Williamsburg Update #6
Josh Rachita, Historical Interpreter
*Josh is interning for the summer at Colonial Williamsburg.*
June 24, 2021
This week was a short week for me
as I am traveling to my sister’s wedding this weekend. I did spend a couple
days in the shop where I continued working on the trivet project. I finished
one that I am really pleased with, so now I am working on another using
historically correct material which is wrought iron. Also, after 5 weeks and
probably 1000 nails, they have improved enough that I can start contributing to
the Brickyard shed project, which really makes me excited to be able to benefit
the shop in that way.
The material I am making the latest
trivet from is called wrought iron. Wrought iron is a relatively soft material,
so it moves very nicely under the hammer, and it forge welds much better than
modern day steels. It is no longer being produced commercially because of
technological advances that make mild steel a better material to use for modern
applications. Any wrought iron used today has to be salvaged from old
buildings, bridges, iron tires, and other similar sources. Due to the high cost
and limited supply, apprentices very rarely get to use the material, especially
for practicing. It is pretty extraordinary to see how big of a difference the
material makes while constructing and using these items.
Due to its semi-homogenous and soft
nature of wrought iron, it is not suitable for a tool surface. Something like a
cutting edge or hammer face is often made from hardenable steel with a body
made from the softer wrought iron. Historically, this was done as a cost saving
measure. Steel, which was most often imported from England in the 18th
century, was three times the cost of iron. Iron was also readily available in
the colonies, as the Thirteen Colonies accounted for the third largest iron
producing region in the world, on the eve of the revolution. This source of
iron was one of the reasons England set up the colonies in the first place.
While England had plenty of iron ore, they lacked the timber needed to smelt
the iron ore into usable iron bars.
I’m excited to get back to
Williamsburg and finish up the trivet project. I think a nail header will be
the next thing I work on. I am very excited to learn how to make another tool that
I can add to the tool kit.
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The pictures this week are a photo of a finished trivet and that same trivet on top of the original drawing.
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