beautiful exotic woods such as: King Cocobolo, Olivewood, Burmese Rosewood, Cherry Burl, Boxelder Burl, Red Mailee Burl, Bocote, Spalted Tamarind, Box Elder, etc. Students may choose silver plated or gold for the pen kit.
About the Instructor: Terry Tingle is the president of the Alabama Woodturners Association and is a member of The American Association of Woodturners. Terry has been teaching students how to turn pens for years, some of whom have had their exhibitions in Art and Craft Shows throughout Alabama, including Mentone.
Are Minors allowed? Yes, accompanied by parent.
What to wear: You must dress safely and appropriately. Arrive for class in long pants, and closed-toe, closed-heel shoes with socks that protect up to the ankle. Long sleeves should be avoided if possible and rolled up if necessary. Long hair must be tied back and dangly necklaces, earrings or other accessories shall be removed before starting the class. Additional protective gear will be provided as needed. Masks may be required depending on circumstances.
Age: there are no age restrictions to the class, though minors must be supervised by a guardian at all times. Please read carefully the disclaimers and guidelines and contact us with any questions or concerns.
Develop fundamental skills in joining metal objects under the instruction of Jon Webber, a former fabricator with 10yrs experience. This is an introductory class with no prior experience necessary. It includes a crash course in the MIG welding process, metal cutting, grinding, as well as the basics of hand tool use and shop safety.
Students will leave with a wide familiarity of skills and studio techniques.
NOTE: This class is a pre-requisite for the other welding process classes (stick and TIG) as well as any Project-Based Metalcraft classes.
What to wear: If you use glasses to read, please bring them. If you can't see, you will struggle welding well. At RMM you must dress safely and appropriately. Arrive for class in all-natural fiber clothing (100% cotton), long pants, and closed-toe, closed-heel shoes with socks that protect up to the ankle. Long hair must be tied back. Nylon, polyester, and spandex are flammable and should not be worn around welding equipment, or processes that can produce hot fragments, sparks, or flames. Additional protective gear (hood, jackets, gloves) will be provided as needed.
About the Instructor: My name is Jon Webber. I’m a self taught welder by trade. I initially learned via youtube, then accumulated about 10 years of sweat equity working in production welding and eventually owned my own fabrication business. Most recently, I worked for Siemens making train cars. I look forward to passing on some of what I learned to the next generation of welders and hobbyists alike!
In this class students will forge high carbon steel hammer heads into an axe head. Students will be tasked with using the shop press, fitting a wooden handle, and honing an edge. Planning and preparation are key factors utilized in creating a functional piece. With that said, the head of the axe will have to fit a standard axe handle. After completing the forging, students will then proceed to refine and sharpen their axe by grinding, filing, and sanding as needed
Task involved - (shaping, assembly, measuring, marking, utilizing the press, hammering, fitting, gluing, and temp control)
In this class students will forge a small knife out of a piece of solid stock metal. This lesson will cover material foresight, design vs functionality, and will briefly hit upon types of metal and tempering techniques. The task used to create this knife will involve drawing- stretching out metal in a linear direction, forging out a bevel using hammer control, cutting, and sharpening. This class will involve the challenge of utilizing tongs and will introduce the methods necessary to handle the metal quickly and efficiently. Though this is an intermediate class, no previous knowledge is necessary to take this class. Work level is light to moderate.
Age: there are no age restrictions to the class, however minors must be accompanied by an adult.
In this workshop, you will have the opportunity to create several unique pewter charms, cast from tiny objects that you love!
Under the guidance of skilled metal artist, Julie Carpenter, your hands-on experience will include pattern designing, mold making, casting, drilling, polishing, and patina application. In addition to your newfound love for metal casting, you will take home 4-6 shiny new handmade pieces of pewter art designed and crafted by you! The holidays will be here before you know it, and these are great for gifting!
Feel free to bring your own small sentimental things to replicate in pewter or choose to use pieces from Julie’s collection.
About the Instructor: Julie Carpenter (@juliecarpenterart) has been instructing and sharing her knowledge in the art of metalworking since 2007. She has taught classes and held camps on the fundamentals of oxygen/acetylene (gas) welding, MIG (wire) welding, and pewter jewelry casting to people between the ages of 8 and 85. Julie believes that metal working is for everyone and that experiencing firsthand how metals melt and fuse together is the best beginning.
What to wear: At RMM, you must dress safely and appropriately. Arrive for class in long pants, and closed-toe, closed-heel shoes with socks that protect up to the ankle. Long hair must be tied back. Additional protective gear will be provided as needed.
In this class, we will turn a pen using an acrylic pen blank from a wide variety of colors and styles. Acrylic turns much differently from wood and having taken an earlier pen class would be helpful, but not a requirement for this class. Acrylic is much harder than wood and has a different kind of smell. The finished product, if done properly, will have a beautiful, glass-like appearance. Acrylic pens offer a much wider selection of colors and styles than wood. There is a limit of three to this class. The cost of $125.00 will cover all materials, prepared pen blanks, and all supplies for finishing your pen.
What to wear: You
must dress safely and appropriately. Arrive for class in long pants, and closed-toe, closed-heel shoes with socks that protect up to the ankle. Long sleeves should be avoided if possible and rolled up if necessary. Long hair must be tied back and dangly necklaces, earrings or other accessories shall be removed before starting the class. Additional protective gear will be provided as needed. Masks may be required depending on circumstances.
Get introduced to the beautiful craft of woodworking by making your own cutting board! You will choose from a variety of designs composed of different native hardwoods, learn proper assembling, gluing, sanding and finishing techniques and will be taught how to correctly use thickness planer and orbital sander.
After this 3-hour course, you will bring home a stylish ~ 8.5" x 11" handmade board that you can show off to your friends and family. Choose your design from these beautiful options:
What to wear: You must dress safely and appropriately. Arrive for class in long pants, and closed-toe, closed-heel shoes with socks that protect up to the ankle. Long sleeves should be avoided if possible and rolled up if necessary. Long hair must be tied back and dangly necklaces, earrings or other accessories shall be removed before starting the class. Additional protective gear will be provided as needed.
About the Instructor: Terry Tingle is the president of the Alabama Woodturners Association and is a member of The American Association of Woodturners. Terry has been doing woodworking since 2014, and has taught students how to create cutting board designs, cut segments, glue and use a variety of clamps, and how to use planers and orbital sanders, and how to use the right finishes to preserve cutting boards. Terry is knowledgeable and experienced in making long grain, edge grain, and end grain cutting boards. He especially enjoys seeing the expression of a student who has just learned how to make something that looks great and is so useful. And cutting boards make great gifts!
Join us for a two day hands-on stained glass ornament workshop where you'll craft your very own radiant suncatcher/ornament. This class is a perfect introduction to the world of stained glass art! This classes design is an adorable gnome. Check out other classes for other designs!
What You’ll Learn:
Minimum Enrollment: This course has a minimum enrollment of 4 students. If the minimum enrollment is not met, the course will be cancelled and a full refund will be issued to all registrants.
About the Instructor: Rhandie Weaver is the owner and artist at Blue Dragon Glass. She has been working with glass for over 25 years. She is mostly self taught and loves to share her knowledge of glass. Her work can be seen at The Birmingham Zoo, as she was awarded one of the "Vulcans on Parade" and created "Indigenous Vulcan". She works with stained glass, sandblast carved glass, fused glass, and mosaics. Check out Blue Dragon Glass on their website and Instagram.
Age: Students must be 15 years or older to participate. For students under 18 years, a guardian must be present throughout the class (they are not required to participate). Please read carefully the disclaimers and guidelines
What to wear: At RMM, you must dress safely and appropriately. Students must wear close toed shoes and have long hair tied up. No sandals or flip flops.
Cancellations: Please see our cancellation and rescheduling policy here.
In this class students will learn how to take one metal object and transform it into another in a case of extreme transformation. Students will take old hammers consisting of tool steel and transform the striking surface into an axe. Students will also be introduced to drifting dies designed to widen the eye for proper fitting to an axe handle. From here students will learn how to shape and refine the blade using the grinder and finally finishing it off with a fair amount of sanding before polishing. The final task is the heat treatment to temper the blade to withstand heavy blows. This will involve normalization, oil quenching, and heat tempering.
Learn the beautiful craft of pen-turning! In this introductory course to wood turning, you'll be shown how to turn a beautiful wooden pen on the lathe.
Over a couple of hours, you'll produce a gorgeous piece that is a perfect present for a dear one (or for yourself!) and learn the basics of woodturning, safety behind the lathe and its operations, as well as the different gouges to use in the process. Affectionately dubbed the "Cigar Pen,” this big body pen never gets lost on a desktop or in a purse. The large body fits comfortably in your hand for easy writing. The Cigar Pen features a high-quality, long-lasting mechanism and a durable finish. This kit utilizes a Parker style refill and a premium double twist mechanism for flawless smooth action. Excellent gift for any man in your life. Also easier to hold for people with arthritis. This pen comes in Chrome, Gold, or Black.
For a little bit fancier pen, make the Ultra Cigar pen with a “Maple Burl” pen blank for just $20.00 more:
Making nails has been one the oldest forms of Blacksmithing for centuries. It is usually the first task of any apprentice to learn the basics skills necessary toward becoming a blacksmith.
This course does not require a lot of strength nor skill-set prior to the class. For these reasons it is the perfect starting lesson for those wanting to try their hand at some old fashioned Blacksmithing. This course will teach students the proper terms, techniques, and protocols required to successfully create usable nails. For anyone looking to get a basic understanding of Blacksmithing, this is the course for you.
Start your own journey in glass, weather with sculptures or vessels you can begin exploring while the furnace is hot and an assistant is available.
This is an invite only unless you have taken the prerequisite intro and intermediate glassblowing or have glassblowing experience from another studio.
$45 per person. Feel free to bring your own tools or supplies. However, tools and annealer time are supplied and glass/color is provided at near cost for those that have a project they can finish.
Talk through with the instructor and find a plan for how to get to your desired design.
Note: this is not a guided class, you have access to an assistant for your work. If you need practice on basics this is a great opportunity to do so.
Develop fundamental skills in joining metal objects under the instruction of Stephen Charles, a former Welding Engineer and owner of Metalcraft Creative. This is an introductory class with no prior experience necessary. It includes a crash course in the MIG welding process, metal cutting, grinding, as well as the basics of hand tool use and shop safety.
What to wear: If you use glasses to read, please bring them. If you can't see, you will struggle welding well. At RMM, you must dress safely and appropriately. Arrive for class in all-natural fiber clothing (100% cotton), long pants, and closed-toe, closed-heel shoes with socks that protect up to the ankle. Long hair must be tied back. Nylon, polyester, spandex are flammable and should not be worn around welding equipment, or processes that can produce hot fragments, sparks, or flames. Additional protective gear (hood, jackets, gloves) will be provided as needed.
About the Instructor: Stephen Charles is a former Welding Engineer with many years of experience in production welding and custom fabrication. He has taught hundreds of beginners in the basics of welding and fabrication. Also, he’s pretty funny, so if you don’t have a sense of humor just laugh when everyone else does and no one will notice.
Prior welding experience, such as the Intro to MIG class, is required for this course.
In this welding project class, under the guidance of a fabrication instructor, you will learn and apply basic fabrication skills while constructing a functional footstool (16"x16"x12") using 1” square tubing and 1/8" sheet metal. The focus of the class is to learn a variety of functional metal working skills; how to read a measuring tape, proper fit-up technique, distortion control, how to ensure a square, and finally the opportunity to apply your welding skills in welding and grinding your project stool.
About the Instructor: My name is Jon Webber. I've accumulated 10 years experience working as a production welder and eventually owned my own fabrication business. I look forward to passing on some of what I've learned to the next generation of welders and hobbyists alike! The best part of this class: You'll not only your improve your skills, but also get to take your impressive foot stool home when you're done!
What to wear: At RMM you must dress safely and appropriately. Arrive for class in all-natural fiber clothing (100% cotton), long pants, and closed-toe, closed-heel shoes with socks that protect up to the ankle. Long hair must be tied back. Nylon, polyester, spandex, or other synthetics are not allowed around machines, equipment, or processes that can produce hot fragments, sparks, or flames. Additional protective gear will be provided as needed.
Stick Welding Class Description
Stick welding is known for being one of the more challenging welding processes to master. Therefore, we highly recommend that students without prior welding experience first enroll in our "Intro to MIG" class before taking this course.
Advantages of Stick Welding:
Cost-Effective: Very low cost of equipment ownership and maintenance.
Ideal for Thicker Materials: Excellent for welding materials that are 1/8 inch or thicker.
No Need for Shielding Gas: Does not require shielding gas, making it suitable for various conditions.
Versatile in Adverse Conditions: Perfect for use in dirty or windy environments, making it the preferred method for farmers and other outdoor professions.
What You'll Learn: Students will have the opportunity to learn the fundamental techniques of stick welding and practice these skills with expert feedback.
About the Instructor: Stephen Charles is a former Welding Engineer with many years of experience in production welding and custom fabrication. He has taught hundreds of beginners in the basics of welding and fabrication. Also, he’s pretty funny, but if you don't get a joke, just smile and nod. No one will notice.
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810 4TH AVE N, BIRMINGHAM, AL 35203, UNITED STATES | 205.588.4077 | secretary@redmountainmakers.org
RMM is a proud Birmingham AL nonprofit | © 2021 | Nonprofit Tax-ID: 46-2234591
