"Ironed off" wagon wheels?

[Sod saw]

.


My wife is a local historian who is helping to spearhead our county bicentennial celebration (2023) .  One of her chores is authoring daily face book posts about different county locations, happenings, and people from "way back".

Today she is putting together a short story, with old post card photos, about wagons and carts.

The term came up in this sentence, from an older (1874) local news paper:   We also have a very extensive blacksmith shop, where carriages and wagons are ironed off to order.

Although she is pretty good at searching, sometimes terms and words fail to show up.

Does any one know what the words "ironed off" mean?

One neighbor asked if the term referred to the steel around the wood wheels.

Any other thoughts?

thanks 


.

[doc henderson]

that is what I would guess, but I was but a young child back then.     there was a woodright shop with Roy Underhill that addressed that in a colonial setting.  I will search for it, but they have a school and I bet you could face book, or twitter tweet or email or even call them for help.  He is as much a historian as a wood worker.

[doc henderson]

I see a season 5 episode 10 if you want to watch on you tube.  I think that it may be when they heat the metal tire (ring) and the put it over the wooden wheel frame then pour water on to cool and shrink it down.
It was shot at colonial Williamsburg I think.

[Don P]

I've seen wagons with skis on them but am not suggesting anything, simply don't presume  .

[dogone]

  I think Doc has it. Heat the rim and shrink on to the wooden wheel. Looks like a lot of work.

[Paul_H]

I wonder if it could be to with the top of a carriage or wagon like the early autos ? I remember hearing the term irons in reference to the top of a model T touring car many years ago by a friend. "Top Irons"

Model T Ford Top Iron Set - Touring - For One Man Style Top- Uses Straight Wood Bows (macsautoparts.com)

Four-Bow Buggy Top Hardware (hansenwheel.com)


Lots of iron needed to build a wagon or carriage

Start to Finish Chuck Wagon Box | Engels Coach Shop - YouTube

[beenthere]

Thinking as Paul, that adding iron to the wood parts of yesterdays' wagons might be the thought behind the subject question. 

Engels has many youtube vids of such work in his shop. First I heard of him was looking into the 20 mule-team borax wagons and their history. 
Building 1,080 lb Wood Wheels for the Borax Wagons | Massive Wheelwright Work - YouTube

There also may be the wheelwright worker trade doing the work. 
The Wheelwright and his Craft

[Joe Hillmann]

If you wanted a new wagon built there was a fair amount of iron work involved,  from looking at old wagons you couldn't do much building until you had all the iron components made and in your possession. 

My guess would be that the wagon builder would have the blacksmith make all the iron components so he could start building the wagon, that could be what the paper refers to.  It also could be referring to putting bands on the wheels.

[Al_Smith]

You would need to look far and wide these days to find a wheelwright ,about like finding a cooper . A wheel or a barrel takes a lot to do that they don't fall apart .Both crafts are almost lost arts .
Now of course they still make oak whiskey barrels but it's all  done with  power machinery not by hand .I suppose the oak barrel could 
 be replaced with a stainless steel oil drum but I doubt the taste would be the same .For that matter you could replace the steel tired wooden  wheels on an old stage coach replica with model T Ford wheels and rubber tires but it just wouldn't look right .Besides that Model T wheels aren't that easy to find .  

[Don P]

Hoover carts?



 

[moodnacreek]

Me thinks it means finished, all the iron put on the woodwork, ready to roll in todays terms. Somewhere I have a book ' The Wheelwrights Shop' that really explains how wagons and carts where done prior to the steel wheel.