The Cathedral is hiring a Bathurst blacksmith to use his mix of new and antiquated methods to fix what thieves damaged in a recent break-in.
The Cathedral is hiring a Bathurst blacksmith to use his mix of new and antiquated methods to fix what thieves damaged in a recent break-in.
The Cathedral of St Michael and St George needed metal sliding bolts to be fitted to one of its doors and Eric Pieters was just the man for the job.
Cathedral parishoner Dr Andrew Tracey said they specifically wanted a blacksmith to do the sliding bolts for the church, and Pieters has been blacksmithing and bladesmithing for six years.
"There church was broken into weeks ago, so we looked for a blacksmith and we eventually found Eric. We did not want to buy modern bolts because we felt that we should not take away the style of the whole church," Tracey said.
Pieters uses a portable forge to make a charcoal fire to burn whatever metal he's working with.
He also uses the modern trick of fanning the flames with a hairdryer to increase their temperature, which has to be high for the metal to bend.
"I have burnt myself many times doing this," Pieters laughed.
The job takes about three days, he said, adding that this isn't what he does for a living, but he knows there aren't many other blacksmiths around.
Tracey said blacksmithing is an ancient art and the Cathedral is very happy to have found an expert to help them out.
