New England School of Metalwork
7 Albiston Way Auburn, Maine 04210
207-777-6211 Toll Free 888-753-7502
Fax 207-784-5383

About

       The New England School of Metalwork is a full 501 C3 non-profit educational facility devoted to the promotion and strengthening of metalworking skills. Located in beautiful Auburn, Maine, the concept of the school was developed by Maine Oxy and Dereck Glaser, a local artisan metalsmith. After several years of individuals inquiring about ornamental and artistic metal working instruction the decision was made to build the school. We set to the task of designing and planning an metalworking studio/lab with forging, blacksmithing, metal sculpture and welding technologies as the main source of inspiration. Plans were drawn, budgets were established and away we went to building the school.

       In February of 2000 the doors opened for the first class. Our blacksmithing studio is fully equipped for up to seven students. A line of four coal forges and three gas forges form seven stations, each equipped with a full array of hand tools, anvils and vises. Two large pneumatic power hammers, two treadle hammers and a ever growing assortment of power and hand tooling. The newly constructed 2900 square foot facility is also shared by a fully equipped, up to date welding school. Courses are currently being offered in Welding Safety ,MIG welding ,TIG welding & Plasma cutting, Oxy-fuel cutting and Shielded Metal Arc Welding of various skill levels. The incredibly generous funding from Maine-Oxy and their vendors have now given New England a year round source of instruction for blacksmithing and welding. You will always have the upper hand in staying in touch with the most current technology available.

       Based on our mission statement, we do not believe that as a student, one should be held responsible for the material used to practice. Here at the New England School of Metalwork you will not find any hidden fees, no material fees, no lab fees, no fuel cost fees at the end of a workshop. This goes against what we feel creates a comfortable and stress free atmosphere for learning. This means that the cost of tuition is the only cost you face for a class.

       We also offer private one on one tutorial time in both welding and blacksmithing. Rates vary depending on the tasks at hand and progress you want to achieve. We can arrange these sessions for companies working on certification as well as individuals wanting to try something new. Please us the contact page to inquire on rates.

       In a continued attempt to help strengthen Maine and New England's welding industry, the New England School of Metalwork built a Mobile Weld Training Center. This fully self sufficient welding school has been designed to accommodate up to eight students. It has its own power source and is capable of teaching any welding process. So with a call, training can be arranged to be at you r doorstep.  The MWTC is available to schools and groups who want to showcase welding or expose those interested to the welding industry. For details, prices and arrangements call Ron Guimond at 207-782-5148.

        The New England School of Metalwork also offers a very unique opportunity to metal artist. In 2007, the school had their first biennial art show, "Metal; the Art of Force". This art show not only was the spring board for the Al Pratt Memorial Scholarship Fund but initiated the development of the Albiston Gallery. This virtual gallery show cases metal artist from all over the country. Artist that jury into this gallery are given a free page to showcase their work and has the school to act as their manager, putting them in touch with customers. Visit the gallery and be amazed at the variety of work available to you. By supporting these artist you become collector of fine art as well as helping to support the school.

Our School Symbol

Jiang, Artisan, crafts person

       Does a tool have a spirit of its own?
One of the rules that the ancients taught about tools was that no one but their owner should touch them.  A tool had a spirit and should only be handled by its owner.   For centuries, craftspeople valued their tools; building elaborate toolboxes as virtual shrines to their precious tools.  Then with industrialization and the conversion to factories; owners pushed for greater efficiency and mass production.  They eliminated personal tools and required workers to check out implements from a central tool crib and return them after use.  Pride in tools and personal standards of craft were destroyed.  Some people scoff at these attitudes.  To them, the belief that a tool has spirit is plain superstitious.  "An object is an object," they say "nothing more and nothing less".  But that attitude overlooks the opportunity to use craft as a means of self-realization.  A spirit may be no more in a tool than in a temple, but the fact remains that for that spirit creates a tremendous change in the artisan.  By respecting the spirit in the tool, the artisan really focuses on his or her own perception and skill.  The true spirit in the tool is nothing less than the craftsman's pursuit of perfection.
 
 
       About our Staff
 
Dereck Glaser
Executive Director

Metal smithing Program Director/Resident Blacksmith

       Dereck started forging in 1983 at the age of fourteen, a couple years after learning about blacksmiths through the roll playing game Dungeons and Dragons. Once Dereck reached his late teens he was able to begin working in some of the shops in the Cincinnati area. All through college Dereck pursued metalworking of all forms, he earned a Bachelors of Science in Industrial Art Education and a minor in Art. Dereck has taught at various other schools across the country and is a licensed educator in most of New England, his metalwork is spread throughout the Eastern United States. In 1996, Dereck was awarded the People’s Choice Award at the Alfred ABANA Conference and recently the Anvil’s Ring did an interview with Dereck about his career as a metal artist and the development of the New England School of Metalwork. His work reflects a traditional European flavor and emphasizes the methods and reasoning behind traditional joinery and the design aspects of many of the past and present masters that he has studied. In 1997 Dereck moved his family to Maine to teach Metal arts on a high school level and has subsequently moved to be the Director and Resident Blacksmith of the New England School of Metalwork in Auburn Maine. Now in his thirties, Dereck has finally built his own studio at home where he hopes to relax and truly begin to see and exercise his talents of artistic metalworking. 

                  

       "Metal is an extremely forgiving and revealing material. I strive to stretch its abilities, pushing and pulling it like clay, I have found various aspects of its nature, secrets it only reveals when it is heated and forced into shape. Utilizing these secrets and its natural properties, ferrous and non-ferrous metals can provide a timeless sense of stability and permanence. They often provide their own textures and colors, they will support themselves even in the smallest sections and the speech imparted from form is inherent to everyone and apart of creating work that is sensible and alluring to the mind.
In the world I live in today, working so intimately with a material is often overlooked and reserved only for artist and craftsman. Executing art work raises the question of which processes to use to execute a given commission or part of a job. Many times the processes are put in place by the design or perhaps the clients needs. The question still remains, as an artist how do I determine and by what methods will I work. No matter what processes I choose to work in, the common denominator is that the work must be executed in the most sincere way as to not compromise the overall feeling.
          It is the choices and methods of working with a material in respects to the artist desire that defines me as an artist. After twenty four years of working with metals, I have begun to speak within the materials tongue, now I can begin to develop an intimate relationship with my art. "          


Warren Swan
Welding Program Director / Resident Welder

       Started working in the metal trades as a construction boilermaker in 1973. He helped construct and repair boilers in paper mills, generating stations, and incinerators throughout New England. As a boilermaker, Warren became proficient in the SMAW (stick), GTAW (TIG), GMAW (MIG), and FCAW (flux core) processes. Several boiler contractors certified him for welding on both plate and pipe. In 1996, Warren began work as a welder in a specialized machine shop in southwestern Maine. Here he used the GMAW, GTAW, and braze processes on stainless and inconel steels for customers in the oil industry. Some of the oil exploration equipment Warren had the opportunity to weld on at the shop is seeing worldwide service. Warren became the Resident Welding Instructor at the New England School of Metalwork in May 2002. He is responsible for the everyday operation and long term planning of the welding program. Warren has organized and instructed classes for individuals as well as for companies requesting weld training for their employees. His current welding certifications include AWS 1.1, AWS 1.5, and State of Maine Pipe in SMAW and GTAW. Warren has always called Maine home. He is a graduate of the University of Maine and University of Southern Maine.

                                               
 
   
       "Welding has become a vast, technical field. Welding machines are getting more complex, and there are newer electrodes for almost any application. The upside to all of these advances is that welding on traditionally difficult materials is becoming easier.

        There is a tremendous need for welders today. The more you know about welding, the greater your opportunities to gain employment in this field. There’s really no limit to the possibilities out there.

       I’m a firm believer in understanding both the technical and hands on sides of welding.  The more you understand what is involved with a particular process, the better welder you will become. We can teach you the basics for several processes at the school.

       One of the school’s greatest strengths is its flexibility. We have basic and advanced courses in several processes. In addition, we can present specialized classes with very little advance notice.

        We have a fantastic facility and up to date equipment. The instructors that help me out have years in the welding field and are top notch. Our goal is for you to understand the welding process and to produce strong, good-looking welds with the least amount of effort. You’ll have a great time in class and learn a tremendous amount about welding.”

We’ll see you in class!

Warren 
 
Ron Guimond
Mobile Weld Training Center Instructor / Resident Welder
       Ron’s welding career began in 1973 as a welder trainee at Bath Iron Works, a naval defense contractor located in Bath, Me. It was here that Ron was able to develop his welding skills using the SMAW, GMAW, GTAW and other welding processes on ferrous and non-ferrous metals. During the mid-80`s, at the onset of the Aegis destroyer program, Ron was employed as a welding instructor involved with the training and testing of welders with various skills and abilities. Following eight years as an instructor, Ron was a member of a pipe welding team responsible for welding x-ray piping in production shops and shipboard.
         Ron was hired in 2003 at the NESM as a part-time welding instructor teaching evening classes. In 2005, after 32 years of service at BIW, Ron retired and worked as a welder/fabricator and process pipe welder for a local company.
         In February of 2006, Ron was asked to take on the role of Mobile Weld Training Center instructor, and to help construct the unit.
               
         "With the Mobile Weld Training Center, we’ll be able to come directly to the customer and provide specialized training and testing using various welding processes. Our unit is equipped with the newest technology available.
         Through our commitment to excellence, we can provide the best training available to meet the needs of the customer!"