COLUMBIA FALLS, Maine — In Tom Hudson’s world, fire and water are connected in an interesting way.
The Columbia Falls resident works with water as a full-time plumber for L.P. Maller & Sons in Machias. On weekends from spring through fall, however, he lights up the fire in a forge in his barn and does blacksmithing work.
“I always had an interest in metal,” said Hudson, who learned to weld both in the U.S. Coast Guard and as a shipyard worker for five years at Bath Iron Works.
In 1998, the now 60-year-old Hudson took a class on blacksmithing at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle.
“I did a two-week session there and that really spurred me on,” said Hudson. “You’re there for two weeks and you do nothing but immerse yourself in it.”
After that he built a forge in the barn on his property so he could more easily practice his craft.
“Lighting the fire, getting it going, that can be one of the hardest things to learn,” he said.
Hudson uses newspaper to light the fire, which is fueled by bituminous coal that can be hard to find.
“When I find it, I buy it,” he said. Ten 50-pound bags will last about a year.
The fire in the forge is usually smoky when it is first started. A chimney takes the smoke up to the roof and out of the barn. Once about 10 years ago, a neighbor called the fire chief because she saw the smoke and thought the barn was on fire, he said.
Although the blacksmithing trade is old-fashioned, Hudson uses somewhat modern tools in that his forge has an electric blower to feed air through the fire. In colonial times, the forge would have required a hand-operated bellows run for the blacksmith by an apprentice or young boy.
The other tools, such as hammers, tongs and anvils — and water to cool pieces in progress as necessary — haven’t changed much.
Hudson makes a lot of railings and fireplace sets, including tools and screening. In fact, his first paid job was for two fireplace sets and a railing for a set of granite steps, for which he also did the installation.
“I never started [blacksmithing] to make money. I just did it because I enjoy it,” said Hudson, adding he does not advertise.
He has done demonstrations at Margaretta Days for the past two years. And, about two years ago when Columbia Falls celebrated its 150th, he did demonstrations at his forge for visitors.
Setting prices for his work can be challenging.
“You can’t really charge what you have in it,” he said. For example, it took him about 40 hours to build a lamppost that stands in front of his house. The post features scrollwork around the light and down lower on the post with a silhouette scene of a blacksmith off to the side. He said he would have to charge $2,000 for it if he wanted to be paid for his time.
“Chances are not too many people want to spend that on a lamppost,” he said. “But it’s a fair price considering the work.”
One of the challenging aspects of blacksmithing is that you never stop learning, no matter how good you get, he said.
“I consider myself intermediate to semi-advanced. By no means am I a master blacksmith,” he said. “If anybody comes to me and asks if I can make something, I’ll say, ‘I’ll try.’”
He enjoys it when his items turn out well and his customer is happy. But he has had jobs where he has actually scrapped what he was doing and started over.
“I’ve got quite a pile of mistakes out there,” he said.
He also gives away many of the items he makes, especially as holiday gifts, he said.
“Almost everyone in my family has something,” he said.