Tinsmith

A tinsmith is a person who makes and repairs things made of tin or other light metals.

The profession may sometimes also be known as a tinner, tinker, tinman, or tinplate

worker; whitesmith may also refer to this profession[1], though the same word may also

refer to an unrelated specialty of iron-smithing. By extension it can also refer to the

person who deals in tinware, or tin plate.[2] Tinsmith was a common occupation in pre-

industrial times.

Unlike blacksmiths (who work mostly with hot metals), tinsmiths do the majority of their

work on cold metal (although they might use a hearth to heat and help shape their raw

materials). Tinsmiths fabricate items such as water pitchers, forks, spoons, and

Training of tinsmiths

The tinsmith learned his trade, like many other artisans, by serving an apprenticeship of

4 to 6 years with a master tinsmith. Apprenticeships were considered "indentures" and

an apprentice would start out first with simply cleaning the shop, polishing tools, keeping

the fires lit, filing sharp edges and polishing finished pieces. Later he would trace

patterns on sheets and cut them out, then soldering joints, and inserting rivets. Finally,

he was allowed to cut out and complete objects. [3][page  needed] He learned first to make cake

stamps (cookie cutters), pill boxes and other simple items. Next, he formed objects such

as milk pails, basins, or 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

Main article: Tinplate

Tinplate consists of sheet iron coated with tin and then run through rollers. This process

was first discovered in the 16th century, with the development of British tinplate address

in 1661 with a patent to Dud Dudley and William Chamberlayne. [4][page  needed] Previously

Great Britain had imported most tinplate from Hamburg.

The British Iron Act of 1750 prohibited (among other things) the erection of new rolling

mills, which prevented the erection of new tinplate works in America until after the

American Revolution. Certificates submitted by colonial governors to the British Board

of Trade following the Act indicate that no tinplate works then existed though there were

several slitting mills, some described as slitting and rolling mills.

Pure tin is an expensive and soft metal and it is not practical to use it alone. However, it

could be alloyed with lead and copper to make pewter or alloyed with copper alone to

produce bronze. Today's tinplate is mild steel electroplated with tin. Tin's non-rusting

qualities make it an invaluable coating. However, tinplate's quality depends on the iron

or steel being free from rust and the surface tin an unbroken coating. A piece of tinware

may develop rust if 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 require tools similar to those of a coppersmith.

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. Straight

and curved anvils (stakes) were used to turn and roll the edges of the tin. Solder was

then used to join the pieces together; a soldering iron and fire pot were needed to do

this.

Hammers are essential. Planishing hammers, chasing hammers, creasing hammers

and setting down hammers are among the most common, as well as ball peen

hammers. Horn or wooden mallets are also used. Before electric soldering irons

became available, tinsmiths would use heated "copper" irons made of a wooden handle,

iron shank and copper tips formed into different shapes. These items were heated in

small furnaces, covered in sal ammoniac, and then used for soldering seams. [5][full citation
needed]