That old traveling forge in Colonial Williamsburg caught my eye

I was down in Virginia last month visiting family and stopped by Colonial Williamsburg. They had a blacksmith demo running with this portable forge setup from the 1700s. The guy showed how they'd mount everything on a cart and move between villages. He said it weighed about 200 pounds fully loaded. Has anyone here tried building a traveling rig like that for shows or festivals?

2 comments

2 Comments

valsullivan1mo ago

Man, that sounds like a fun setup to see. Always wanted to get down there for that kind of stuff. That weight seems about right, especially if they had iron tools and an anvil strapped to it. I can only imagine how long it took to set up and break down each time, moving between villages and all. Must have been a real workout for the smiths back then.

tara70027d ago

The whole setup and teardown thing is what gets me too, @valsullivan. Every time I watch those living history demos I end up thinking about all the sweat that went into just getting the gear there. Portaging a boat with a hundred pounds of iron and tools strapped in has gotta be brutal, especially on rocky portage trails. I remember one time I helped a buddy move a small trailer of tools for a job and we were dragging our feet after an hour, so I cant imagine doing that every few days. Plus they probably had to scout firewood and build a proper shelter each stop too. Makes you appreciate how tough those old timers really were.