Since 1982 I have been handcrafting Early American tin and copper lighting.
My facination with tinware started when I saw an old pierced barn lantern that a friend had in his collection of Colonial Artifacts.I had to "make" one, the rest is history.
After collecting origial 18th and 19th century metal working tools, I started making authentic style lighting and other tin and copper artifacts. Each piece is formed and soldered by hand and our aging process gives each piece a unique antique patina.
Because of an eye for authenticity, we have been involved in restoration projects, creating period lighting and other historical pieces for museums and private projects.
Due to the aging process, no-two-items will look identical in finish, but will match in style and color tone.
All items are made to order. Please contact me for ordering, price and time frame.
Thank you for considering Robin Hood Tinware.
A tinsmith, or tinner or tinplate worker, is a person who makes and repairs things made of light-coloured metal, particularly tinware. By extension it can also refer to the person who deals in tinware.
The simple shapes made by the tinsmith, required only a few basic tools. In addition to the big shears anchored in a hole in his bench, he used hand snips and nippers for cutting. The tin was flattened on an anvil made of a block of steel and straight and curved anvils (stakes) were used to turn and roll the edges of the tin. Solder was used to join the pieces together and a soldering iron and fire pot were needed to do this.
A SHORT HISTORY OF TINSMITHING IN AMERICA
In the early 18th Century, Shem Drowne was probably the first tin and copper worker in America. He was known for the first hammered weather vanes made from recycled copper and tin in Massachusetts, but it was Edward Pattison that influenced the craft of the tinsmith more than any other.
Tools of the colonial tinsmith were simple hand tools, many made by the smith himself or the village blacksmith. Tools would include tinsnips for small cuts, and large shears anchored in a hole in a wood bench to shear larger cuts.
