Josiah Wilcox’s Sons

In 1978 Frank G White stated that Josiah Wilcox started making carriage parts in 1858 and was still in business until 1904. In 1867 Josiah Wilcox teamed up with Leander Burns for his patent number 65,641 for dies to make thill couplings. Leander also patented a die for making carriage steps 103,296 in 1870. Neither …

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Bear Paw Gutter end former

It is not very intuitive how to use these but here is little information from a Berger Brothers catalog from 1914. They were patented in 1898 by a William W. Warren but the catalog calls them Bishop’s. US597924A – Implement for forming ends for eaves-troug hs – Google Patents This one is for sale here

The List

A list of tinsmithing tools and their uses. Stakes: Hatchet Stake for bending tinplate at a right angle or greater, Blowhorn for making funnels, speaking trumpets and other flared articles. Beakhorn for large articles such as squared rain gutter on one side and round downspouts on the other, Square Stake for making corners of pans. …

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Pexto 544

I picked up a 544 which is an all-purpose machine. It has wheels (the proper name is a roll) that can be changed to burr, elbow edge, flange, turn and wire as needed. The rolls I acquired with it are all  stamped.  They include a 10118 and a 10119 LOWER which is for turning, a …

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Dictionary Tinsmith

Tinsmith Definition & Meaning – Merriam-Webster We have for sale what we call tools of the tinsmith but how long have they been called tinsmith tools. What is a Tinsmith? : a worker who makes or repairs things of sheet metal (such as tinplate). They also list a kids definition of : a worker in tin …

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The Craftsman

The internet is a great venue for learning tinsmithing. As a beginner you may have learned the craft in an industrial arts class. You may have a love of History. Now you want to combine the two. You want to recreate that persona in keeping the art alive, but don’t have the tools? We provide …

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Vernacular

Modern names may be different than those historically used. A prime example is Folding Machine which is now referred to as a Sheet metal Bar Folder or Barfolder. The Bar is a major part of the folding Machine so that may have been an origination for the term. Another example could have been the Jaw …

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Identification

There are many aspects to tool identification. Maybe you were brought to this site through a reverse image search such as google lens. Maybe you just call it a cranky turny thing and need more information. If it has a crank and you can turn it then it is a machine.  If it is not …

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Welcome Tinsmiths

We hope we have something of interest to you. Or maybe you have something of interest to us. We are fascinated by what is out there in the rich history of Tinsmithing

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