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Whitesmith
A whitesmith is a metalworker who does finishing work on iron and steel such as filing, lathing, burnishing or polishing. The term also refers to a person who works with "white" or light-coloured metals, and is sometimes used as a synonym for tinsmith. History The first known description of Whitesmith is from 1686: Whitesmithing developed as a speciality of blacksmithing in the 1700s, when extra time was given to filing and polishing certain products. In 1836 the trade was described by Isaac Taylor: Process The principal manual skills of the whitesmith were in filing and turning (the use of lathes). Using cross-cut files the whitesmith could achieve a flat, smooth finish on iron or steel products where the less skilled might only achieve a convex effect. For very large items, the whitesmith might even file when red hot using a two-person operated float file. This profession is also related to a bell hanger and locksmith as they perform much file work. In Great Britain this ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tinsmith
A tinsmith is a person who makes and repairs things made of tin or other light metals. The profession may sometimes also be known as a tinner, tinker, tinman, or tinplate worker; whitesmith may also refer to this profession, though the same word may also refer to an unrelated specialty of iron-smithing. By extension it can also refer to the person who deals in tinware, or tin plate. Tinsmith was a common occupation in pre-industrial times. Unlike blacksmiths (who work mostly with hot metals), tinsmiths do the majority of their work on cold metal (although they might use a hearth to heat and help shape their raw materials). Tinsmiths fabricate items such as water pitchers, forks, spoons, and candle holders. Training of tinsmiths The tinsmith learned his trade, like many other artisans, by serving an apprenticeship of 4 to 6 years with a master tinsmith. Apprenticeships were considered "indentures" and an apprentice would start first with simply cleaning the shop, polishing t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metal
A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typically ductile (can be drawn into wires) and malleable (they can be hammered into thin sheets). These properties are the result of the ''metallic bond'' between the atoms or molecules of the metal. A metal may be a chemical element such as iron; an alloy such as stainless steel; or a molecular compound such as polymeric sulfur nitride. In physics, a metal is generally regarded as any substance capable of conducting electricity at a temperature of absolute zero. Many elements and compounds that are not normally classified as metals become metallic under high pressures. For example, the nonmetal iodine gradually becomes a metal at a pressure of between 40 and 170 thousand times atmospheric pressure. Equally, some materials regarded as metals ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Float (woodworking)
A woodworking float (more rarely used in silversmithing), also called a planemaker's float, is a tapered, flat, single cut file of two types: ''edge float'' and the ''flat sided float'' which are traditional woodworking tools generally used when making a wooden plane. The float is used to cut, flatten, and smooth (or float) key areas of wood by abrasion. Despite the name its woodworking uses go well beyond planemaking. Floats are similar to rasp A rasp is a coarse form of file used for coarsely shaping wood or other material. Typically a hand tool, it consists of a generally tapered rectangular, round, or half-round sectioned bar of case hardened steel with distinct, individually cut ...s and files. Rasps are generally coarse and cannot be resharpened. Files have angled ridges or teeth and cannot be resharpened. Floats have parallel teeth and they can be resharpened as many times as the thickness of the blade will allow. Edge floats resemble saw blades and are generally u ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bell Hanger
A bell is a struck idiophone, directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an internal "clapper" or "uvula", an external hammer, or—in small bells—by a small loose sphere enclosed within the body of the bell (jingle bell). Bells are usually cast from bell metal (a type of bronze) for its resonant properties, but can also be made from other hard materials. This depends on the function. Some small bells such as ornamental bells or cowbells can be made from cast or pressed metal, glass or ceramic, but large bells such as a church, clock and tower bells are normally cast from bell metal. Bells intended to be heard over a wide area can range from a single bell hung in a turret or bell-gable, to a musical ensemble such as an English ring of bells, a carillon or a Russian Russian Orthodox bell ringing, zvon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Watt
James Watt (; 30 January 1736 (19 January 1736 OS) – 25 August 1819) was a Scottish inventor, mechanical engineer, and chemist who improved on Thomas Newcomen's 1712 Newcomen steam engine with his Watt steam engine in 1776, which was fundamental to the changes brought by the Industrial Revolution in both his native Great Britain and the rest of the world. While working as an instrument maker at the University of Glasgow, Watt became interested in the technology of steam engines. He realised that contemporary engine designs wasted a great deal of energy by repeatedly cooling and reheating the cylinder. Watt introduced a design enhancement, the separate condenser, which avoided this waste of energy and radically improved the power, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness of steam engines. Eventually, he adapted his engine to produce rotary motion, greatly broadening its use beyond pumping water. Watt attempted to commercialise his invention, but experienced great financial di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Roebuck
John Roebuck of Kinneil FRS FRSE (1718 – 17 July 1794) was an English inventor and industrialist who played an important role in the Industrial Revolution and who is known for developing the industrial-scale manufacture of sulphuric acid. Life and work John Roebuck was born in Sheffield, where his father, also John Roebuck, had a prosperous manufacturing business. After attending Sheffield Grammar School and Dr. Philip Doddridge's academy at Northampton, Roebuck studied medicine at Edinburgh, where he developed a taste for chemistry from the lectures of William Cullen and Joseph Black. He finally graduated M.D. at the University of Leiden in 1742. Roebuck started medical practice at Birmingham, but devoted much of his time to chemistry, especially its practical applications. Among the most important of his early achievements in this field was the introduction, in 1746, of leaden condensing chambers for the manufacture of sulphuric acid. Together with Samuel Garbett ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Farriers
A farrier is a specialist in equine hoof care, including the trimming and balancing of horses' hooves and the placing of shoes on their hooves, if necessary. A farrier combines some blacksmith's skills (fabricating, adapting, and adjusting metal shoes) with some veterinarian's skills (knowledge of the anatomy and physiology of the lower limb) to care for horses' feet. History While the practice of putting protective hoof coverings on horses dates back to the first century, evidence suggests that the practice of nailing iron shoes into a horse’s hoof is a much later invention. One of the first archaeological discoveries of an iron horseshoe was found in the tomb of Merovingian king Childeric I, who reigned from 458-481/82. The discovery was made by Adrien Quinquin in 1653, and the findings were written about by Jean-Jacques Chifflet in 1655. Chifflet wrote that the iron horseshoe was so rusted that it fell apart as he attempted to clean it. He did, however, make an ill ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lorimer (surname)
Lorimer is a surname of Scottish origin which means "a bridle maker." It may also refer to a "maker and seller of spurs, bits, and other metal attachments to harness and tackle" and derives from Anglo-Norman French ''lorenier'', ''loremier'', an agent derivative of Old French ''lorain'' meaning ‘tackle’ or ‘harness’, etc. Notable people with the surname include: * Bob Lorimer (born 1953), retired Canadian ice hockey defenceman * David Lockhart Robertson Lorimer (1876–1962), officer in the British Indian Army and noted linguist * George Lorimer (other) * Glennis Lorimer (1913–1968), British actress * Henry Lorimer (1879–1933), British Conservative Party politician * Hew Lorimer (1907–1993), Scottish sculptor * Hugh Lorimer (born 1896), Scottish footballer * Ian Lorimer, British television director * James Lorimer (1926-2022), American attorney and FBI agent * James Lorimer (Australian politician) (1831–1889), Australian politician and businessman * Jam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
