Experience the Life
: Trades
: Wheelwright
Wheels must
be round above all else
Made of wood and bound with iron, the wheels of the carriages,
wagons, and riding chairs that navigated rugged colonial roads had
to be strong and tight. But first and foremost, the wheels had to
be round.
Trade requires strength and precision
Producing wheels requires strength, ingenuity, and the talents
of both a carpenter and a blacksmith. Precise measuring skills are
mandatory.
Like their Williamsburg predecessors, the wheelwrights who practice
the trade at the Governor's Palace today start with a hub fashioned
on a lathe from properly aged wood such as elm. A tapered reamer
opens the center to receive a metal bearing; The wheelwright uses
a chisel to create rectangular spoke holes around the circumference
of the wheel. Carved from woods like ash, the spokes radiate to
meet a rim of mortised wooden arches, called "fellies,"
that join to form a perfect circle.
Colonial tire made of iron
The blacksmith supplies a big hoop of iron precisely matched to
the distance around the fellies. The wheelwright heats the iron
tire, which expands just enough to be coaxed on with a heavy hammer.
He then douses the wheel with water, which causes the iron tire
to shrink a bit, which in turn binds the assembly.
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Historic Triangle