General

The "New Crown Jewel" by Thos. Power & Sons Kilkenny.
Clothes wringer -foundry job -possible Smith connections

A mechanical washer made by Thomas bradford & Co. 1857

Old Cast-Iron oven to be placed in open heart - origin un-known

Kelly Engineering Kilkenny -Water Pump at Jenkinstown Park -possibly involved Smith work

ARMS AND ARMOUR 

One of the main functions of early smiths was to provide the vast range and variety of armoury which  was a common part of medieval warfare. Helmets, visors, breastplates, chain-mail, spears, halberds,  maces, daggers, and swords were all fashioned by the versatile blacksmith.

TOOLS OF THE TRADE

The blacksmith was a tool maker for himself as well as for others, and the extent of his homemade armoury was vast. Apart from bulky items like the anvil, swage block and vices, the village smith would display a formidable array of hammers, tongs, rasps, files and drills to cover everything from decorative ironwork to repairing reaper-binders.

HOT METAL

The smiths skill lay to a great extent in manipulating the fire, bosh and bellows to produce precisely the correct degree of heat required for a specific task. He judges that heat by eye, watching for fine graduations in colour from a dull, dark glow, through blood red, to gold, to the fierce glare of white heat.

 

FIRE IRONS

  A cottage kitchen would house many products of smiths skills-the fire basket in the hearth and all the paraphanalia of tripods and trivets,  spits,  kettle irons,  cauldrons and griddles.

 
WROUGHT IRON  

Sample of Wrought Iron gate fashioned by local Smith

Wrought Iron Ladder on water tower at Firoda N.S. - fashioned by local Smith John Comerford
  In the centuries before the industrial revolution , iron was the raw material for thousands of objects in everyday use on the farm, on the battlefield, and in houses, churches and castle. All these were individually crafted by hand, often by the village blacksmith. Some smiths specialised in decorative work embellishing simple functional items, like gates and hinges with elegant scrolls and extravagant designs.

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