About Us | New England School of Metalwork

The New England School of Metalwork is a full 501-C3 non-profit educational facility devoted to the promotion and strengthening of metalworking skills. Started in 2000 and located in Auburn, Maine, the concept of the school was developed by Maine Oxy, a local welding distributor and Dereck Glaser, a local artisan metalsmith. After several years of individuals inquiring about welding skills and ornamental metalwork instruction the decision was made to build the school. We set to the task of designing and planning a dual purpose facility for metalsmithing and welding.
In February of 2000 the newly constructed 2900 square foot facility opened its doors for the first class. Our metalsmithing studio is thoughtfully designed and fully equipped for up to eight students. Coal forges and gas forges form eight stations, each equipped with a full array of hand tools, anvils and vises. Two large pneumatic power hammers, treadle hammer and hydraulic press and an ever growing assortment of power and hand tooling. In a separate new space is a fully equipped, state of the art welding school. Courses are currently being offered in MIG welding, TIG welding, Shielded Metal Arc Welding of various skill levels and materials. Our third building houses our Dorms / Offices // Classroom as well as our Gallery of past class plaques.

Since 2002 the New England School of Metalwork has had nearly 75% of its courses approved for VA benefit. You can use your VA benefit for Blacksmithing, Bladesmithing or Welding, current COE needs to be provided and call or email us for further information.

In 2005 we began to pursue building a Bladesmithing program and by 2009, we were accepted as the third school in the United States to be endorsed and affiliated with the American Bladesmith's Society. We now offer a year round curriculum of approved courses taught by ABS master bladesmiths from all over the country.

Also in 2009 we completed renovations to the second floor above our offices and classroom to offer dorm rooms for those on a budget. A resounding comment of students coming in from out of state was that the cost to stay locally in the area was higher than tuition, our offer is a clean, cheap and simple dorm style alternative and BYOBed and Bath linens if driving here, we provide them if you fly here.

In 2012, the welding program began offering a comprehensive daytime course of 360 hours. This brought the NESM to a whole new market of craftsmen wanting to devote a sincere and intensive amount of time to the welding trade.

In July of 2014 we split the Metalsmithing and Welding programs into their own buildings based on significant growth and the need to offer more courses to our growing student base. Welding expanded to offer more courses and the metalsmithing program has expanded to a neighboring building and adding two more forging stations and enhanced tool layout.

In spring of 2019, after approval from the NESM board of Directors, we broke ground on a new expansion and addition to the Bladesmithing program. A 900 square foot addition to house state of the art downdraft tables for every belt grinder as well as space for equipment and storage was designed. With heat and air conditioning the school now can offer the safest and best air quality of any facility in the US. See IMAGES HERE

We also can offer private one on one tutorial time in welding based on time/space availability. 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 inquire through the Contact Us page.

Statement of Inclusion and Code of Conduct

The New England School of Metalwork is dedicated to maintaining a welcoming environment for everyone by upholding its community standard of diversity and inclusion. We value your participation and encourage you to contribute to an open and respectful exchange of ideas. We are equally dedicated to providing a friendly and harassment-free experience for everyone regardless of our differences. This code of conduct applies to anyone attending or associated with the school including, NESM staff, visiting vendors, guest instructors and seminar attendees as well as full or part-time students.

Department of Veterans Affairs

Section 103, P.L. 115-407

The New England School of Metalwork will not impose any penalty on a covered individual because of the individual’s inability to meet his or her financial obligations to the institution due to the delayed disbursement of a payment to be provided by the VA under chapter 31(Vocational Rehabilitation) or 33 (Post-9/11 GI Bill).

38CFR 21.4255

The New England School of Metalwork will refund a pro-rata amount based on policy for tuition's, fees and other charges subject to proration is applicable to veterans and other persons who are recipients of educational benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (38CFR 21.4255).

Our School Symbol

Jiang, Taoist symbol for Craftsman

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.

We at the New England School of Metalwork value this perspective as all the skills we teach are tool related. Weather your holding a hammer or Tig welding torch, the inherent perception of guiding the tool and the discipline of the mind lead to masterful work.

About our Faculty

Dereck Glaser - Director and Resident Blacksmithing Instructor

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.

"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."

Ted King – Program Assistant and Social Media Coordinator

Ted joined the NESM team in September of 2022 with the goals of strengthening the school presence in the busy world of craft education.

As a past alumni of both the Blacksmithing and the Welding courses, and an avid Bladesmith, Ted joins NESM with a deep passion for the craft and a desire to both contribute to the school’s mission and grow alongside it into the future.

Ted is fascinated by the simple beauty of practical edged tools, and believes that all great tools are informed by the intersection of form and function and has been making knives since 2018 at his home based shop.

Isaiah Washington – Part-time Adjunct Bladesmith Instructor

Isaiah started forging steel after he was inspired by a popular online show about forging knives and swords. In 2015 at the age of 18 Isaiah bought his first forge from the New England School of Metalwork, a small buffalo forge run on coal and charcoal. Isaiah began selling his work online and started his business Zay Knives. Shortly after graduating high school Isaiah began pursuing the craft full time, specializing in handmade kitchen knives, folding knives, and utility knives. Isaiah became the intern apprentice at the school and was asked to participate in the 2016 Battle of the Bladesmiths where four contestants would make a knife in under 2 hours, Isaiah came in second place.

As the intern apprentice at the school Isaiah would help with odd jobs and whatever would need to be done. At the same time gaining knowledge and taking advice from Dereck Glaser and many other crafts people that came through the school, who influenced his style as a blacksmith / bladesmith. In 2020 NESM asked Isaiah to be a program assistant and help with the social media as well as being the Interim knife making instructor.

Quinn Gerrish - Welding Program Manager/Instructor and CWI

I was introduced to welding during high school in 1994. I took the welding/fabrication class at the Foster Tech Vocational School in Farmington Maine. In the year 2000 I began work at a foundry in order to learn a different aspect of metalwork. After 2 years at the foundry I got a job with a boiler making company that worked all over the nation. This allowed me to travel the country while gaining welding experience. As my career as a welder grew, so did my family. My welding career created the ability for my wife to be home and home school our 3 children.

My interest in metalwork pushed me towards blacksmithing. So in 2017 I got a forge and started blacksmithing as a hobby. Then in 2018 a family tragedy brought me back in state full time to be close to home and family. I then worked for a small welding company here in Maine. While on the road for the boiler making company I found myself enjoying the opportunities I had to teach the new welders coming into the business. I have a strong desire to share knowledge and I am happy and proud to teach the skills I have gained. So in early 2020 when there was an instructor opening at The New England School of Metalwork I did not hesitate to apply. My goal is to provide the highest level of training to those entering into the Welding Industry.

David Brackett – Daytime Welding Instructor

I started welding by learning how to do repairs on my grandfathers farm equipment. My father taught me on a machine old enough that you could no longer tell the brand name. After that I tried to do welding in the vocational department of the high schools I went to. Unfortunately both of the schools (Madison Memorial and Jackman High School) didn’t have almost any welding class to speak of. So I mostly just hung out and welded on various projects for the teachers.

After high school I went on to Eastern Maine Community College and took the welding program there. During my second year I did the work study program there and worked for the weld shop.

A large part of my career was spent welding aluminum, I started working for a company manufacturing aluminum fuel tanker’s. I was there for 5 years and learned a lot. My next position after that was in manufacturing aluminum truck bodies and I soon found myself leading a department of welders.

As life is full of surprises I found myself without work and was forced to move to southern Maine in 2018. I got a job working for a local bridge manufacturer building steel bridge parts. I worked there for a few years doing everything from basic welding and grinding all the way up to complicated bridge assemblies and major modifications.

I took a break from welding for a bit and tried my hand at management for a window company, after only a year of that the option came up to be a weld instructor, I immediately jumped on the chance. One of my favorite things about my past jobs was teaching employees.

Dorm Room Accommodations

You can choose to stay with us for a more cost conscience approach

We offer you sleeping and kitchen amenities along with your workshop. We added a nice kitchen area, 4 large bunk rooms an instructors quarter's and 2 large bathrooms for men and women as well as a spacious living room area, all right here at the school, making your stay hassle free and very affordable. Did I mention wireless Internet and free laundry service. $50 per night, select as an option when enrolling online, input # of nights. We do not provide dorms for 1 day courses or night courses.

NO! alcohol is permitted in the dorms.

NO! smoking is permitted on NESM in buildings or on the grounds.

You must bring all your own bed and bath linens if driving and we will provide them if you are flying .NESM will not provide linens unless you fly into Maine. Reservations are made separate from your workshop tuition but at the time you enroll. Look for the dorm option when enrolling online, $50 per night. Arrival can be made anytime prior to your workshop, 2 emails containing arrival information will be sent to you with entry security entry code. Our rooms are very clean and comfortable, if your looking to take a workshop on a tight budget, this is for you. We do not provide dorms for 1 day courses or night courses.

NO! alcohol is permitted in the dorms.