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BECAUSE WELL-WROUGHT metal parts were crucial to the smooth operation of a press, Jeff takes his time at the forge. He brings 10 years of experience to his role as Press Project Master Blacksmith. He enjoys creating the press's out-of- the-ordinary--but always functional--pieces and parts. He's keenly aware that the press is a complex assembly of "interactive parts," as he puts it. But the challenge of getting all the parts to work together suits his sense of craft. "The more I've gotten into blacksmithing," Jeff says, "the more I've gotten into making things that do something." |
For the last 20 years, MTSU employee Jeff Henderson has helped keep campus buildings warm in winter and cool in summer. But when he's not on campus, he's often found at the blacksmith shop at Cannonsburg Village, where he gives demonstrations and teaches the art of the blacksmith There and at his home forge, Jeff fashions such objects as wall sconces, candleholders, pot racks, tables, trivets, door hinges, door knockers, and campfire tripods.
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THE EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY printing press incorporated numerous brass, iron, and steel parts. Nails, bolts, and screws that helped hold the press together or contributed to its operation were all handmade by blacksmiths. So, too, was the press's central screw mechanism--the spindle. In applying a considerable amount of pressure to the platen as each page was printed, the spindle had to be carefully fashioned by a highly skilled blacksmith.
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