\u201cWe\u2019re thrilled to have received this grant,\u201d Crowley says. \u201cIt will allow us to expand the work we\u2019re doing currently and try and regain momentum lost due to the social restrictions enforced during the COVID-19 pandemic.\u201d<\/p>\n The UConn foundry was available to the Metalworking Club students until spring 2025. It includes an induction furnace, allowing students to create metal castings and a variety of other forge-related tasks. The foundry equipment is in storage as the CoE works on the development of new space, but the club continues to gather each week for forging activities at the designated club space near Longley on the UConn Depot Campus.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been working with a small propane-fired forge, a single anvil and a few hammers under the guidance of Lesley Frame, an associate professor in the materials science and engineering department,\u201d Crowley says. \u201cWe\u2019re interested in both the practical and artistic opportunities of forging and its role in industries like manufacturing, aerospace, and construction.\u201d<\/p>\n Crowley says he and fellow materials science students focus on material structure, processing, and property relationships. It\u2019s important, he stresses, to understand how metal-forming processes fundamentally work in order to design a product with ideal mechanical properties and performance.<\/p>\n In the Metalworking Club, students are introduced to these core principles of metallurgical processing with a greater focus on the art of hand forging.<\/p>\n Working directly with materials gives students a much deeper understanding of materials processing.<\/p>\n Club members have visited working forges, including a historical blacksmith operating at Mystic Village in Mystic, Connecticut. The club is open to anyone, including those interested in artistic metalwork, structural design, architecture, and other fields.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll be eligible to apply for another FIERF grant in two years and hope to bring the foundry equipment back into use,\u201d says Crowley. \u201cThis year, we\u2019re designing and forging an American felling axe for the 2026 FIERF forging competition.\u201d<\/p>\n The competition looks at aesthetics, performance, practices, and finished products.<\/p>\n \u201cFor us, the Metalworking Club is about leaving a legacy,\u201d Crowley adds. \u201cWe want future students to have the opportunity to get hands-on experience in metals processing, and this grant helps us work toward that goal.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/55211142104_f2098dc9bb_o-300x265.jpg\")
![\"Student](\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/55209995282_824b24748c_k-661x1024.jpg\")