Making Tools and Equipment

Photos were taken at Colonial Williamsburg by Grace Smith

1. The blacksmith's forge (furnace) was made of bricks with a hovel (hood) at one end and a bellows at the other. The hovel (hood) carried fumes and smoke up the chimney.

2. The blacksmith pulled the bellows to add air to the fire to make it hotter. A very hot fire was needed to make the black iron soft enough to bend.

3. The bellows was made of leather and filled with air.  When the blacksmith pulled its cord, the air inside was squeezed out and emptied onto the fire.

4. The blacksmith hammered iron and shaped it on top of his anvil. The anvil is a blacksmith's workbench.

5. Iron rods are stacked up against the wall and on the table. After being heated, they are shaped into nails, tools, knives, horseshoes, guns, and plows.

6. The blacksmith used a tub of water to cool down the hot iron after his products were completed.

7. Here are some finished tools made and used by the blacksmith.

More Resources About Blacksmiths and Their Trade