Tinsmiths

Processing of sheet metal. Tinsmiths

The birth of the art of sheet metal processing dates back to the most remote times of the development of blacksmithing. The material was processed in various ways — cold forging, cutting, stamping. Cut-through metal was widely used in decorative art, it was used to decorate church domes, door hinges, chests, and caskets. Sheet iron, brass, and red copper were used as materials. They are all forged and stretchable. Coppersmiths were those who processed copper. Tinsmiths were also called craftsmen who worked with tin.

At first, the processing of sheet material was located near the centers of iron smelting, and then it spread very widely. Tinsmiths wanted metal dishes, smokestacks, drainpipes, pipes for samovars, and covered churches and houses of rich people with sheet iron. In Soviet times, they continued to manufacture many products.

Currently, tinsmiths are in demand in the production and repair of transport. They make sheet metal assemblies, tanks, and so on. In his work, the tinsmith performs many complex operations: he cuts metal, rolls cylindrical metals, performs soldering, spot welding, drilling and knocking holes, manufactures assemblies of various mechanisms. Tinsmiths are also engaged in correcting dents, setting up presses and other high-precision equipment.

Smoker

A smoker is a decorative hood or metal lid, usually rectangular in shape, which was installed on a chimney brick pipe. The smoker is closed from above, but open on the sides on all four sides. His task is to protect the pipe from atmospheric precipitation — rain and snow. Smokers were also called an umbrella, a weather vane, a headband, a hood for a pipe. Smokers were made by tinsmiths and blacksmiths from sheet material, usually sheet iron, tinplate. Often the smoky top was decorated with a weather vane to determine the direction of the wind.

Products of tinsmiths

Tinwork belongs to one of the oldest types of craft. In the old days, tinsmiths made drainpipes, pipes for samovars, and chimneys. Church buildings were covered with tin. Rich people used their services to cover the roof of the house with tin.

However, even today this craft is successfully used. Tinplate or thin metal products are in demand in various fields of activity, but they are especially often purchased by construction contractors. Tin steel is used for industrial production and for household devices made of tinplate. Most often, tin work is required for roofs of houses and buildings. In car repair shops, tin is used to align the dented surface of the car body. Various products can be made from tin steel to decorate. a country house.

Dutch oven

The "Dutch" oven appeared in Russia in the first half of the eighteenth century in government buildings and manor houses. It began to be installed in peasant houses from the middle of the XIX century. Until the middle of the twentieth century, the "Dutch" in our country was widespread enough. The name "Dutch" for such a furnace was used in the European part of Russia, in the south such a furnace was called "gruba" (grubka), and in Siberia it was called "kontramarka".

The Dutch oven is quite simple and gives a lot of heating in the lower part. However, the furnace heats up unevenly, which causes cracks in the masonry. For longer use, the furnace began to be "dressed" in a sheet iron casing. The "Dutch" oven only warms the room, you can not cook in it.

Roofs

Sheet iron, tin, and copper have long been used as roofing materials. The materials were very expensive and scarce, they were used to cover churches and administrative buildings. Only a rich peasant could afford to cover his house with "iron".

In modern times, rigid roofs are widely used as coatings for low-rise buildings, cottages, for multi-storey construction of residential and public buildings, as well as for industrial facilities. Traditionally, sheet iron is used. In addition, aluminum and copper are used. Copper is well known to us from the majestic buildings of the past years. There was a period in Russia when the copper rigid roof was undeservedly forgotten and practically not used. Currently, there are companies that have revived the tradition of using copper for roofing, and using the latest technologies.