THE WHEELWRIGHT.
1. The artisan who makes the wood-work of common wheel carriages, or the wheels of coaches, is denominated a wheelwright; but, under this head, we propose to include whatever we may say on constructing and finishing wheel carriages in general.
2. It must be evident, even to a superficial observer, that this business, in its different branches, occupies a large space in our domestic industry, since almost every farmer in the country owns a vehicle of some sort, and since the streets of our busy cities and towns exhibit, during a great part of the day, scenes of bustle occasioned, in a great measure, by the passing and repassing of carriages of different kinds.
3. The principal kinds of wheel carriages made in this country, are the cart, the wagon, the gig, and the coach; and of each of these there are various sorts, differing in strength and mode of construction, to suit the particular purposes to which they are to be applied. The business of making these vehicles is divided into a number of branches; but, as the manufacture of the coach embraces a greater variety of operations than any other species of carriage, we have selected it as affording the best means of explaining the operations of the whole business.
4. In large establishments for making coaches and other vehicles of the best workmanship, the operators confine their attention to the execution of particular parts of the work; for example, one man makes the wheels, another the carriage and body, another fashions and applies the iron, another does the painting and polishing, and another the trimming. In smaller establishments, a greater proportion of the work is executed by one person.
5. The wheels of the coach, as well as those of every other vehicle in which they are used, are composed of a hub, and several spokes, and felloes. The hubs are commonly made of a kind of tough wood, called gum, which is reduced to the desired form in the lathe. The hole through the centre is made with a common auger, and enlarged with one tapering towards the point, and having through its whole length two cutting edges. The mortices for the spokes are made with a chisel driven with a mallet.
6. The spokes are made of white oak, and the felloes, of ash or hickory; and both are brought to the required form and smoothness with the saw, axe, drawing-knife, spoke-shave, chisel, and sand-paper. The constituent parts of the carriage, or running gears, are the axles, perch, and spring-beds, or bolsters, to which are added the tongue, or pole, and some other parts connected with it.
7. The joints in this part of the vehicle are made perfectly tight by the application of putty; whereas, in the body, glue is used for this purpose. The latter substance will not answer in the former case, since it cannot bear exposure to water. The wood generally employed for the carriage part, as well as for the frame of the body, is ash; and the several parts are sawn from planks of suitable thickness. In this part of the work, the operator is guided by patterns made of thin pine boards. The panels of the body are made of thin boards of poplar or bass-wood. The manner in which the several parts are dressed and put together is too obvious to need description.
8. The wheels and the carriage, after having received one coat of paint, are sent to the blacksmith to be ironed. The hub is bound, at each end with hoops of iron, commonly plated with brass or silver, and the outside rim or felloes are bound with an iron tire, and fastened with strong nails or spikes. The tires are made red-hot before they are applied, that they may be made to fit in every part with accuracy.
9. Bands, bolts, or strips of iron, are applied to those parts of the wood-work which may be exposed to friction, or which require additional strength. The axles are also made of wrought iron, either by the blacksmith who executes the other iron work, or by persons who manufacture them by the quantity for sale. The same remark is applicable to the thorough-boxes, which are inserted into the hub to prevent injury by friction, and to cause the wheel to revolve with freedom and accuracy.
10. The painting, varnishing, and polishing, of the body of the coach, when done in the best manner, comprise a tedious process. It is first covered with a coat of paint; the grain of the wood is then filled up with putty, and the surface is again covered with paint. Five coats of filling, composed of ochre, japan varnish, and spirits of turpentine, are next successively applied. After the surface has been rubbed with a solid piece of pumice-stone, it is again painted, and rubbed with sand-paper. Several coats of paint are next laid on, and the work is finished by the application of a few coats of copal-varnish, and by the use of pumice-stone. The painting and varnishing of the wheels and carriage part, is far less expensive and tedious.
11. The nature of the trimmings, and the manner in which they are put together and applied, need not be described, since a few moments' inspection of a finished vehicle of this kind, will give any one a clear conception of the whole of this branch of the business. So far as trimming the inside, and the manufacture of cushions are concerned, the operations are similar to those of the upholsterer.
12. Wheel carriages may be classed among the primitive inventions, although the first authentic notice we have of their use, we find in the scripture history of Joseph, the son of Jacob, in which it is related, that this great and good man "was made to ride in the second chariot" of the king's, and that he sent wagons from Egypt to convey thither his father and family from the land of Canaan.
13. Covered wagons were used in the days of Moses; and the wandering Scythians, in the time of the Romans, had them covered with leather. The seat for the driver is said to have been invented by Oxylus, an Ætolian, who took possession of the kingdom of Elis, about 1100 years before Christ. Many of the nations of antiquity used chariots in the field of battle, and the axles were sometimes armed with scythes or some other sharp cutting instruments. Two persons commonly occupied one vehicle, one of whom drove the horses, and the other fought the enemy. The inhabitants of the promised land fought in chariots, even before the settlement of the people of Israel in that country; and the Greeks likewise employed them, for warlike purposes, at the siege of Troy.
14. The carriages used by the Romans were of various kinds, some of which were carried on the shoulders of men, and others, having two or four wheels, were drawn by horses, asses, mules, or oxen. Nevertheless, neither they, nor any other nation of antiquity, ever suspended the body of any carriage on leathers, or supported it on springs; and the use of almost every species of vehicle for the conveyance of persons, was banished by the policy of the barbarous nations that afterwards became masters of civilized Europe, the feudal lords conceiving it important, that their military vassals should serve them on horseback.
15. Even as late as the sixteenth century, ministers rode to court, and magistrates of imperial cities to council, on the back of this animal; and, in the same manner, kings and lords made their public entry on the most solemn occasions. In accounts of papal ceremonies which occurred during several centuries, we find no mention of a state-coach; but, instead of it, state-horses or state-mules. The horse for his holiness was required to be a gentle and tractable nag, of a gray color; and a stool with three steps was necessary to aid him in mounting. The emperor or kings, if present, held his stirrup, and led his beast. Bishops also made their public entrance on horses or asses richly decorated.
16. Covered carriages, however, were known in the principal states of Europe in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries; but they were at first used only by women of rank, since the men thought it disgraceful to ride in them. At this period, when the electors of the German empire did not choose to be present at the meetings of the states, they excused themselves to the emperor by stating that their health would not permit them to ride on horseback, and it was not becoming for them to ride like women.
17. But, for a long time, the use of carriages was forbidden even to women; and, as late as the year 1545, the wife of a certain duke obtained from him, with great difficulty, the privilege of using a covered carriage in a journey to the baths. The permission was granted on the condition that her attendants should not enjoy the same favor. Nevertheless, it is certain that emperors, kings, and princes, began to employ covered carriages on journeys, in the fifteenth century; and a few instances occur of their use in public solemnities. Ambassadors appeared, for the first time, in coaches, at a public solemnity, in 1613, at Erfurth.
18. In the history of France, we find many proofs, that, in the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries, the French monarchs commonly rode on horses, the servants of the court on mules, and the princesses, together with the principal ladies, sometimes at least, on asses. Carriages of some sort, however, appear to have been used at a very early period there. An ordinance of Philip the Fair, issued in 1294, forbids their use by the wives of citizens.
19. In the year 1550, three coaches were introduced into Paris; one of which belonged to the queen, another to Diana de Poictiers, and the third to Raimond de Laval, a cavalier of the court of Francis I., who was so large that no horse could carry him. It is not certain, however, that the body of these vehicles were suspended on leather straps. The inventor of this material improvement cannot be ascertained, nor is it positively determined, that it had been made, until about the middle of the seventeenth century.
20. Coaches were introduced into Spain and Portugal, in the year 1546, and into Sweden near the close of the same century. In the capital of Russia, there were elegant coaches as early as the beginning of the seventeenth century. In Switzerland, they were rare, as late as 1650. Carriages began to be used at Naples in the thirteenth century; from this place they spread all over Italy; and here, also, glass panels originated.
21. Carriages of some sort were used in England at a very early period, and those first employed by the ladies, were called whirlicoats. According to some authors, coaches were introduced in the year 1555; but, according to others, not until twenty-five years after this period. Before the latter date, Queen Elizabeth, on public occasions, rode on the same horse with her chamberlain, seated behind him on a pillion; although, in the early part of her reign, she owned a chariot.
22. In 1601, men were forbidden the use of the coach by act of Parliament, the legislators supposing such indulgence to be too effeminate; but this law seems to have been little regarded, as this vehicle was in common use, about the year 1605. Twenty years after this time, hackney coaches began to ply in London; but these were prohibited, in 1635, on the alleged ground that the support of so many horses increased the expense of keeping those belonging to the king. Two years after this, however, fifty coaches were licensed, and, in 1770, there were one thousand.
23. The stage-coach was first employed in France, and was introduced into England, near the middle of the eighteenth century, by Jethro Tull, the celebrated agriculturist. They were not employed, in any country, in the transportation of the mail, until the year 1784. Before this time, it was carried chiefly on horseback.
24. In the United States, the manufacture of carriages of every kind has greatly increased within a few years, and those lately made exhibit many improvements on those of former periods. The places which seem to be most distinguished for the manufacture of good carriages, in this country, are Philadelphia, Newark, and Troy.
