Architectural Historians

Forged in Wood- Building Anderson’s Blacksmith Shop

Product Description
Forged in Wood (1987, 28 minutes) The re-creation of James Anderson’s blacksmith shop provided a challenge for Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s architectural historians and tradespeople. The materials and finish had to be appropriate to a working building: bare framing covered with split oak clapboards. Housewrights felled trees in the surrounding forests and converted them into building timbers with broadaxes and pit saws. Century-old white oak trees were split and shaved into thousands of boards used to cover the roof and sides. The blacksmiths forged hinges, tools, and thousands of nails so the work could be authentic down to the last detail. Extra Feature The Cooper’s Craft (1967, 32 minutes) The cooper works through the demanding process of creating a barrel. Using no measuring tool other than his own eyesight, the master cooper precisely cuts the wood into staves, then bevels, shapes, and smoothes and fits components. Tools: Working Wood in the Eighteenth Century (1993, 20 minutes) While exhibiting their crafts, the cabinetmaker, cooper, carpenter, and basketmaker of Colonial Williamsburg’s Historic Trades discuss the importance of tools, then and now. Many of the tools shown were created by the blacksmith.

Forged in Wood- Building Anderson’s Blacksmith Shop