11-04-2025
'Proud of the heritage': Center for Metal Arts undertaking air hammer fundraising effort
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – Back in 1941, Bethlehem Steel Corp. purchased a Chambersburg Engineering Co. air hammer that was 'most likely' used to support the nation's World War II effort, according to Patrick Quinn, executive director of the Center for Metal Arts.
But now, it is silent, rusted and in need of restoration after having sat idle inside the company's blacksmith shop on Johnstown's Iron Street for decades.
So an effort is underway to restore the 2,000-pound hammer and other components.
Before the work can be done, though, money needs to be raised.
Center for Metal Arts, which holds classes in the old blacksmith shop that was built in the 1860s, has been presented a grant challenge by the Arkansas-based Windgate Foundation. If CMA raises $50,000 by Oct. 31, then the organization will provide a matching grant of $50,000, bringing the total to $100,000 for the project. However, if that target is missed, then Windgate will not give any funding.
The center has already raised more than $10,000 through its website, and other sources.
'They support the mission that we have here at CMA of restoration, reuse, as it relates to education, research, historic preservation and creativity and wanted to be part of us restoring that shop and asked me to sort of select a project that I felt like would be a good matching grant candidate,' Quinn said.
CMA has already restored two of the five historic power hammers in the blacksmith shop.
One was fixed using 'sweat equity, bootstrapping, chipping away at it little by little,' as Quinn described the process.
The effort to restore the second hammer was aided by an $80,000 grant.
'That's why I'm comfortable reaching out to the community to ask for support for the third because we have a nice track record of success leading up to it,' Quinn said.
Quinn added: 'When offered this opportunity by this foundation, I felt like restoring another hammer was a really good project because it resonates with the Johnstown community and it resonates with the blacksmith community.
"I felt like it was a project where everybody could get on board from the students whose lives are being affected positively by the restoration of that shop to Johnstown locals who are proud of the heritage of the city and want to see that shop running again.'
Restoring and using the Chambersburg 2000 would enable CMA to bring in more students for certain classes. The hammer can be used for different types of blacksmithing than the two that have already been repaired.
'It can hit with a little bit more finesse and it can reciprocate a lot smoother,' Quinn explained. 'The hammers that we have restored already are exceptional single-blow machines that excel at forging with handheld tooling. They fall a little short when it comes to drawing out material or forging longer cross-sections and things like that. Because this new hammer can reciprocate and it has a little bit more control and finesse, it's going to help us out when we have those sort of jobs and tasks in there that we want to accomplish.'
The blacksmith shop, where the hammers are located, and other buildings sat unused from when Bethlehem's Johnstown mill closed in 1992 until the Center for Metal Arts started offering classes in February 2018. Most recently, Joshua Prince, owner of Princeworksforge in Rhode Island, was in town, teaching students how to forge pizza cutters.
'When I come here, it's not because of a big, fat paycheck,' Prince said. 'It's because I want the opportunity to learn how to teach people and to develop as both a maker and a teacher. That's the value I find here. I'm not as strongly motivated as Pat, but no one is. But I appreciate his mission. He invited me to come down here and teach, which was an honor. It's not many people that teach here.'
