Metal Workshops - Technical facility

Our metal and fine metal workshops cover all the disciplines and techniques that a designer/maker or artist would need to use in their future career.

The workshops consist of three main areas – metal fabrication, soldering/finishing and fine metals. Once the student has completed training in the techniques and processes associated within these workshops they are free to come and go as they please. The workshops are open all day with a specialist technician who is available for help and guidance at all times.

In the metal fabrication workshop the student will be shown how to cut, shape and join various metals. There are specialist areas for welding, hammering and forming and a forge where students will be shown how to bend and shape metal.

The soldering and finishing room is more associated with the making of smaller scale pieces. Propane gas torches used for silver soldering non-ferrous metals (copper, brass, silver) There is etching equipment to help give a unique surface to non-ferrous metals. Enamelling kilns and area to give a coloured glass like surface onto your work. Casting moulds and equipment to cast pieces from pewter or silver and Polishing equipment to help with the final finishing off to freshly made pieces.

The fine metal room is where students can produce items such as jewellery, body art and contemporary objects. It is set out with hardwood jewellery benches complete with lamps, pegs and bench skins. The workshop has all the equipment associated with a jeweller’s workshop, rollers, triblets, vices, pendant drills, rolling mill and guillotine shear. There are also a wide variety of hand tools including piercing saws, jeweller’s pliers, hand files, punches, blocks and sand bags.

Together the metal workshops are an unique area for the student to begin their journey into the making of highly crafted objects from jewellery, products, sculpture and any other type of metalwork issues that may be needed during their time at the university.