Locksmithing Workshop at the Rare Trades Centre

Learn the ancient art of locksmithing with locksmith Aaron Smith.

In this full-day workshop, you will make your own brass padlock and cut your own key using traditional techniques and hand tools that have not changed since the early 1800s.

This workshop will teach you skills that are slowly becoming lost in the locksmithing trade with the ever-increasing use of technology. You will use parts made by Australia’s oldest operating lock manufacturer, Jacksons of Launceston and mark out, hand drill and file a working lock. Once the components are ready, you will hand-cut a key to suit.

Held at Ballarat’s Australian Centre for Rare Arts and Forgotten Trades, a world-class facility dedicated to learning and preserving Australia’s rare arts and trades through a series of workshops, masterclasses, events, and residencies.