| Wheel Making: A person who builds or repairs wheels is called a wheelwright (or wainwright). The word is the combination of "wheel" and the archaic word "wright", which comes from the Old English word "wryhta", meaning a worker or maker. This occupational name eventually became wheelwright. Historically, these tradesmen made wheels for carts and wagons by first constructing the hub, the spokes and the rim/fellows segments, and assembling them all into a unit working from the center of the wheel outwards. Most wheels were made from wood, but other materials such as bone and horn have also been used. Around the middle of the 19th century, iron strakes were replaced by a solid iron tyre custom made by a blacksmith, who first measured each wheel to ensure proper fit. Strakes were lengths of iron that were nailed to the outside of wheels to hold wooden wheels together. Strakes were replaced around the mid-19th century by more dependable iron tires that were fastened to the wooden wheel by both the tight fit of the tire/band as well as tire-bolts. Tire-bolts were less likely than tyre-nails to break off because they were flush with the wheel's outer surface. Here is a great site for learning all about wagon wheels and their associated terminology ... http://www.customwagons.com/wagonwheels1.htm. |
