School: Mullinahone (B.) (roll number 15362)

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1. The Local Forge (continued)

   

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   The fire place is on a raised platform called a hob and the bellow's is fixed quite near the fire place.
   The bellow's is made of leather and timber The top and bottom of the bellows are made of leather and the pipe of the bellow's is made of iron.
   The bellow's is worked by a lever attached to the other end of the bellow's. The bellow's is erected on a frame. The bellow's used in each forge was not made locally but was made in Dublin Cork or in some other large city
   The Smith uses various kinds of tools in his work. The anvil, sledge, and hammer are in every forge The smith has many small tools also, chisels, pincers braces, vice, turn-screw +c.
   He shoes horses, mules, and asses but people in Mullinahone do not have Cattle shod.
   He makes ploughs, harrow's grubber's, hoes, spades for cutting turf. Spade's shovels, pikes, axes are bought in shops
   The smith does nearly all his work inside, but the banding of wheels or, as the smith say's the binding of wheels is done outside.
   A large circular stone of about the same circumference as a horse's wheel, is fixed in the yard, near a pool of water and on this the binding is done.
   There is a belief amongst the people here that if one takes forge water secretly, it will cure chilblains.

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. activities
      1. economic activities
         1. trades and crafts (~4,680)
            1. smithing (~2,389)

   Language

   English

   Collector

   John Maguire

   Gender

   Male