Req 5 — Choose Your Craft
5.
After completing the first four requirements, complete ONE of the following options:
The first four requirements gave you the foundation — safety, metallurgy vocabulary, hands-on work-hardening and annealing experiments, and a look at where metalworking can take you professionally or personally. Now you get to choose a craft and put those skills to real use.
You must complete exactly one of the four options below. Each option leads you through naming the tools of the trade, sketching your projects, and making two finished objects.
Your Options
- Req 5a — Sheet Metal Mechanic/Tinsmith: Work with thin sheet metal using snips, stakes, and forming tools to cut, bend, edge, solder or braze two objects — one of which must include a riveted component. You will gain practical fabrication skills used in HVAC, automotive, and architectural metalwork.
- Req 5b — Silversmith: Work with copper sheet (or silver if you have prior experience) to saw, sink, solder, and polish two objects. You will gain the careful hand-tool skills and finishing eye that define jewelry and decorative metalwork.
- Req 5c — Founder: Design and build two sand molds, then cast two objects in lead-free pewter. You will gain experience with pattern-making, mold assembly, and pouring molten metal — the oldest metalworking tradition.
- Req 5d — Blacksmith: Use an anvil and forge to hot-forge two objects from low-carbon steel, using draws, bends, twists, and a hammer-riveted joint. You will gain a feel for how heat changes steel and how forged shapes develop under the hammer.
How to Choose
Choosing Your Option
Match the option to your interests and available resources
- If you like precise layout, folded seams, and practical shop-made objects: Option 5a (Sheet Metal) is a natural fit — its tools and processes connect directly to HVAC, auto body, and fabrication trades.
- If you enjoy fine detail work, jewelry, and patient hand-tool craft: Option 5b (Silversmith) rewards steady hands and careful filing and finishing.
- If molten metal and mold-building fascinate you: Option 5c (Founder) is a direct look at casting — one of the oldest manufacturing methods in human history.
- If you like physical, heat-dependent work and seeing a bar of steel transformed under the hammer: Option 5d (Blacksmith) gives the most visceral metalworking experience.
- Consider access: Sheet metal and silversmithing tools are more likely to be available at a troop shop or community maker space. Founding and blacksmithing require a forge or foundry setup — talk to your counselor early about what facilities are available.
| Option | Craft | Core Processes |
|---|---|---|
| 5a | Sheet Metal Mechanic/Tinsmith | Cutting, bending, edging, riveting, soldering/brazing |
| 5b | Silversmith | Sawing, sinking, soldering, cleaning, polishing |
| 5c | Founder | Mold-making, pattern layout, pouring, casting |
| 5d | Blacksmith | Hot-forging draws, bends, twists, hammer riveting |
No matter which option you choose, the pattern is the same: learn the tools first, plan your objects on paper, then make them. Take your time with the sketching step — a clear sketch with dimensions will save you rework at the bench.