The aim is to repair and restore the New Zealand Historic Places Trust Category 1 classified weatherboard building, including installing a fire sprinkler system, and eventually turn it into a living museum as one of a growing number of attractions in the Waitaki Valley township.
Bought by five local farmers in 1975 to ensure it was preserved, it was transferred in 2006 to the Nicol's Blacksmith Charitable Trust, which has painstakingly planned the project and raised money.
That has included cataloguing and moving out about 1600 artefacts to a former bus building near the forge in preparation for builders to move in.
Trust chairman John Hore said yesterday that when the project was first mooted, it was estimated the work would cost about $40,000.
''That turned out to be a bit light,'' he said, but through donations and grants the trust had now secured all the funding for the project to start.
The work will be carried out by Dave and Robyn Barkman and Steven Martin from Waitahuna, who specialise in the restoration of heritage buildings. It is expected to take about four months.
Part of the delay in the total restoration had been meeting all the requirements and regulations for heritage buildings, along with requests from donors.
''We have had all sorts of holdups, but we are now ready to go,'' he said.
There was considerable ongoing interest in the project, with regular inquiries about when the forge would be open.
The long-term aim would be to turn the building into a museum of living history, with a craftsman working there full-time.
When restoration was complete, the trust would be raising funds for interpretive boards and a possible light and sound show that would demonstrate how the forge was used.
