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Metal Fabrication2024-11-19T16:36:22-08:00

Making Beautiful and Useful Objects from Metal

With the right tools and knowledge, you can cut, shape, weld, forge, or machine metal into as many things as you can imagine. BARN’s Metal Fabrication studio has the instructors and tools to give you access to all these techniques.

Read on to learn more about what you can do in the three main metal shops: machine, welding and plasma, forge and foundry, and sheet metal shops. Each shop has a skilled team of monitors and instructors with many years of experience and know-how. With some instruction and practice, you’ll be ready to join our Open Studios and use the equipment on your own projects!

Getting Started in the Studio

Metal Fabrication Calendar

July 5, 2025

  • Machine Shop: Open Studio

    July 5, 2025  10:00 am - 12:30 pm
    Metal Machining

  • Welding: Open Studio for Plasma, Sheet Metal, and Welding

    July 5, 2025  10:00 am - 12:30 pm
    Welding & Sheet Metal Studio

  • Forge: Open Studio for the Forge

    July 5, 2025  12:00 pm - 3:00 pm
    Concrete Apron Outside BARN's Welding Shop

July 6, 2025

  • Welding: Practical Brazing and Silver Soldering

    July 6, 2025  2:00 pm - 4:30 pm
    Welding & Sheet Metal Shop

July 7, 2025

  • Summer Youth: Weld a Metal Pet (Ages 10-14)

    July 7, 2025  9:00 am - 12:00 pm
    Metal Fabrication Studio

  • Machine Shop: Open Studio

    July 7, 2025  1:00 pm - 3:30 pm
    Metal Machining

  • Summer Youth: Weld a Metal Pet (Ages 10-14)

    July 7, 2025  1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
    Metal Fabrication Studio

  • Welding: Introduction to Metal Inert Gas Welding (MIG #1)

    July 7, 2025  6:00 pm - 8:30 pm
    Welding & Sheet Metal Shop

July 8, 2025

  • Summer Youth: Weld a Metal Pet (Ages 10-14)

    July 8, 2025  9:00 am - 12:00 pm
    Metal Fabrication Studio

  • Summer Youth: Weld a Metal Pet (Ages 10-14)

    July 8, 2025  1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
    Metal Fabrication Studio

  • Machine Shop: Make a Bolt (Intro to the Lathe)

    July 8, 2025  6:00 pm - 8:30 pm
    Metal Fabrication Studio

July 9, 2025

  • Summer Youth: Weld a Metal Pet (Ages 10-14)

    July 9, 2025  9:00 am - 12:00 pm
    Metal Fabrication Studio

  • Summer Youth: Weld a Metal Pet (Ages 10-14)

    July 9, 2025  1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
    Metal Fabrication Studio

  • Foundry: Pattern Making for Metal Casting

    July 9, 2025  6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
    Offsite at Jeff Oens Studio, 8893 Three Tree Lane, Unit #1, Bainbridge Island, WA, 98110

  • Machine Shop: Open Studio

    July 9, 2025  6:00 pm - 8:30 pm
    Metal Machining

July 10, 2025

  • Summer Youth: Weld a Metal Pet (Ages 10-14)

    July 10, 2025  9:00 am - 12:00 pm
    Metal Fabrication Studio

  • Summer Youth: Weld a Metal Pet (Ages 10-14)

    July 10, 2025  1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
    Metal Fabrication Studio

  • Foundry: Pattern Making for Metal Casting

    July 10, 2025  6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
    Offsite at Jeff Oens Studio, 8893 Three Tree Lane, Unit #1, Bainbridge Island, WA, 98110

  • Machine Shop: Make a Nut (Intro to the Mill)

    July 10, 2025  6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
    Metal Fabrication Studio

July 11, 2025

  • Summer Youth: Weld a Metal Pet (Ages 10-14)

    July 11, 2025  9:00 am - 12:00 pm
    Metal Fabrication Studio

  • Metal Fab Tidy-Friday

    July 11, 2025  10:00 am - 12:00 pm
    Metal Machining, Welding, & Sheet Metal

  • Summer Youth: Weld a Metal Pet (Ages 10-14)

    July 11, 2025  1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
    Metal Fabrication Studio

View Metal Fabrication Catalog

Machining

Often used on metal, machining is a process in which a material is cut, drilled, or milled to precise specifications using specialized machines. BARN’s well-equipped Machine Shop can be used to repair parts, fabricate new parts, or 3D-print a component. The machines are controlled either manually or by CNC (computer numerical control).

As important as the machines are, the experience of imagining solutions to challenging problems is an activity eagerly engaged and shared by BARN’s Metal Fabrication community. If you’ve a specific challenge, drop by the Machine Shop and engage one of the Monitors; they’ll work to help you come up with a solution.

Man using hardinge lathe in BARN Machine shop
Sheet Metal art by Linda S

Sheet Metal

Sheets of metal can be cut, shaped, and bonded together in this multi-function shop. Cutting and shaping can be done with hand tools, as well as larger machines such as pan brakes, shears, slip rolls, and English wheels, all of which we have in our sheet metal shop. Project-oriented classes can build skills by making household items, automotive parts, or freestyle art.

Welding and Plasma Cutting

BARN’s focus is on two primary welding processes: MIG and TIG. MIG (Metal Inert Gas) welding is the easiest to learn and the most versatile. It has wide application from garden art to furniture to structures. TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) welding is more challenging but is more versatile as many types of metal can be welded, not just steel or aluminum.

Plasma Cutting is a technique of cutting electrically conductive metals (steel, stainless steel, aluminum, brass, titanium, and copper), both thick and thin. The plasma torch can be controlled manually or through CNC (computer numeric control) to make precision cuts through metal.

Youth raising welding mask to look at her project in the Welding shop
Molten metal being poured in a foundry casting class

Foundry & Forge

A foundry uses a furnace to melt metal that is then poured into forms, creating objects of both art and utility. BARN’s melt furnace and casting events are held off site, while the pattern-making and finishing classes are conducted at BARN’s main facility. With the guidance of experienced instructors, participants learn the basic skills of sand casting – pattern making, molding, pouring, and finishing. Breaking a fresh casting out of a cooling form is a true joy to experience.

Blacksmithing or forging is the process of heating metal in a forge, then forming that hot metal with anvil, hammer and tongs. This artisanal craft has evolved from an essential skill of the Iron Age through Colonial times to modern-day art. BARN is working to further develop its Forge program from basic to advanced skills in blacksmithing. It’s a great way to experience a small part of our ancestors’ lives.

Upcoming Metal Fabrication Events

View Metal Fabrication Catalog

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Open Studio

Work on your own projects after attending a studio orientation. Learn more »

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FAQ

Wondering where to start in the Metal Fabrication Studio? Read our FAQ »

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Volunteer

Volunteers keep our studio running smoothly.  View opportunities »

Metal Fabrication Resources

Join our Facebook group

Join our community on BARN Circle

Equipment List

Sources of Metal & Plastics

Teach at BARN

Contact Us

Message us using our form
Metal Fabrication office phone: 206-842-4475 x207

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Andy Dupree

Metal Fabrication Studio Lead

Metal Fabrication News

Land Acknowledgment

“Every part of this soil is sacred in the estimation of my people. Every hillside, every valley, every plain and grove, has been hallowed by some sad or happy event in days long vanished.” – Chief Seattle 1854

We would like to begin by acknowledging that the land on which we gather is within the ancestral territory of the suq̀ʷabš “People of Clear Salt Water” (Suquamish People). Expert fisherman, canoe builders and basket weavers, the suq̀ʷabš live in harmony with the lands and waterways along Washington’s Central Salish Sea as they have for thousands of years. Here, the suq̀ʷabš live and protect the land and waters of their ancestors.

Location

8890 Three Tree Lane NE
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110

Hours

9:00AM to 5:00PM, Daily

Member Access: 7AM – 10PM, Daily

Tours

1:00PM to 3:00PM, Wednesdays and Sundays*
*Except Holidays

Contact

206-842-4475
info@BainbridgeBARN.org

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