Farm Shop

Summer agricultural mechanics projects are generally in woodworking, welding, and tractor shops or in the fields. In most cases, the students learn on real projects useful to the functioning of the ranch. In the summer of 2006, students built racks for a flatbed truck and helped restore a vintage manure spreader. In the summer of 2005, campers helped build a 50-kilowatt wind turbine. This turbine produces about half of the electricity that is used by the ranch and can be seen from the town of Nicasio. Returning students can take satisfaction in viewing the improvements they have helped make for years to come.

The campers may engage in Agricultural Mechanics projects when their skill level and maturity are appropriate.

Carpentry, concrete, and wiring

These trades are practiced at the ranch as part of regular maintenance. When a project in carpentry, concrete, or wiring happens during a camp session, students will have the opportunity to participate with a qualified instructor.
We have some flexibility in scheduling tasks of this kind, so we may be able to accommodate a student who wants to learn one of these trades. Interested students should contact us to make arrangements.

Welding

Arc, gas, and foundry welding are offered during all sessions.

Blacksmithing

The blacksmith shop, once essential to the success of every community and farm, is now very hard to find. Blacksmithing, or forging, is a combination of art and science whereby metals are heated and hammered into shape while controlling the metal’s hardness.

The objects we make at Devil’s Gulch Ranch Camps may be aesthetically pleasing, but our emphasis is on the making and tempering of tools in a manner similar to how apprentice blacksmiths learned for generations in the guilds of old. The one-on-one instruction we use mirrors the apprentice-master relationship.

Traditionally, the master would heat the metal and hold it in his tongs. He would show the student where to strike by tapping on the work with a small hammer, and the apprentice would strike the work with a much larger hammer. This approach, still used in blacksmithing instruction at Devil’s Gulch Ranch Camp, allows younger children to work safely, without handling fire or hot metal. Older, more skilled students have more autonomy, but are still under the watchful eye of the instructor. Activities include shaping tools, tempering, and case hardening.

Tractor Operation and Repair

Students can learn the “anatomy and physiology” of tractors and other equipment while doing basic maintenance and repairs. Depending on maturity and skill level, students can learn to operate various farming equipment with one-on-one instruction.

Devil's Gulch Ranch,