Welcome to the Wheeler Forge
From where we come
A traditional blacksmith shop nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains just west of beautiful downtown Millers Creek, NC. Wheeler Forge was established at this locale in the early 1990s. We specialize in traditional ironwork found in the early hearth & home. Our steel is sourced domestically and tariff free. The coal we fire with comes from the Sewell vein in Nicholas county, WVA. With hammer and anvil we forge our offerings for discerning clientele who appreciate the time-honored methods and traditions of producing hand-forged ironwork.
We come from a long line of good 'ol boys and strong women who survived as yeoman farmers. We were skilled makers by necessity. We have made furniture, chairs, buggies, carriages, wagons, fiber work tools and farm implements; we were blacksmiths and machine tool makers, rough and finish carpenters, coopers, sawyers and inventors. One line of our heritage has been traced back to the north side of Hadrian's Wall by a Daughter of the American Revolution. We have a Coat of Arms and a Tartan.
Our current offerings have been inspired by the 5 volume set of teaching notes from Jerry Darnell and visits to museums, living history exhibits and battlefields.
2025 was a milestone year for Wheeler Forge.
In July, Wheeler Forge passed the jury and became a Production Center member in Metal of the Southern Highland Craft Guild.
In November, Wheeler Forge passed the Jury and became an Artist Member/Team in Metal of Piedmont Craftsmen.
I am Lyle Wheeler, a juried member of the SHCG since 1990 in Wood and 2025 in Metal. I started blacksmithing over 25 years ago and have demonstrated and taught the trade regionally. The period of history I present is the late 1800's, just prior to the Industrial Revolution in the South. The blacksmith was the foundation of any community, making the tools for all of the trades, furnishing ironwork for the home and farm and farrier work. I have concentrated my offerings on the ironwork that supported and sustained the rural lifestyle of the period
I am William Wheeler. I started my Blacksmithing endeavor when I was 3 in my grandfather's forge. I have continued to develop my skills and now, at 24, I am entering the journeyman's stage of my career. I am currently gathering tools to add to my toy collection and planning to improve my skills and techniques by working with and learning from master smiths Jerry Darnell, Tal Harris and Rusty Osborne. My foundation was sourced in "The Art of the Blacksmith" by Alex Bealer, "Early American Ironwork" by Albert Sonn and "Colonial Wrought Iron: the Sorber Collection" by Don Plummer. I have been trained up in the ways of the forge following the techniques of Francis Whitaker, the dean of American blacksmiths, as passed down through Charley Orlando to my grandfather, Lyle Wheeler, and hence to me.
