Saturday, September 29, 2018, 10 AM-3PM, Harvest Festival at Fields Pond, Orrington

Saturday, September 29, 2018, 10 AM-3PM,  Harvest Festival at Fields Pond, Orrington

•  antique tractors and cars
• tractor pulled hay rides
• jitterbug/doodlebug collection
• jitterbug/doodlebug competition pull with Maine Antique Tractor Association 
• pumpkin painting
• Freshly Cut Grass Bluegrass Music
• Participatory Apple Cider Making
• Woodworking Activity For the Family: Make a Coat Rack with Handmade Wooden Pegs
• Homemade Halloween Costume Contest---Prizes
• Pickling on the Porch ( Make a Mason Jar of Pickles, sauerkraut, or Korean kimchi ---$12)
• Old Country Fair Games for Kids
• Food in the Farmhouse Kitchen For Sale: Corn Chowder, Irish Stew (with lamb) and Biscuits
• Admissions: $12 Adults, Children (Under 18): Free

Starting Tuesday, September 18, 6-9PM, Six Weeks of Beginning Blacksmithing Classes, Tuesdays and Thursday Evenings,

Starting Tuesday, September 18, 6-9PM, Six Weeks of Beginning Blacksmithing Classes, Tuesdays and Thursday Evenings, at 19th Century Curran Homestead Village, 372 Fields Pond Rd., Orrington, ME 04474. This beginner’s class covers all the basics of coal fired forging including safety, tools, materials, heating, cutting, bending, drifting, and forming steel objects. Start off with a small project and build on  knowledge projects that include tools for further work. Projects include hooks, a nail, spoon, fire poker with birdcage handle and more... Learn tempering and forge welding. Time permitting; students may forge a knife blade, if desired. This class includes Saturday morning studio for additional practice by arrangement. Cost: $395, tools and materials provided. Students required to supply their own 2lb. or more hammer. Registration is required and is first come, first serve by cash, check payable to "The Curran Homestead" or credit card (MasterCard & Visa only). Call: Robert Schmick, Museum Director at (207) 205-4849, email: rpschmick1@aol.com, or Irv Marsters, 745-4426, email: irv@bangorlettershop.com

These are the projects from a class in January of 2017.

Sat. & Sun., September 22 & 23, 9AM-4PM, Knife Making Class at Newfield

Saturday & Sunday, September 22 & 23, 9AM-4PM, Knife Making Class at Newfield

Knife Making Class at Curran Homestead Village at Newfield, 70 Elm St., Newfield, ME.  Instructor Frank Vivier assists you making your first knife and starting on the road to mastering this satisfying craft in a weekend. This is both an opportunity for beginners and intermediate level knife makers. Using propane fired forges, cut and shape a blade and tang from spring steel. Use a combination of hand files, grinders, and belt sanders. Quench harden using a coal fired forge and oven temper knives. Create hardwood handle scales with brass rivets. Epoxy and finish sand to satisfaction walking away with a nearly completed knife. Materials and tools provided. Tuition: $225. Pay to register, Discount for returning students. First come, first serve. Limited to 5. Call: (207) 205-4849, Visit: curranhomestead.org

This class has been given since 2013 at the Newfield museum and has evolved:

Formerly Willowbrook Museum's "Horse-stock Building", this smithy was used largely for a static exhibit. The horse-stock was removed crating a large space for other anvils and propane fired forges. This building is the site of our current knife making classes, although we have had smaller classes held in the Tom Flagg Smithy depicted below.

This smithy was actually moved from a farm in Lincolnville, Maine. It was constructed by 17 year old Tom Flagg in 1935. Flagg inherited many tools from previous generations as well as well as acquired many of his home. The collection of tools includes many hand-forged hammers, drifts, cuts, and tongs either made by Flagg or previous generations of his family. The anvil stand is Tom Flagg's own with am Fisher anvil donated by Paul Baresel of Buxton, ME. The smithy now contains a forge that tom Flagg made himself that uses a Champion forge blower. The second forge in the smithy came for the Estate of Lawrence Cook in Meriden, CT. Cook was a machinist who created Civil war artillery pieces sometimes from scratch as well as muzzle loaders and re-enacting accessories. The museum received many pieces of equipment from Cook's machine shop including pieces from the 1880s including drill presses, a horizontal milling machine, and an American Sawmill Co. band saw. In addition to the large Buffalo forge in the smithy there is a wall mounted drill press 

 

Saturday, September 22, 4:30-7PM, Painted Pony Party Fundraising Dinner with Bluegrass

Make Your Reservation Now for 19th Century Curran Homestead Village at Newfield’s September 22, 4:30-7PM, Painted Pony Fundraising Dinner with Freshly Cut Grass Bluegrass Band. Curran Homestead Village (formerly Willowbrook Museum ), 70 Elm Street, Newfield, ME. Dine at this museum’s rustic restaurant with live music, Maine’s own Freshly Cut Grass. One seating only at 4:30, dinner served at 5. The menu includes Mary’s own encrusted chicken cordon blue, glazed baby carrots, ribbons of zucchini, rolls with butter, scalloped potatoes, green salad, cranberry compote, corn chowder and apple crisp a la mode. Meal includes a pint of local Gneiss beer or glass of wine, or other beverage. Additional beer and wine for purchase, $5, $3. Reserve a free ride at 3 or 4PM on the horse carousel with your 4:30PM dinner reservation.  This is a fundraiser supporting our annual school field trip programming with more than 1600 from the Southern and Central Maine and New Hampshire area in May and June, 2018 and more to come this fall; help keep a 49 year tradition for area kids going. Single: $30, Couples $55. Call as soon as you can for your reservation: (207) 205-4849 or (207) 745-4426. We're a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit museum.

Knife Making Classes at Newfield, February 4 & 5/February 24 & 25, 2018

Feb. 24 & 25: Student Lunch

Feb. 3 & 4  Class: After the Quench

Eric Thoresen works on his hardwood handle.

Heating for the Quench; Frank Vivier watches over a student's knife.

Nick Armentrout of Lyman's knife in progress.

A little side lesson in forge welding on our coal fired forge.

Feb. 3 & 4 Knife Making Class. From left: Matt Day, Chad Nehrt, Eric Thoresen, Frank Vivier (instructor), Syndre Edwards, Heidi Edwards, Harold Gillman & Nick Armentrout

Chad Nehrt orf South Portland works at the belt sander on his newly forged knife.

February 3 & 4 Class, Student Knives

February 3 & 4 Class: Student Knives

February 24 & 25: File Work

Harold Gillman works on his first knife on day two after forging it on day one of the class.

Heidi Edwards took this knife making class with her seventeen year old daughter.

Frank Vivier instructor waits with student Eric Thoresen's blade to heat up for the quench. We use Wesson oil.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

February 2018 Classes at Newfield Poster

February, 2018 Classes at Newfield: Sign Up Now!

Sat. & Sun, Feb. 3 & 4, 9-4, Knife Making Class at Curran Homestead Village at Newfield. We're back with our popular Knife Making Classes with Frank Vivier. Make your first knife and start on the road to mastering this craft in a weekend. This is both an opportunity for beginners and intermediate level knife makers. Using propane or coal fired forges (your preference), we will cut and shape a blade and tang from spring steel. Students will use a combination of hand and power tools. We will oil quench and oven temper knives. Create hardwood handle scales and brass rivets. Students will epoxy their handles to their finished blades by the end of the class. All materials and tools provided. Tuition: $225. Pay to register, Discount for returning students. Pay to register, first come, first serve. Limited to 5. Call: (207) 205-4849,Visit: curranhomestead.org

Sat. & Sun., Feb. 3 & 4, 9AM-3PM, Beginner's Bookbinding Class. 12 hours total. At Curran Homestead Village at NEWFIELD, Red Barn Building, 70 Elm Street, Newfield, Maine. $150 Tuition, Material and tools provided. Purchase a bookbinder’s kit for an additional $30 or use our tools. Work with professional book artist, conservator, archivist, and librarian Anastasia Weigle and learn to build two classic bindings. Day One: Learn to build a classic German Case Bradel Binding with signature stitches. This beautiful book is suitable for a slim collection of poems. Day Two: Learn to build a drum-leaf binding, a book specifically designed for artists, printer, and photographers. This book opens up completely flat without a break in the gutter allowing you to display an image across two pages. The initiated will review and refine skills to gain confidence in one of the standard bookbinding constructions. Class limited to 6. Pay to Register. We can send you a Gift Certificate! (207) 205-4849, Email: rpschmick1@aol.com

Sat. & Sun., February 24 & 25, 9AM-3PM. Letterpress Printing Class at 19th Century Curran Homestead Village at Newfield, 70 Elm Street, Newfield. 12 hrs. Learn from a working, professional letterpress printer Mark Matteau of the Dunstan Press, Scarborough in our museum's circa 1890s letterpress printing shop (William Cram's Printing Shop). Learn to compose a chase of lead type using traditional methods. You will ink your press and make printings on a foot treadle or hand printing press. You will complete a number of projects that you can walk away with and share during this two days. This is a good complement to our Bookbinding Class offered on Feb. 3 & 4, and those who choose both with be given a twenty dollar discount. Opportunities for use of our printing shop during the regular season if you wish to grow as a printer. Limited to 5 students ( Ages 11 - Adult). Tuition: $125 Call to register, first come, first serve. Call: (207) 205-4849,Visit: curranhomestead.org