Interior. Blacksmith's workshop from north west showing (left to right), swage block, anvil, hearth, second anvil and iron beam bending machine.

Description Interior. Blacksmith's workshop from north west showing (left to right), swage block, anvil, hearth, second anvil and iron beam bending machine.

Date 5/7/2018

Collection Historic Environment Scotland

Catalogue Number DP 280583

Category On-line Digital Images

Scope and Content Blacksmithing, or the rendering of metal malleable by heating in a forge or hearth to high temperature enabling it to be fashioned into objects, is an ancient craft. The smithy/ smiddy/ smidy or blacksmith's shop was once a common building type but became less so during the 20th century. The rise of factory production and the uptake of the internal combustion engine (especially the introduction of the tractor) meant that this craft was less in demand for the production and sharpening of agricultural implements, making or replacing cartwheel tyres or for farrier work. This is an example of a traditional blacksmith's shop with its open hearth, anvils, bellows, work benches, metal storage racks and smithing tools for working mostly ferrous metals. All of the hearth processes were manual and so a blacksmith would ideally have had an apprentice to operate the bellows and to help with the blacksmithing work generally.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/1761978

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap