The New Spruce Forge Manual of Locksmithing: A Blacksmith?s Guide to Simple Lock Mechanisms

Runner-Up for the best HOBBY and CRAFT BOOK 2023, IBPA Book Awards.

The New Spruce ForgeManual of Locksmithing: A Blacksmith’s Guide to Simple Lock Mechanisms is a totallyrevised and expanded version of the original work from 1999. This new hardcoveredition, at 304 pages and with more than 800 color photos and illustrations, ismore than double the size of the original manual.

This bookwill have great appeal to anyone who has blacksmithing as a hobby or as aprofession, to those who repair antique doors, furniture or who makeperiod style furniture, those involved in historical architectural restoration,and also to everyone who has any interest in antique keys, locks and theirmechanical mechanisms.

The book is dividedinto two distinct sections:

TechnicalInformation - This section is a reference manual in itself that coversthe specific tools and techniques needed to build all the parts for each lock,as well as providing the information needed to understand the assemblyinstructions outlined in the second section.

TheLocks: Patterns & Instructions - This section provides the plans anddetailed instructions for each of the 14 lock projects in this new edition. Theclear assembly instructions describe when and how to use the technicalinformation provided in section one.

Theauthors have maintained their original trademark style that relies on well-illustratedstep-by-step instructions that guide you through the whole lock-making process.They have also kept their low-tech approach that demonstrates how to go aboutcreating good work using only a handful of simple tools.

Makingblacksmith locks is an age-old skill the authors of this manual are helping topreserve by passing on their knowledge to this book’s readers. The NewSpruce Forge Manual of Locksmithing is also an excellent introductionto benchwork, which is a useful skill for any blacksmith to acquire. Thismanual will become a valuable, trusted and often referred to sourcebook in yourblacksmithing library.

Denis Frechette has spent his entire adult life working with hand tools. He started woodworking at an early age, set up his first forge in 1979, studied pottery in college and worked for several years as a professional craftsman. In 2005 he began producing videos documenting his approach to early technology. In 2008 he transfered his collection of videos from his website to YouTube. As of 2021 his channel - DF InTheShop - has a library of over 300 instructional videos that have given many people the confidence to pursue blacksmithing.

William Morrison's interest in blacksmithing began over 40 years ago, about the same time he was beginning his career as an art instructor. He received his Bachelor of Arts from Eastern Michigan University in 1970. William developed and taught both a blacksmithing course, offered at the high school level, as well as a week-long summer blacksmithing camp at Michigan Tech University for its Summer Youth Program. His blacksmithing experience includes working summers on Mackinac Island, both demonstrating in the Island Blacksmith Shop making period pieces, and participating in specific projects such as the Fort's weathervane, gates and railings, and consulting work in the restoration of locks from the 1700s. William currently owns and operates Spruce Forge in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, where he designs custom ironwork--everything from kitchen utensils to gates.