Tinsmith

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Tinsmith

A tinsmith, or tinner or tinker or tinplate worker, is a person who makes and repairs things made of light-coloured metal

Metal

In chemistry, a metal is a chemical element whose atoms readily lose electrons to form positive ions , and form metallic bonds between other metal atoms and ionic bonds between nonmetal atoms....
, particularly tinware

Tin

Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn and atomic number 50. Tin is obtained chiefly from the mineral cassiterite, where it occurs as an oxide, SnO2....
. By extension it can also refer to the person who deals in tinware.

tinsmith, or whitesmith, learned his trade, like many other artisans, by serving an apprenticeship of 4 to 6 years with a master tinsmith.

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Encyclopedia

A tinsmith, or tinner or tinker or tinplate worker, is a person who makes and repairs things made of light-coloured metal

Metal

Tin

Training of tinsmiths

The tinsmith, or whitesmith, learned his trade, like many other artisans, by serving an apprenticeship of 4 to 6 years with a master tinsmith. He learned first to make cake stamps (cookie cutter

Cookie cutter

A cookie cutter is a tool to cut out cookie dough in a particular shape. They are often used for seasonal occasions when well-known decorative shapes are desired, or for large batches of cookies where simplicity and uniformity are required....
s), pill boxes and other simple items. Next, he formed objects such as milk pails, basins, cake and pie pans. Later he tackled more complicated pieces such as chandeliers and crooked-spout coffee pots.

After his apprenticeship was completed, he then became a journeyman, not yet being a master smith employing others. Many young tinsmiths took to the road as peddlers or tinkers in an effort to save enough money to open a shop in town.

Raw material

Tinplate consists of sheet iron coated with tin and then run through rollers. This process was first discovered in the 16th century, but was hardly introduced to England

England

Great Britain

Great Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the List of islands by area, and the largest in Europe. With a population of 58.9 million people it is List of islands by population....
had imported most tinplate from Hamburg

Hamburg

Hamburg is the second-largest city in Germany , and is the Largest cities of the European Union by population within city limits. The city is home to approximately 1.8 million people, while the Hamburg metropolitan area has more than 4.3 million inhabitants....
.

The British Iron Act

Iron Act

In American Colonial history, the Iron Act, strictly Importation, etc. Act 1750 was one of the legislative measures introduced by the British Parliament, seeking to restrict manufacturing activities in British colonies, particularly in north America, and encourage manufacture to take place in Great Britain....
of 1750 prohibited (amongst other things) the erection of new rolling mills, which prevented the erection of new tinplate works in America until after the American Revolution

American Revolution

The American Revolution refers to the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which the Thirteen Colonies of North America overthrew the governance of the British Empire and then rejected the British monarchy to become the sovereign United States of America....
. Certificates submitted by colonial governors to the British Board of Trade

Board of Trade

The Board of Trade is a committee of the Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, originating as a committee of inquiry in the 17th century and evolving gradually into a government department with a diverse range of functions....
following the Act indicate that no tinplate works then existed though there were several slitting mill

Slitting mill

The slitting mill was a watermill for slitting bars of iron into rods. The rods then were passed to nailers who made the rods into nail , by giving them a point and head....
s, some described as slitting and rolling mill

Rolling mill

A rolling mill is a machine or factory for shaping metal by passing it between a pair of work rolls.Rolling mills are often incorporated into integrated steelworks, but also exist as separate plants and can be used for other metals, and other materials....
s.

Pure tin is an expensive and soft metal and it is not practical to use it alone. However it could be alloyed with lead

Lead

Lead is a main-group Chemical element with symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal, also considered to be one of the heavy metal ....
and copper

Copper

Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29.It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity....
to make pewter or alloyed with copper

Copper

Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29.It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity....
alone to produce bronze

Bronze

Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive, but sometimes with other chemical element such as phosphorus, manganese, aluminium, or silicon....
. Today's tinplate is mild steel electroplated with tin. Its non-rusting qualities make it an invaluable coating. However, its quality depends on the iron or steel being free from rust and the surface tin an unbroken coating. When you see rust on a piece of tinware it is because the tin coating has worn away or been cut in the metal. The respective properties of the metals mean that corrosion once started is likely to be rapid.

Tinsmithing tools

The simple shapes made by the tinsmith, required only a few basic tools. In addition to the big shears anchored in a hole in his bench, he used hand snips and nippers for cutting. The tin was flattened on an anvil made of a block of steel and straight and curved anvils (stakes) were used to turn and roll the edges of the tin. Solder was used to join the pieces together and a soldering iron

Soldering iron

A soldering iron is a "device" for applying heat to melt solder for attaching two metal parts.A soldering iron is composed of a heated metal tip and an insulated handle....
and fire pot

Fire pot

A fire pot is a container, usually earthenware, for carrying fire. Fire pots have been used since prehistoric times to transport fire from one place to another, for warmth while on the move, for cooking, in religious ceremonies and even as weapons of war....
were needed to do this.

History of tinsmithing

Tinwares were being produced in London

London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
by the 1630s, being known as Crooked Lane Wares (from the street where they were made). The Worshipful Company of Tin Plate Workers

Worshipful Company of Tin Plate Workers

The Worshipful Company of Tin Plate Workers alias Wire Workers is one of the Livery Company of the City of London. Tin craftsmen were originally part of the Worshipful Company of Ironmongers, while the wire workers, who made wire objects such as cages, animal traps and fishhooks, were part of the Worshipful Company of Girdlers....
were incorporated as a separate London Livery Company

Livery Company

The 108 Livery Companies are trade associations based in the City of London, almost all of which are known as the "Worshipful Company of" the relevant trade or profession....
in 1670. However, tinplate workers were widespread.

The tinsmith has been plying his trade in America since 1720. Colonial tinsmiths used tinplate, wire, solder, and a few simple tools to produce their wares. When tinplate was finally produced in America in the early 1800s the products of the tinsmith became more widely available. They in turn saw an increase in demand and a need to speed up production. This brought about the development of many ingenious hand powered machines which sped up production and helped the tinsmith meet the demands for his products. The goods were "brought to market" by peddlers who are aliens traveling from village to village.

Tinware was a popular folk art

Folk art

Folk art describes a wide range of objects that reflect the craft traditions and traditional social values of various social groups. Folk art is generally produced by people who have little or no academic artistic training, nor a desire to emulate "fine art", and use established techniques and styles of a particular region or culture....
in colonial Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
and New Mexico

New Mexico

New Mexico is a U. S. State located in the Southwestern United States of the United States. Inhabited by Native Americans in the United States populations for many centuries, it has also has been part of the Spanish Empire viceroyalty of New Spain, part of Mexico, and a U.S....
, and continues to be made there by local artisans today. Fine examples may be seen at the Museum of Spanish Colonial Art in Santa Fe