ROOM 2.33 Wheelwright Shop

A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend and cut, whereas a wheelwright is a craftsman who builds or repairs wooden wheels. Traditionally wheelwrights made wheels for wagons and the belt drives of steam powered machinery. By the 1800s wheels had evolved to be straked with iron, a method of nailing iron plates onto the felloes to protect against wear on the ground and to help bind the wheel together, requiring wheelwrights to learn basic blacksmithing skills or work with a blacksmith.