Most blasksmiths give their forge a unique name; I came up with Tuckertown forge after listening to many years of stories from my dad. He would talk of Tuckertown as I was growing up. I am living in the house I grew up in. It was built in 1839. EW Tucker was the first person to settle on our land. He had established a factory to make cradles for grain scythe. The cradle would keep the grain stalk from falling on the ground. He also made rakes, wooden doorknobs, etc. I decided to honor the early inventor/manufacturer in the name of the forge.
I have worked with metal for several years, from computerized machines to lathe and mills. Having an urge to go back another step or two back in history it lead me to learn the pioneer ways of metal working. I built my first forge and refined my skills while volunteering at Charlton Park, an old time village in Hastings, MI.
Along with working in the forge, I enjoy sharing the art by demonstrating at festivals, high school shop classes, 4-H groups, church youth groups, and helping Boy Scouts to obtain the metal working merit badges.