Escondido History Center

The Bandy Blacksmith Shop is a green corrugated metal building with three main areas: teaching facility, instructor's shop and office, and the wheelwright and woodworking extension. There are three sets of swinging double doors, two face south, opening into Grape Day Park, and one faces west toward the Center for the Arts. A chestnut tree grows in front of the building, completing the picture.

  The Arie De Jong Teaching Facility has five forges (which meet EPA standards); each with a Champion 400 hand crank blower, post vise, and anvil. There is also a hand shear, grinder, and cutoff saw. The center of the building features the instructor's brick forge and demonstration area. This part of the shop also includes a line shaft, trip hammer, hack saw, drill press, and a welding station (stick welder) in the back corner. Equipment from the original shop on Kalmia St. includes: the anvil, drill press, reciprocating saw, and power hammer, plus many of the hand tools. The reconstructed shop office includes the original wood facing burned by brands made by the shop, the roll top desk and wooden cash register. The wheelwright shop includes a workbench with vises, a South Bend metal lathe, two wood lathes, mortising machine with hub indexer, hub boring machine, wood jointer, 20" thickness planer, spindle sander, horizontal belt sander, 20" disk sander, table saw, cut off saw, 14" band saw, 20" band saw, drill press, rubber tire machine, wheel horse, hand tools, air compressor, and dust collector.

  The wheelwright and woodworking shop was added onto the east end of the building in 2007 and classes started in 2009.