ABOUT US

Northwood Forge is owned and operated by Thomas Boucher. It has been open continuously, in the same location on Route 4 in Northwood, NH, since 1978. Originally, Northwood Forge was a blacksmith shop opened under Thomas’s father, Ray Boucher. Ray specialized in reproduction colonial hardware such as door latches, hinges and fireplace cranes. The items were sold from his shop, and for a while were available in specialty craft shops. In 1980, he began accepting welding jobs from local businesses. One segment of which were local sign makers looking for Ray to make sign hardware. About once a year, Ray would travel to various fairs in New Hampshire and demonstrate his forging. Over the years, he has made his share of truck racks, railings (a job he did not regret giving up!), table bases and even the bars for a jail cell!

As the financial crunch of the 1990’s hit, forged items were a luxury few people could afford. In an effort to find a steady source of work, Ray decided to find a niche where he could wholesale to established businesses rather than selling retail. He began to phase out of blacksmithing, and expand the welding side of his business.

In 1992, the first product brochures for Northwood Forge debuted. Using the phone book yellow pages, he sent a photocopied page with hand drawn sketches to sign shops advertising sign hardware. 

Thomas grew up in his father’s shop. He saw the forging work began to phase out, but he used to drive nails into a stump to mimic Ray swinging a hammer at the anvil. His first job in the shop was sandblasting parts. Thomas worked off and on as he grew up. He began welding some small jobs in middle school and continued working when at home on college breaks. Thomas and his family relocated back to NH, in 2017, and he began working in the shop full time. 

Ray retired at the end of 2024. Today, Thomas runs the shop and his wife Meaghan runs the office. The shop work continues to be almost exclusive to the sign trade. Thomas also does some metal work on the side focusing on traditional locksmithing. You can view some of the work at greasyluckforge.com.