Side draft forge at the Ossipee Valley Fair shop.

Ossipee Valley Fair is a great little fair right after the fourth of July in South Hiram, Maine. In 1998 my brother and I built this shop during the fair. There was a portable sawmill doing demonstrations and we had them saw the lumber we needed to build a 12 x 16 shop. The next spring we put on a steel roof using refurbished roofing donated by Fryeburg Fair. That summer we had a New England Blacksmiths mini meet and built a New England-side draft forge. Various smiths have demonstrated through the years, and since 2014 my son Forrest has become the lead smith. In 2000 the New England Blacksmiths hosted a spring meet on this site which was very successful. There were two hundred smiths onsite, the largest meeting ever, with record proceeds raised for the organization to promote blacksmithing throughout New England. 
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The New England Blacksmiths Annual Spring Meet was held June 2-4 2017 at the Fryeburg Fairgrounds. 

Joel Tripp along with his daughter Dana and son Forrest were the featured demonstrators. The fast moving demonstration featured the forging process of a hammer, tongs, camp axe, pulp hook, pickeroon, and hand adze.   

Contact New England Blacksmiths for information on joining the guild and future events.
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Demonstration in the bright sun. Bill needed sunglasses to see the forge.

Joel demonstrates at the Biddeford Vocational School each spring. If your school, organization, or museum would like to have a demonstration, please contact us and we will be happy to work with you.

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